Is 1260 WAMS For Sale?

[odomski]

Mike From Delaware/Mr. Canatelli: You say you are a part-time broadcaster. That's fine. However, your job as the on air talent is part of the business of radio...and not the art of radio. You get paid for what you do. What you do on the air is part of the whole umbrella. In my line of work, I am a television news photographer (which only one idiot says that doesn't make me a broadcaster...despite my work being on broadcasting airwaves every day...and despite me working in the business...radio then TV...for over ten years). My work is part of the entire operation of the station I work for. That makes me part of the business of television. I know you don't care about the business of radio. That makes you sound like Julius. He has stated that he doesn't care how radio works. That's basically what you're saying. You only care about what you do on the air...but what you do on the air is part of the entire business of your station. You should care how the business works, if you want to continue to work in a dying medium.

 

[MikefromDelaware]

I understand your point Shawn, but I've observed many DJ's and reporters I've worked with through the years at numerous radio stations being frustrated and angry, because they didn't think their respective station was being operated correctly, etc. I've known many unhappy people in radio, unfortunately it almost appears that those unhappy folks out number those who seem to enjoy their work. I may not have stated my thought as clearly as I could in earlier posts, its not that I'm not interested in the business side, it's just not the part they've hired me to do. Obviously, I want the station I work for to be financially solvent and viable and for the owners to make a boat load of money (not that any would trickle down to my level). I have learned though, not just in radio, but in my day time job too where I've been employed for over 32 years, that the owners of a company are not interested in what I or any other underling thinks, they just want you to come and do your part of the work to the best of your abilities. That's what I do and that is my contribution to the business side of radio or my day job. I put my full effort in doing the best job I can for both my day time employer and my weekend radio employer. If the owner of the station or my day time job ever asks me my opinion on how to improve their business, etc, after I get revived from fainting, I'd gladly give them my 2 cents worth, but I think I've got a better chance of becoming the #1 talk show host in America than having that happen, so I just choose not to focus on that side of the business. I put my effort into what I can actually make a difference in what I do. Granted, if my show does well, that will help the bottom line, so yes I do affect the business side of the station, hopefully in a positive way.

It's good to hear from you again. I gather you like your gig in Providence. I've never been there, but have heard from friends who have family there that it is a nice place to live.

 

[fred flintstone]

I've observed many DJ's and reporters I've worked with through the years at numerous radio stations being frustrated and angry.

Wherever you have worked part-time in the distant past, since you started posting online you have been working for a radio station that makes employees unhappy through mismanagement and shabby treatment. You come in weekends or evenings on a very occasional basis and the games that current and former managment play or have played have little affect on you. And in your posts in the past, you have shown little concern for how your full time co-workers have been treated. You say, "_________ was always nice to me" as if to invalidate the experiences of those who were subject to ill treatment.

You have posted in the past - in the context of comments on various boards about programming in which you were not directly involved - that you don't care about the business of radio. And in that you do sound like Julius, except Julius does not claim to be a "professional." Moreover, Julius in his criticisms of KYW is often more astute and more on point than you are with your gratuitous flattery of the station where you occasionally work part-time, of its former program director and of its on-air product. I have yet to see you offer fair criticism or objective comment; mostly you seem to be sucking up.

And to the extent your full-time co-workers, in addition to shabby treatment, are upset because they are forced to deal with incompetent and non-supportive management, office politics, antique and badly functioning equipment, and a chaotic format, this shows they care about the quality of their work and the quality of the conditions under which they work. Apparently these things don't bother you and that is a sign of non-professionalism. Possibly you are just happy to come in once in a while and play at radio - unconcerned whether it is good radio and in denial about the very real problems present at this station. Now that Clear Channel owns the station, it can't be called a "hobby station" any more, but you are still a hobbyist.

And the issue here is not whether you should tell your boss how to run the company. The issue is you come on this board and post opinions about radio - claiming to speak as a "professional" - without any regard for or interest in the nature of the industry. Now, if you want to come online and speak as fan or a listener about what you like or don't like, that's another matter. But even though claim not to care about the business of radio, you still post comments about the business of radio. It's only when your comments are challenged that you say you don't care about the business end.

