Is Public Radio More Stable Than Commercial Radio?

[The Voice of Reason]

This is a question I'm sure can be answered by those who have, or currently work in pubradio.
I've noticed over the years that there is little personnel turnover in the pubradio stations I've listened too compared to commercial stations.
As for local news, at least pubradio does offer national & local news (depending on the market) while commercial stations opt either for reading out of the newspaper, carrying television newscasts, or not bothering to carry news at all.
Pubradio does offer more variety; jazz, blues, in depth features, compared to commercial stations offering the same ole tunes from their playlists or right-wing talk show hosts.

 

[SSSKub]

No

 

[Element9]

These troubled times affect all forms of radio. Local, national, commercial and non-commercial as well as all formats are adversely affected. I would expect the forthcoming NPR affiliate pledge drives to be very realistic as to how they entice listeners to contribute to their stations. I'm actually looking forward to hearing the pledge drives, which have become very creative and effective over the last few years.

Buffalo is indeed fortunate to have three relatively healthy, diverse, public radio stations. WBFO-FM seems to get most of the accolades, most well-deserved. Yet, from my perspective, WNED-AM is a more consistent and aggressive news-talk station. This is no slight to either station's or staff. And Classical WNED-FM is considered by many to be a gem. I wake up to it every morning because there's something unique, soothing and mildly inspiring in hearing... uhhhh... ummmm.... y'know... well, music I don't normally listen to and don't know much about first thing in the morning. After about five minutes pf WNED-FM, I'm ready to turn on the reality and bleating of whatever station or TV channel that's all to eager to tell me how s#!tty the world is today.

 

[Mike Sheridan]

I really wish I knew first hand. A few years ago I tried to get hired, I lobbied the chief engineer at my local and well respected NPR affiliate. For awhile I thought there might be a chance. The CE and I seemed to hit it off and I was very enthusastic about working for the station. I showed an interest in what the station was doing. My selling point was I could do some on air, IT and some light engineering duties, he seemed to like that. The CE even admitted there were times when it would be nice to have someone on the other end of the phone line.

The CE even went as far as to take me to lunch. Nothing ever came of it though. While he never promised me anything I got the feeling he didn't want anything but positive PR for the station. Honesty would have been better. I still enjoy the station, even though I didn't get a job there.

In Public Radio you are also going up against people who will volunteer their time. It's hard to fight that!

 

[TheBigA]

Having worked at NPR, and having been laid off from NPR, I can say the answer is no.

Now the answer may be different at an NPR station, especially one owned by a state government.

But hard financial times effect charities and donations. It's one of the first things people cut. Especially if they can still enjoy the product for free.

 

[Radknowski]

You can almost hear some NPR listeners saying, "Hey, life's a b!tch, take a pay cut!" The private sector has heard that for years and small businesses also have been hard hit. Everybody wants somethin' for nothin' and everybody wants to get their hands on my wallet. The federal government just gave the banks a big chunk of our tax dollars so the banks' CEOs (the same bums who made stupid decisions and got the banks into this mess) can keep getting their fat paychecks. What a mess.

 

[aaronread]

It's not "public radio" vs. "commercial radio"...it's "radio at a college" vs. "radio at a private company". Or worse, vs. "publicly-traded company".

Colleges just don't have high staff turnover. Their financial structure mitigates rapid impact from changing economic times, and is set to take advantage of both good times and bad. Their endowments give them cushions for rough patches. And colleges don't usually sell their radio stations, whereas anytime a commercial radio station gets sold you can bet a staff purge is soon to follow. This does not mean college-owned pubradio outlets are completely immune to the economy; just that things take longer and tend to not be as extreme.

Pubradio stations that AREN'T owned by a college may or may not be just as volatile as a commercial radio station. It varies a lot.

As for NPR itself, that's a different story. Their funding connection to pubradio affiliates, and their ~$200 million Kroc endowment, helps them be less subject to economic woes...but shows DO get canceled due to lack of funding, and positions are eliminated.

