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Is this a good thing?

B

Bengalsfan

I just saw this help wanted ad from a major consolidator:

"The Operations Director oversees programming and engineering functions for all of our stations. This includes but is not limited to; direct supervision of all Program Directors, direct supervision of the Chief Engineer..."

I thought the Chief Engineer was a department head in his/her own right. Are chiefs now going to be answering to the ops director? Is this a good thing?
 
Unfortunately this is a trend that is on the rise. The condition usually revolves around a weak manager that just does not want to be bothered with these *minor* details… The direct, visible result is usually loss of regulatory compliance and deterioration of *minor* things like the transmitter in favor of remote broadcast as well as other menial task.

w/
 
Actually, it's not necessarily a bad thing, I happen to know a couple of Ops Managers or PD's who can empathize with an engineer and would be a better fit to manage an Engineering department, rather than a GM, whose background is in sales. Think about it.
 
There are exceptions to every rule...There are very few real op managers with any knowledge of engineering...and it would take a REAL manager to relate to the all the types of individuals in a radio station...and there are TYPES. That is why the original operational structure had a supervisor over the various departments. ( Small stations excepted) jbi
 
Watt Hairston said:
Unfortunately this is a trend that is on the rise. The condition usually revolves around a weak manager that just does not want to be bothered with these *minor* details… The direct, visible result is usually loss of regulatory compliance and deterioration of *minor* things like the transmitter in favor of remote broadcast as well as other menial task.

w/
Click to expand...
Sad but true. Toilet repairs aren't off the table either. There are a few good managers who are open to learning a little about engineering...nurture their interest if it exists.
 
Sgeirk said:
Actually, it's not necessarily a bad thing, I happen to know a couple of Ops Managers or PD's who can empathize with an engineer and would be a better fit to manage an Engineering department, rather than a GM, whose background is in sales. Think about it.
Click to expand...

It's not a good thing either. Reminds me of the political mind field I walked into when I took a job at a Savannah Georgia TV station where I, an engineer, worked exclusivly with the news department and answered to the News Director verses answering to the Chief Engineer or General Manager. The news director didn't understand the need for a new TVT amplifier tube for the satellite truck, or the need to replace the entire servo board in a Sony 8800 because the salt water had eaten the legs off the ICs and it was impossible for the engineer (me) to repair because it was all surface mount. All he saw was the hit his budget was going to take.

Ops Manager does not understand the need to paint and relamp towers on a regular basis. He just sees the hit his budget is going to take. A "smart" general manager will learn enough about engineering to know when he has a good engineer then turn him loose.

I see the Chief Engineer answering to an Ops Manager being nothing but a can of worms and headaches....to the Chief Engineer. A "smart" engineer would stay the hell away from this situation.
 
A "smart" engineer would be able to explain, in laymen's terms, the need for expenditures, and the consequences of neglect, to anyone that had the power of approval. The nature of the business as it continues to deteriorate is for more regional management, and the local head is going to be a sort of sit in figure head doing the bidding of the person up the chain with whom they want no conflict. The task at hand is to convince the most senior local to argue on your behalf for what is really in the best interests of the operation and your opportunity for a regular good nights sleep.
 
It's a bad thing. I report directly to my GM who is also the regional VP. I have a very competant Ops manager, but he is not and has no desire to be an engineer. I would be wasting his time and mine if I were to go to him for things I needed from the GM. Something would be lost in the translation and no matter how fair he was, his needs and prejudices would taint the delivery of the message. Putting yourself down on the totem pole is a way of lessening your inmportance in the system and ducking responsibility. A good engineer knows a lot more than ohms law, a bunch of fancy math and where all the wires go. Whether it's a one man department or many, the CE has to be a manager, capable of petitioning management for his needs, preparing and justifying budgets, and able to work well with a diverse group ranging from wacked out DJ's to over anxious sales types.
Bilco
 
Interesting discussion, but is it possible we're hung up on semantics?

Often, a title no longer reflects the actual scope of responsibility and authority. Many traditional titles don't have the same meanings as they used to. In an era of computer programs for music scheduling, what does a Music Director do? With cookie-cutter programming, what exactly does a Program Director do?

We used to have Station Managers and General Managers, now we have Cluster Managers. The FCC now wants us to have a Chief Operator, not a Chief Engineer. The one-man news department is the News Director, the person who voice-tracks on two stations using different names and also handles PSAs and the website is called Webmaster, the Program Director tracks the all-night show, and what title goes the guy have who monitors 8 stations at night with nobody else in the building?

I'm guessing that numerous stations and clusters have more titles than staff members.
 
Bill,

I think the concern is with money. The OM may have a budget, but for anything additional, he has to ask the GM (or market manager, or owner, or ...). If the GM/MM/Owner controls the purse strings, and the engineer is responsible to the GM/MM/Owner, it becomes that much easier for the engineer to get funds when needed.
 
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