 

[WTUX]

Why the extensive attacks on Mike?

 

[MikefromDelaware]

>> The issue is you come on this board and post opinions about radio - claiming to speak as a "professional" - without any regard for or interest in the nature of the industry. Now, if you want to come online and speak as fan or a listener about what you like or don't like, that's another matter. But even though claim not to care about the business of radio, you still post comments about the business of radio. It's only when your comments are challenged that you say you don't care about the business end.>>

Well Mr. Carr, thankfully you are not the owner or moderator of this board. As I previously stated, my employer, my listeners, and I consider myself to be a radio professional, even if I'm only part time. That's the standard I'm using and personally don't really care if you have any value for my opinions professional or otherwise. So if my views bother you, then don't read my postings, because I will post any time I please. From here on, I'll not bother trying to answer your posts since trying to have a discussion with you is a pure waste of time, especially as you can find nothing at all good to say about the station I'm employed and seem to take great pleasure in bashing my point of view, because you view my 34 years as a part time weekend radio broadcaster as being a hobbyist. That may be part of why you are no longer working there. Most employers realize that all employees at some time or other will have a grip about their job, but most employees don't become obsessed with it like you have. You've been gone for at least over a year, maybe two years, and you still foam at the mouth at any positive mention of WILM, get over it and move on with your life. The station has made many improvements since CC took over, that to me is a good thing. I'd rather try to find the good and focus on that rather than spend time trying to focus on the bad. There's plenty of bad to go around, just read the news.

I would listen to my fellow co-workers talk about various beefs they had back before CC took over. I couldn't do much more than listen and sympathize with them as I didn't then or now run the station, so I couldn't do anything about what they were saying. As I've not personally witnessed or experienced any of the ill treatment, it would be gossip for me to go around spreading such comments. Gossip, by the way Mr. Carr, is a sin. I'm not sinless, but I do try to avoid sin when ever possible, so I'd rather not get involved in gossip or office politics as neither is a fruitful way to spend time. If THAT makes me a hobbyist and not a professional, then so be it. All I know is I put my best effort into my talk show and newscasts. My employer and listeners seem to appreciate that. Now why don't you go find yourself a job in radio and find a new station to be upset with. WILM is doing just fine without you.

 

[WTUX]

You know, Mike, with the definition of "hobbyist" being used here, that makes The Geator a hobbyist. He even pays for his on-air time! I happen to think a 40 year run as a "hobbyist" ain't bad! As the most famous Phiily DJ, that "hobbyist" has certainly made his mark.

Many radio professionals decide to work in the business part-time for very good reasons. The main one is money. A man cannot support a wife and family on just a radio salary these days. Sure, the Howard's, Sean's and Imus's of the radio world do well. But they are few. Many radio stations have gone to part-timers for shifts simply to avoid the legal requirements to pay benefits.

Radio is a great profession. I love it. But when you grow up and have adult responsibilities, you have to do what is best for the family. Working radio part-time is a proper option. Working weekend and emergency shifts takes a true professional, because you have to be a utility player who can work on little notice with little supervision. And if problems develop, you have to fix them yourself. That takes a special professional who can't say "that's not my job."

There are not enough part-timers to meet the radio demand these days. Back when WAMS (I have to mention them!) tried to run the Blue Rocks, it proved impossible because they couldn't find board ops to cover the shifts. The Ticket and WDEL are often faced with the same difficulty. We should be praising part-timers, not putting them down!

 

[fred flintstone]

I would just as soon not read your posts. However, your posts are full of misinformation. Partly because you often don't know what you're talking about and partly because you believed all the BS Fatso used to dish out. I started replying to your posts to correct your blatantly false assertions. I will continue to do so.

WILM's on-air product sounds worse than it ever did, especially in morning drive. Employee turn-over and morale is as bad as ever. Again, more misleading information. You posted that you would be listening to George Brusstar's and Kyle DeWitt's "Radio Racket" program. Possibly more idle flattery, since apparently you missed their lengthy and explicit recounting of their - still painful after several years - experiences. "Focusing on the good" is not the same as constant flattery - or as looking at the world through rose colored glasses.