BTW, low turnover is a double-edged sword, indeed. While it means you're in like Flint once you get a job, it also means it's BASTARDLY difficult to get that job in the first place. Many college NPR radio stations are notorious for stringing along their part-timers and volunteers for years before finally offering a full-time gig.

 

[Mark Giardina]

Many college NPR radio stations are notorious for stringing along their part-timers and volunteers for years before finally offering a full-time gig.

To answer your statement, it's not just college volunteers.

I personally know a fellow who has worked at a public radio station for close to 12 years in both casual and part-time positions. This guy has applied numerous times when there have been full-time job openings available but was never hired. Yet.....when the station needs someone to fill-in, either as a classical announcer, or newscaster, he would drop everything and show up.

Not only I, but other people have told this guy that he's being used and to get the hell out of there. But he's refused to take our advise.

It's one thing to love your work; quite another to be taken advantage of.

 

[cee]

I personally know a fellow who has worked at a public radio station for close to 12 years in both casual and part-time positions. This guy has applied numerous times when there have been full-time job openings available but was never hired. Yet.....when the station needs someone to fill-in, either as a classical announcer, or newscaster, he would drop everything and show up.

Not only I, but other people have told this guy that he's being used and to get the hell out of there. But he's refused to take our advise.

It's one thing to love your work; quite another to be taken advantage of.

A typical sad story of radio exploitation. Eventually we all wise up and realize management it just using us. One good thing about modern digital automation - there's less demand(at least in commercial radio) for fill-in people. Less low paying jobs - less exploitation. People can stay home on holidays and spend more time with their families.

People get into a mind fix where they think they just can't live without a radio gig. But you can. I miss being on the air sometimes, but self respect trumps being a low paid radio schlepper any day.

 

[Mike Sheridan]

People get into a mind fix where they think they just can't live without a radio gig. But you can. I miss being on the air sometimes, but self respect trumps being a low paid radio schlepper any day.

Yep, I'll agree with that, there is life after radio. Self respect is worth something! After adding more duties to my part-time and messing around with my Voice tracking compensation I finally decided enough was enough. I said I'll be leaving at the end of the month. I was then asked if I wanted to stay for my live shift and to that I said no! I didn't really feel like doing anything that made the Operations Manager's life any easier. These days the pay isn't even good gas money. It felt good to leave on my own terms. If they had done anything to make me feel valued, I would have considered staying.

 

[Radknowski]

Remember the days when stations had a complement of full-time staff members and four or five part-timers who were either young turks vying for a full-time gig or guys who worked in other businesses who were free on weekends and did a commendable job filling in because they were "that good?"

Smart radio stations value their part-time employees, knowing that without their services, the stations are not as strong as their competition. Most of the part-time personalities that I'm aware of have full time jobs and do radio on their terms, not the radio stations terms. These guys seem to have a good time doing radio on weekends and filling in on vacations. They have a full time job that pays well and a radio gig, which allows them to maintain their radio skills and have some fun doing radio. It's a balance of vocation and avocation.

Guys who've walked away from radio are either too busy with their real jobs and their families to work part time in radio or realized that their talent would take them only so far (that would be me), or have been so disrespected by management that they've said "enough is enough." It's too bad, because in many cases, on and off the air, part-timers offer much-needed support and perspective that smart programmers will take advantage of to improve their station's standing.

Now I'm off to huff some naptha and drywall sealer.

 

[Mike Sheridan]

Radknowski you said it! That "Radio on my terms" describes the arrangement I was lucky enough to have at WBT. They would ask me if I could work.... rather than tell me. I helped them through a lot of jams because I felt they appreciated me.

Fast forward to the FM I worked for last year where when I wanted a weekend off I was told I had to fill out a vacation request form. I thought that was odd since they weren't exactly paying me for the time off. They were not in the position to deny me the time off, nor do I think they would have. People need to think these things through, obviously they didn't see how dumb their form was from my viewpoint.