Is longevity in radio a thing of the past?

[Mark_Giardina]

First allow me to congratulate Bob Smith on his 18th anniversary at WXXI. I had the pleasure of working 14 of those 18 years with Bob and I can say that he’s a true gentleman, and loves the business. It should also be noted that Bob has been in broadcasting a lot longer than his 18 years with public radio. He worked in both the Rochester and Buffalo markets at commercial stations long before being hired as a talk show host for AM 1370.

Which brings me to my question; will longevity in radio be a thing of the past in a few years?

At the present time you have a cadre of people who have been in the business for two to three decades; especially some morning teams or personalities and a few newscasters/reporters. Yet with the ever changing climate in radio, one has to wonder if future generations will experience such longevity?
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[MediaBoy]

Yet with the ever changing climate in
radio, one has to wonder if future generations will
experience such longevity?

I don't know the answer to that question (probably not) but when I got into
the business in 1966 "Broadcasting" magazine was filled ....many pages.......with want ads for
jocks, newspeople, ....all phases of radio and television.

The last time I picked up a copy of "Broadcasting and Cable" (about 3 years ago) I think there was less than a quarter page of want ads.

 

[doctorcomputer3]

I think its about to go south for good, and have good reason to say that. Look at pop music, there are more one hit, come and go artists than ever before. My guess is that because Jocks are local they have been able to hang on longer. But from the look of the attitudes in most of the commercial stations, its just getting worse. A few years ago, at least you would have a station or two around owned by humans. None here in Syracuse anymore. Longevity in average jobs in general are going south too. This makes me remember talking with 60+ year old Don Dauer at WSYR in the break room in 1992, the week he retired. I asked him about retirement benefits and he said "Squat". Hope he knew how to fish.
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[TheREALJM1]

>
> when I got into > the business in 1966 "Broadcasting" magazine was filled
> ....many pages.......with want ads for
> jocks, newspeople, ....all phases of radio and television.
>
> The last time I picked up a copy of "Broadcasting and Cable"
> (about 3 years ago) I think there was less than a quarter
> page of want ads.
>
I remember the help wanted ads in the old days of BROADCASTING. There were at least 3 or 4 pages. However, it did include TV postions and other related media ads. Now days the radio jobs are listed in All Access or R&R. There are dozens of them listed daily. I supposed the TV ads are in a TV publication.

 

[JustPastBuffalo]

> First allow me to congratulate Bob Smith on his 18th
> anniversary at WXXI. I had the pleasure of working 14 of
> those 18 years with Bob and I can say that he’s a true
> gentleman, and loves the business. It should also be noted
> that Bob has been in broadcasting a lot longer than his 18
> years with public radio. He worked in both the Rochester and
> Buffalo markets at commercial stations long before being
> hired as a talk show host for AM 1370.

> Which brings me to my question; will longevity in radio be a
> thing of the past in a few years?

Perhaps moreso in sales than in programming or on the air. Afterall, "sales is where the money is."

> At the present time you have a cadre of people who have been
> in the business for two to three decades; especially some
> morning teams or personalities and a few
> newscasters/reporters. Yet with the ever changing climate in
> radio, one has to wonder if future generations will
> experience such longevity?

Unless things change drastically as a result of listening habits, patterns or rating methodologies (i.e., the PPM), morning drive will always be the revenue generating sweet spot of the radio station. Therefore, it's more than likely that morning guys will be the ones who maintain longevity.

Good, successful program directors also seem to hold on to their jobs. Look at Joe Chille at WJYE and John Hager at WGRF.
---
A few posters have noted the ads Broadcasting Magazine. If you can remember some of the following lines from ads, you're a veteran! Under Positions Sought "Third ticket, tight board, no floater, good production. -Tom, Box 80"

Also, Jeff Kaye's classic one-liners, usually at the end of the ad when KB had a rare Opening "...No gongs, no whistles, no horns. Ron Radios need not apply." Even his Broadcasting ads were classics!

 

[mike704]

Think about this a good medium market A/C station has at most 3 full time jocks. Evenings are satellite using Delilah or Dream Doctor and nights are automated. If there is a local evening person it's a part timer doing VT.

It sure makes for a small staff meeting!

MikeM

 

[Bob1370]

> Think about this a good medium market A/C station has at
> most 3 full time jocks. Evenings are satellite using
> Delilah or Dream Doctor and nights are automated. If there
> is a local evening person it's a part timer doing VT.
>
> It sure makes for a small staff meeting!
>
> MikeM

If the suits haven't noticed, it also makes for declining ratings, low listener loyalty, and then the predictable impact on station revenue.

Good illustrated definition of false economy.

 

[RipNRead]

> If the suits haven't noticed, it also makes for declining
> ratings, low listener loyalty, and then the predictable
> impact on station revenue.