WILM is posting another help wanted ad - again! Maybe someone who sees it will also see some posts about WILM that have been on this and other boards. Maybe they will have read WILM WILL SOON BE A PARKING LOT's essays. Maybe they will have heard the Radio Racket. And, as a result, maybe they will NOT respond to the ad and spare themselves a dreadful work experience.

I notice you are resorting to the kind of personal attack that used to flourish on redandnater. Some of the expressions you used seemed familiar. And I always thought you were above the kind of flaming that often occurs on radio message boards.

And for the record, I have not asked you for spiritual or moral guidance. However, I don't recall any mention in scripture of gossip as a sin. I do recall that false witness is a sin. And don't forget, you are a purveyor of gossip - a "professional" purveyor of gossip. In the words of sociologist Gaye Tuchman:

"Anyone can do the journalists' job. After all, everybody gossips."

See: Tuchman, Gaye. "Making News: A Study in the Contruction of Reality."

PS: The following was posted on Vault.com, a site which includes "job surveys" in which past and current employees can rate companies and bosses ("find out what it's actually like on the job").

Location: Wilimington, DE
Company: Clear Channel Delaware
Experience: Mid-level
Highest Level of Education: Undergraduate Degree

Job Responsibilities
General Assignment Reporter/ Evening Anchor - To arrive at station by 2 p.m. Expected to use personal vehicle to travel to an assignment. Required to submit at least two, 45 second stories by 4 p.m. and complete a set for the following day. IN between, take feeds, answer phones, and check e-mail. Must prepare a 10 minute feature every four weeks. To prepare weekend stories and research storie ideas. Scheduled to anchor from 7 p.m to 10 p.m.
Job Requirements
College Degree Temple University, London Philadelphia Volunteered at college radio station as anchor & reporter for 2 years while studing at Temple U.
Uppers
Benefits, Vacation & sick days, mobility within the company, station appearances for community and cultural events, reporters granted the liberty to pursue topics of their own interest.
Downers
Travel expenses when using my own vehicle, poverty level wage despite earning a college degree, long hours, un-livable wage, disparity in the amount women and men are paid. Clear Channel recently bought this privately owned station but the management principles are still implemented by the old staff which determines how much I get paid.
Lifestyle
Be prepared to work for free. The employees in the newsroom must rely on a second job and/or family to supplement their income. It's discouraging when a 37 year old co-worker still lives at home with his mother, or an employee of seven years was never given a raise and must walk to work because he unable to afford a car. Clear Channel would normally do something about this but the station manager for the past 25 years insists on the principle of paying $8.00p/hour in a market where the competing station starts reporters at $25,000.
Compensation
$19,500 per year / $9.38 per hour. Requested a raise 3 months from the start date. After 4 months with no answer, I contacted Clear Channel Delaware to request a meeting and evaluation of my work where I was denied a raise within a week. Just 3 weeks ago, the station manager offered a promotion, a $2,000 p/year raise that required a 6th day of work totalling an extra $38 p/week. Benefits: United Health Care
Advice to Jobseekers
Understand this is profession where the avarage reporter makes $30,000 salary. Request your benefits kick in immediately, vacation, and 401 k plan to kick in too.

TUX: No, I'd call the Geator a free-lancer, maybe an entrepreneur. However, radio is his livelihood and he excels at what he does. I am not putting him down for being part-time. I am saying that people who come in nights and weekends and "fix it" themselves have an entirely different experience and frame of reference than the regular staff - and miss out on most (maybe all) of the BS that is part of regular radio employment. There's a whole lot going on they don't know about but some still presume to present themselves as "insiders" or "experts."

And, now that you mention it, radio has so many part-timers so they can avoid paying benefits, which full time workers would receive.

 

[MikefromDelaware]

WTUX, you make a good point, about the Geator. Obviously, I'm not in his league by any stretch of the imagination, but it's nice to realize that someone with his talent did it part time also. Your point about weekenders having to be able to do whatever needs to be done is right on the mark.

You're correct in the reason I didn't go full time in radio. I had some offers, years ago, for fulltime jobs at WNRK, WILM, and WDEL at various times, but I wanted a more stable life for my wife and kids where you'd not be moving around the country as formats changed, management changed, etc. I had already met plenty of guys at the stations I had worked at who had been up and down the dial and lived in various parts of the country and some of them were far better than I was talentwise, so I knew I'd not do any better than they had in stability or in lack of salary growth. Only a select few become a Ken Garland, which was my standard for excellence as a broadcaster. So, I work in the industrial world full time where the pay is better and the future a bit more stable than radio. I've enjoyed all the stations I've worked during the past 34 years. Hopefully, my time at WILM will continue on for a number of more years. Thanks !

 

[fred flintstone]

Bull! Comparing the Geator to a part-timer? With spin like that, you should consider politics. But to understand Geator's set-up, you'd have to be interested in and know something about the business of radio. For one thing, Geator mostly does not go to the stations which carry his programs (and do what nevers to be done). He feeds his shows. There may, however, be a part-time board op doing whatever needs to be done.

Ken Garland your standard of excellence? Well, what can one expect from somebody who says Backer and Nefosky "sound good" and who heaps praise on 1260 AM? I notice an inverse relationship between good radio and what you talk about.

 

[WTUX]

The work experience post really hit me wrong.

The work descripion at WILM sounds no different than from any medium/small market station. I did a news gig at WDEL, working about 30 hours a week while also working full time at Astra/Zeneca. If I had worked full time news there, the pay would have been the same as at WILM. All reporters used their personal vehicles to cover news events and of course you paid for your own gas. I worked 70 hours a week in order to stay in radio news because I loved it and knew that was what it took to survive.

The work load was similar, although WDEL covered fewer live events than WILM because of a smaller staff. My paid work time started at 4pm. My first newscast was 4:03. Obviously, it was necessary to get there earlier (I would leave Zeneca at 3:30 and make the 10 minute drive to the studios). Sunday night, I would work until after midnight, make the 30 mile drive home, then get up at 5:30am to be at Zeneca by 7am. My experience is no different than that of many radio people.

Radio news is hard work. You write stories, record feeds, anchor, use your brains to develop features. Multitasking is what you do in news radio. Often difficult hours, always low pay. It takes love and devotion. And possibly a pain-loving personality!

I have no sympathy with the 37-year old who still lives with his mother. Or the employee of WILM who cannot afford a car. Both should get a second job or move into a profession that pays a living wage. That is NOT radio outside of the big cities.

But basically, when you go into news radio, you know it is a low paying profession. It is very labor intensive, so owners are forced to pay low because the number of employees needed is greater. Even many news employees of KYW need a second job. Even at full service stations, news is low on the pay scale. At one time I did a morning gig where the news writer/reader was making 1/2 what I was making. Even then, I was not being paid a wage that would support myself. My well-paid wife covered the bills, not me. I have a degree, of course, but I know in radio it has nothing to do with pay. Unless you anchor morning drive at KYW, WINS or WCBS-AM, you will need another source of income. That is why most people with a passion for radio in general and radio news in particular, engage in their passion while young, then go on to another communication position, such as press secretary.

WILM is not unique. It may not be the best place, but I have heard worse stories than being asked to work hard for low pay.

 

[fred flintstone]

Maybe pay in radio is so lousy because of all these part-timers who show up when ever they are called and do whatever needs doing, and do all that for little (or no) pay.
It is sort of like undocumented workers (or illegal aliens, depending on your viewpoint). Farmers love them. Big business loves them. A constantly renewable source of cheap unskilled labor who won't/can't complain and will show up and do whatever needs doing for substandard wages because they are so desperate to stay in this country.
Part-timers and some full-timers in radio are the same. They work another job, live with their parents or get spouses to support them to enable their addiction to radio.
And they are proud of themselves for being suckers.
Pay in radio is low because management can always get dummies to work cheap. And every year colleges and proprietary schools of broadcasting turn out a new crop of dummies.
Yes, a very talented broadcaster at WILM has to walk to work every morning. The guy whose mommy owned the station and let him play with it as a form of therapy drove up each morning in a Beemer.
People had to work in a toxic environment and suffer constant coughs and headaches because workers were afraid if anybody complained to OSHA the rich old lady would shut the station down rather than spend money to correct the problems.
And full time workers were paid just enough so they could not qualify for government poverty programs - roughly 2/3 the median salary for radio news people in markets of comparable size (according to RTNDA's annual survey).
Then we get to the hostile work environment and discriminatory practices...
Nobody did anything about any of that either. They just bitched to each other, sometimes threw stuff and engaged in passive-aggressive back-stabbing and games of office politics to relieve their frustration. Management shafted the workers and in a classic pattern workers dumped on each other.
But everybody was so happy just to be working in radio - especially the part-timers.
Maybe when people talk about what automation, voice tracking, satellite formats and syndication are doing to radio, they should include the use of part-timers in the discussion.
In any business, when you use people with less commitment, less experience and who are willing to work cheap, quality suffers.
Radio gets what it pays for.