As long as the suits get their bonuses and other perks do you think they really care? The only time slot they are interested in is morning drive. The rest of the day is nothing but liners, commercials, and repetitious music. As for radio programming in the evenings, forget about it. That is when the syndicated program switch is turned on.
If revenue falls short of its goal the simple process is to hire more sales people and fire a few more board operators to balance the books.

 

[TropoDuckie]

> Yet with the ever changing climate in
> radio, one has to wonder if future generations will
> experience such longevity?
>
> I don't know the answer to that question (probably not) but
> when I got into
> the business in 1966 "Broadcasting" magazine was filled
> ....many pages.......with want ads for
> jocks, newspeople, ....all phases of radio and television.
>
> The last time I picked up a copy of "Broadcasting and Cable"
> (about 3 years ago) I think there was less than a quarter
> page of want ads.
>

With only the Big 3 shifts these days, and weekends in most small markets all but gone, and the same thing fast occurring in the medium ones...there's no need. Lots of clusters are now floating their on-air staffs from station to station just down the hall, doing multiple shifts on a single day, and fills for every station in the building. On Long Island, it's so bad, that some multiple cluster owner (there's only one) runs it's people from one county to the next, from cluster to cluster, with a forty mile trip, and under an hour (in Long Island traffic no less) to get there in between shifts. And in one case, most recently, until he was let go, a friend of mine did a Sat.2-6Pm shift on one station...and then appeared at 6Pm, forty miles later, to do 6Pm-Midnite!!! And on time...no less! Ah yes...the magic of presdigitation... more commonly known to us geeks in the biz as voicetracking! Besides... Ads in the trades cost money! Interns are free!!!

 

[TropoDuckie]

> > Think about this a good medium market A/C station has at
> > most 3 full time jocks. Evenings are satellite using
> > Delilah or Dream Doctor and nights are automated. If
> there
> > is a local evening person it's a part timer doing VT.
> >
> > It sure makes for a small staff meeting!
> >
> > MikeM
>
> If the suits haven't noticed, it also makes for declining
> ratings, low listener loyalty, and then the predictable
> impact on station revenue.
>
> Good illustrated definition of false economy.
>
Oh, but MY!!!You've neglected to understand the real pupose of radio in the first place...To "Make"...no scratch that...To "Save" Money!!!

 

[TropoDuckie]

> > If the suits haven't noticed, it also makes for declining
> > ratings, low listener loyalty, and then the predictable
> > impact on station revenue.
>
> As long as the suits get their bonuses and other perks do
> you think they really care? The only time slot they are
> interested in is morning drive. The rest of the day is
> nothing but liners, commercials, and repetitious music. As
> for radio programming in the evenings, forget about it. That
> is when the syndicated program switch is turned on.
> If revenue falls short of its goal the simple process is to
> hire more sales people and fire a few more board operators
> to balance the books.
>
Yup...that says it all! HERE...HERE!!!

 

[mike704]

> > Think about this a good medium market A/C station has at
> > most 3 full time jocks. Evenings are satellite using
> > Delilah or Dream Doctor and nights are automated. If
> there
> > is a local evening person it's a part timer doing VT.
> >
> > It sure makes for a small staff meeting!
> >
> > MikeM
>
> If the suits haven't noticed, it also makes for declining
> ratings, low listener loyalty, and then the predictable
> impact on station revenue.
>
> Good illustrated definition of false economy.
>

I'm afraid that most of the listeners haven't caught on yet. Evenings and all nights go satellite or automated bacause most A/C stations can't get numbers at night so they go cheap. When there two or 3 major groups in a market doing this what choice does the listener have? People will soon forget just how good radio can sound when done right....it's sad.

MikeM

 

[Bob1370]

> I'm afraid that most of the listeners haven't caught on yet.
> Evenings and all nights go satellite or automated bacause
> most A/C stations can't get numbers at night so they go
> cheap. When there two or 3 major groups in a market doing
> this what choice does the listener have?

The listener has at least three choices he didn't have years ago. First, of course, there is a growing variety of noncommercial broadcast stations in most large markets programming anything from AAA, to classical, to specialty music formats, to news/talk without a partisan slant. Then there's satellite radio, and each of the program providers has a subscriber base equivalent to a top-5 Arbitron market or more. Third, we have the ability to program our own music in a way we never did before, with iPods and CD changers in our homes and cars providing nothing but music the listener knows he will like---commercial-free.

Result? The use of commercial radio in the US continues to decline. It's still a significant medium but it's no longer a growing one, thanks directly to the decisions of large broadcasting companies to cheapen the quality of the product. This can still be turned around, and listeners can be won back with good programming, because in the end terrestrial radio remains cheaper and easier to use than the alternatives. But the window of opportunity for reclaiming listeners is closing. We should be worried about the growing number of people who dislike what we're doing so much, they are willing to go out of their way to find alternatives for audio entertainment even if they cost more or require extra effort to use.