 

[OldNumber7]

I did a news gig at WDEL, working about 30 hours a week while also working full time at Astra/Zeneca. If I had worked full time news there, the pay would have been the same as at WILM. All reporters used their personal vehicles to cover news events and of course you paid for your own gas.

When I worked at WDEL, reporters got a mileage reimbursement (which more than covered the price of gas) plus the station rented a parking space downtown so reporters working downtown assignments wouldn't have to pay out of pocket for parking (or got reimbursed if they did). And from everything I observed, the pay at WDEL was significantly higher than at WILM and the medical was better.

 

[WTUX]

Old Number 7, you were my boss at the time. Why didn't I get money for my gas? Of course, I never thought to ask for it! (My fault, not yours!). I thought I should care enough about my job to just do it without whinning about gas money! I guess that is what separates me from a WILM whinner!

 

[OldNumber7]

Old Number 7, you were my boss at the time. Why didn't I get money for my gas? Of course, I never thought to ask for it! (My fault, not yours!). I thought I should care enough about my job to just do it without whinning about gas money! I guess that is what separates me from a WILM whinner!

Quick, fill out an expense sheet, backdate it and I'll initial it for you. Then say you forgot to turn it in. Of course, I think the rate back then was only 30 cents a mile. ;-) Sorry if I forgot to tell you to do that at the time.

 

[fred flintstone]

Old Number 7, you were my boss at the time. Why didn't I get money for my gas? Of course, I never thought to ask for it! (My fault, not yours!). I thought I should care enough about my job to just do it without whinning about gas money! I guess that is what separates me from a WILM whinner!

You don't care about getting reimbursed because you care about your job!
That qualifies as dumbest statement on the board this year.
Don't worry, station owners are way ahead of you.
First, instead of hiring students part-time, they created internships where students work for free and have to pay the college for the privilege.
But why let schools take the money of would-be broadcasters?
So broadcasters came up with brokered programming. Make people pay to work in radio. No salaries. No expense reimbursements either. Cash up front.
RJ and Joe Cook already do it. You can to.
And you've provided the positioning statement: Don't whine about money. Pay to be on the radio. Show how much you care. :

 

[WTUX]

By the way, internships are not just in radio. Drexel University requires this of business majors. I've had many interns who work for free so they have a step up on their resume. This is a major issue these days, where students who have worked as interns have a head-start on jobs over those who could not go this route. If you need to work your way through college at paying jobs, you better hope for some kind of job in your field.

Right now, I have two Drexel students working for free just so they can say they worked for this big company.

And by the way, I hauled my body out of bed in the middle of a Sunday night to cover a fire at a high school, because I knew the WDEL morning crew should have the story. Didn't get paid for my time or the mileage, never popped in my mind to ask for it. My voice was on the news twice an hour from midnight until 5am. If the news was not up to date, it was my name on the line. It's called being a professional. That's what love for news and the radio news profession is all about. Didn't get paid for the mileage either! (okay, I'll get over it!) But if you love radio and take pride in your work, you go above and beyond the bare minimum required. You are not doing it for the station owners. You are doing it because you take pride in your profession and yourelf. If you do not take pride in your work and your profession, do not expect the station to take pride in your work. You are doing this for your listeners, yourself, and your future. If you do not go the extra mile, you will not have an extra mile in radio.

 

[fred flintstone]

Sorry, but it is not being a professional. Professionals get paid.
People who work for love of radio are amateurs - volunteers.
I take pride in my work and therefore I expect to be compensated. I provide value in return for value received.

In the business you are in now, don't you expect your clients/customers to pay for whatever you provide? Or should they be made aware that they don't have to pay you because pride in your work is what's important to you. No, I didn't think so.

You were a chump and WDEL saw you coming.

Internships are a scam - pure and simple. Money for the university without the expense of providing a class for a student to take. Free labor for an employer. A real job looks better on a resume.

 

[MikefromDelaware]

>>But if you love radio and take pride in your work, you go above and beyond the bare minimum required. You are not doing it for the station owners. You are doing it because you take pride in your profession and yourelf. If you do not take pride in your work and your profession, do not expect the station to take pride in your work. You are doing this for your listeners, yourself, and your future. If you do not go the extra mile, you will not have an extra mile in radio.>>

I agree. In any business, be it radio, or in industry you have those employees who are essentially clock watchers. They'll not give a second more than they absolutely have to give. Then there are the folks who like what they are doing and will go that extra mile without being asked, because they realize that sometimes that is what needs to be done or they want their work to be the best they can make it. Your example of covering that fire at that high school for WDEL is an excellent example. You didn't have to do it, but you did because you knew that the listeners to your station would be depending on your efforts the next morning and your co-workers and station owners also depended on your efforts, which made their newscasts better than they'd have been without your effort overnight. You may not have been paid a monetary sum, but you had and apparently still have the satisfaction years later, of that job being well done. That's something money can't buy. You had personal pride in yourself and in the work you were doing. To a person like you and those of us who have a similar attitude, the job is more than just a paycheck. Some people might think you were a chump, but my guess is, you were missed when you left WDEL, because you did go the extra mile, which seems to be the norm for those who were and are the major players in broadcast news (Edward R. Murrow, Douglas Edwards, Walter Cronkite, David Brinkley, Harry Reasoner, etc, etc). None of the greats were clock watcher type employee. They went the extra mile. Think of all the places you've worked over the years, both in radio and out, folks like you are missed and the clockwatcher type aren't, because they usually were only looking out for themselves and wouldn't help anyone else and had an attitude problem to boot. As the ole expression goes, there are those who bless folks by their arrival on the scene and others who bless folks when they leave.

 

[Keith Thompson]

Even though I never did one (I landed my first paying radio gig just before my junior year of college after a year and a half at the student station at Virginia Tech) I don't think internships are a waste of time. I've worked with interns when I was at WXCY who went on to have successful radio careers. I do think an internship is worthwhile, especially if an intern is given an opportunity to do something valuable and the staff can take the time to answer questions and teach the intern some of the basics of the biz. Of course, I think I've seen instances where internships have also convinced students NOT to get into radio, and that in and of itself can be a very valuable learning experience too.

Having said all that...I do agree with you that having a paying job on the resume is more valuable than an internship which is why I never saw the need to do one. Of course, me landing the paying gig while in college was a matter of being in the right place at the right time and I encountered a break that perhaps the average college student wouldn't get. An internship is something I would have done if I hadn't had the opportunity to have a real radio job while still in school. There is such a thing as paying ones dues and a common problem I've seen with college grads entering the radio (or TV) job market is that they expect to earn mid-five figure salaries right off the bat.

As for pride in the work vs. compensation...I'm suddenly and unexpectedly in the job market right now where I'm looking at options inside and outside of radio and trying to find out how much value my skills have in today's marketplace be it radio or something else. I may well find something outside of radio that pays better, but I'm not sure that it is something I would enjoy as much (of course something that pays VERY well would make me happy...my happiness can certainly be bought!). I've certainly felt underpaid for most of my radio career (I think most jocks do), but it's usually been a rewarding enough career to be worth the lack of big compensation. Of course, at other times it's been enough of a drag that I've actively pursued other options. Right now, being out of a job is certainly forcing me to consider other options, but I'm certainly looking to return to radio if possible...even if its in a part-time capacity.

 

[MikefromDelaware]

Seems there was a posting on this board that mentioned that WDSD is looking for a DJ. Assuming they haven't filled the position yet, your country experience at WXCY might be just what they are looking for.