 

[Oldbones]

> Result? The use of commercial radio in the US continues to
> decline. It's still a significant medium but it's no longer
> a growing one, thanks directly to the decisions of large
> broadcasting companies to cheapen the quality of the
> product. This can still be turned around, and listeners can
> be won back with good programming, because in the end
> terrestrial radio remains cheaper and easier to use than the
> alternatives. But the window of opportunity for reclaiming
> listeners is closing.

This is a chicken and egg situation. Stations cheapened the product because audience loyalty was declining, which causes less listener loyalty. A large part of the problem is, as you mentioned the explosion of alternatives to radio. Keep in mind that back in the "good old days" radio was the only game in town.

> We should be worried about the growing
> number of people who dislike what we're doing so much, they
> are willing to go out of their way to find alternatives for
> audio entertainment even if they cost more or require extra
> effort to use.

I'm not sure if these whiners constitute a significant portion of the audience or if they just are an extremely vocal minority. Sadly, when you hear someone constantly carping about how much something sucks, eventually the perception spreads...much like the co-worker with a bad attitude...it can be contagious even when there's no reason to be.

 

[mike704]

Well said Bob...I agree 100%.

 

[SirRoxalot]

I Beg to Differ...

> This is a chicken and egg situation. Stations cheapened the
> product because audience loyalty was declining, which causes
> less listener loyalty.

That was NOT the reason stations cheapened the product. The reason stations cheapened the product is because large corporations overpaid for radio properties, and cut both salaries and jobs as a way of reducing expenses to pay off debt service and increase profits. Listeners reacted to the cheapened product by "shopping" elsewhere, especially when very talented - and expensive - people were replaced by cheaper alternatives.

> A large part of the problem is, as you mentioned the explosion
> of alternatives to radio. Keep in mind that back in the "good
> old days" radio was the only game in town.

Alternatives to radio have existed since the invention of the phonograph, which came before radio. Portable alternatives to radio have been common since the development of the cassette tape. It's the predictability of radio and short, repetitive playlists that have reduced listening. Why do you think that the ghastly "Jack" format has any appeal at all? Only because it offers something different.

> I'm not sure if these whiners constitute a significant
> portion of the audience or if they just are an extremely
> vocal minority. Sadly, when you hear someone constantly
> carping about how much something sucks, eventually the
> perception spreads...much like the co-worker with a bad
> attitude...it can be contagious even when there's no reason
> to be.

Radio has ignored listeners under the age of 25, effectively killing off any interest in radio for the next generation of listeners. TSL among 12-24 year-olds has suffered, and technologically-savvy young people have grown used to alternative music sources that allow them to program their own music. Bringing those listeners back to radio is going to require a lot more effort than most radio companies are expending.

The biggest hope most of us have for longevity in the business is the fact that few young people are interested in getting into radio - leaving more opportunities for old farts to stay employed.

 

[IlDuce]

Re: I Beg to Differ...

> The reason stations cheapened the product is because large
> corporations overpaid for radio properties, and cut both
> salaries and jobs as a way of reducing expenses to pay off
> debt service and increase profits. Listeners reacted to the
> cheapened product by "shopping" elsewhere, especially when
> very talented - and expensive - people were replaced by
> cheaper alternatives.
> The biggest hope most of us have for longevity in the
> business is the fact that few young people are interested in
> getting into radio - leaving more opportunities for old
> farts to stay employed.

There are four tiers in radio today. One is management, where, if you're fortunate, you make a six-figure salary, get bonuses for other people's hard work, and walk away with a nice severance package if you get fired. Two are the veterans who have worked at a station for a long period of time that they have managed to develop a relationship with their listeners. Those are mostly your successful morning drive hosts. The third are the hard-working employees who get paid far below their experience level but remains at a station because they are willing to put up with low wages and long hours as they still love broadcasting or they have no ambition to find another career. And forth are your low-wage board operators or others with less experience that make very little money but stick around knowing that no one else with hire them.
Most music formats outside of morning, and perhaps afternoon drive times, are designed to be just background sound for people working in an office. Talk radio consists of either drum-beaters constantly repeating their political dogma, or hosts who book such boring guests that could they cure insomnia.
Let’s not forget the stations that jam-pack each hour with 18 to 20 minutes worth of commercials for car dealers, lawyers, male erection drugs or more lawyers.
Winston Churchill once said that “this is not the beginning of the end, but the end of the beginning”. Over the past years we have witnessed the end of radio as many of us knew it. Gone are the days of full-service stations that were staffed with local announcers and newscasters. Music today isn’t aired for its creativity, but instead the greasing of corporate palms. IE: The recent Payola scandals involving Entercom, and other broadcasting monopolies.
Terrestrial radio isn’t dead just yet, but it is on life support. And will remain in a coma until listeners finally scream out those magic words” I’m mad as hell and won’t take it anymore”, and just stop listening. Or until the FCC grows a backbone and stops caving into the ridiculous theory that allowing a few companies to own more and more stations will actually benefit the public.