J
jaxonair80
Guest
I figure if you havent been fired 3 times, your just good at what you do.
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Jacksonville Radio
- Thread starter pocket-radio
- Start date
My mind works in weird ways lots of times, but as I read the last post from Jaxonair I couldn't help but recall Mae West's famous line "goodness had nothing to do with it."
Seriously, being good at what you do in radio does not guarantee continuous employment. Time and time again we witness on-air talent and those in the PD and music director level vanish suddenly. Keeping a job in radio, I believe, has more to do with how local and upper management feel about a person than necessarily their track record. I'll elaborate a little further down.
We've gotten away from the subject of Jeff Davis and his dismissal in all these posts but it still has me wondering and believing that no one really knows where they stand. It's all a game as management does what it can to protect themselves and to work on building their resume for their next job.
In one of the posts, someone indicated we should get over it as these things happen in business all the time. But do they really?
Sure, people loose their jobs but I don't believe it's quite as easy as it seems to be for radio. Let me explain why.
For a lot of years I managed people at a large financial company. Before I let anyone go, I had to make sure performance issues were well documented and acknowledged by the employee. We usually indicated in writing that failure to adhere, improve etc. would result in further disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment. Human Resources and two levels of management above me needed to concur. It was an exhausting process but all in all, no one was ever blind-sided and it cut down on being sued which was always an issue.
I'll assume that because many in radio are under contract, the rules may be different. If a contract is ending, no big deal - it just isn't renewed and if there's time left, the employee gets paid for time remaining. Correct me if my assumptions are off here.
But really, I get PO'd to see people loose their jobs because management wants their own team and not those grandfathered in. And again, being good at what you do often does not keep you in your role.
We'll never know the real reason why Jeff is gone but I suspect it has a lot to do with where a station is in relation to the amount of money being paid to someone responsible for programming it. If you just limit this to Gator, they will continue their ratings climb. I'm convinced that a lot of Gator's success has a lot to do with the idiotic ad campaign going on at WQIK. Those commercials perpetuate a stereotype and are making Gator the more "hip" station to listen to. Trust me on this.
Sure Gator has a great morning team and that contributes a lot to the ratings climb too. And let's assume the info we saw earlier regarding Jeff's position on not bringing the morning team on board is true. A part of me wants to say so what? I can't tell you how many times in my career I had a different interpretation on things. Sometimes I was right and sometimes I wasn't. I'm human and I learned and moved forward. But I had supportive management. Most of you in radio do not. If someone's time is up, any excuse will do justified or not. Look if they want you, you are in and if they don't you are out. Pure and simple.
Renda Broadcasting has certainly changed over the last couple of years going from one extreme to the other. Who can forget how long it often took them to make timely decisions, respond to market changes and hire the right people who understood format potential. While there was so much really good talent from Cox and CC pounding the pavement looking for work, just consider how long those in charge at KOOL and ARROW continued to deliver mediocrity but they kept their jobs. None of this ever made business sense to me. And now they act like the big guns getting rid of people in quick abandon. I wish they could have reached a happy medium and showed loyalty to those who delivered a lot better than predecessors who will remain nameless.
It's all a game. GMs no matter what the company make decisions to enhance their own career and to build their resume for the future. It's not about being fair and certainly it has little to do with what is right for the listening audience.
I am hopeful things will change. A job is a job but I can't understand the heartache people put themselves through when they accept a position in radio.
Seriously, being good at what you do in radio does not guarantee continuous employment. Time and time again we witness on-air talent and those in the PD and music director level vanish suddenly. Keeping a job in radio, I believe, has more to do with how local and upper management feel about a person than necessarily their track record. I'll elaborate a little further down.
We've gotten away from the subject of Jeff Davis and his dismissal in all these posts but it still has me wondering and believing that no one really knows where they stand. It's all a game as management does what it can to protect themselves and to work on building their resume for their next job.
In one of the posts, someone indicated we should get over it as these things happen in business all the time. But do they really?
Sure, people loose their jobs but I don't believe it's quite as easy as it seems to be for radio. Let me explain why.
For a lot of years I managed people at a large financial company. Before I let anyone go, I had to make sure performance issues were well documented and acknowledged by the employee. We usually indicated in writing that failure to adhere, improve etc. would result in further disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment. Human Resources and two levels of management above me needed to concur. It was an exhausting process but all in all, no one was ever blind-sided and it cut down on being sued which was always an issue.
I'll assume that because many in radio are under contract, the rules may be different. If a contract is ending, no big deal - it just isn't renewed and if there's time left, the employee gets paid for time remaining. Correct me if my assumptions are off here.
But really, I get PO'd to see people loose their jobs because management wants their own team and not those grandfathered in. And again, being good at what you do often does not keep you in your role.
We'll never know the real reason why Jeff is gone but I suspect it has a lot to do with where a station is in relation to the amount of money being paid to someone responsible for programming it. If you just limit this to Gator, they will continue their ratings climb. I'm convinced that a lot of Gator's success has a lot to do with the idiotic ad campaign going on at WQIK. Those commercials perpetuate a stereotype and are making Gator the more "hip" station to listen to. Trust me on this.
Sure Gator has a great morning team and that contributes a lot to the ratings climb too. And let's assume the info we saw earlier regarding Jeff's position on not bringing the morning team on board is true. A part of me wants to say so what? I can't tell you how many times in my career I had a different interpretation on things. Sometimes I was right and sometimes I wasn't. I'm human and I learned and moved forward. But I had supportive management. Most of you in radio do not. If someone's time is up, any excuse will do justified or not. Look if they want you, you are in and if they don't you are out. Pure and simple.
Renda Broadcasting has certainly changed over the last couple of years going from one extreme to the other. Who can forget how long it often took them to make timely decisions, respond to market changes and hire the right people who understood format potential. While there was so much really good talent from Cox and CC pounding the pavement looking for work, just consider how long those in charge at KOOL and ARROW continued to deliver mediocrity but they kept their jobs. None of this ever made business sense to me. And now they act like the big guns getting rid of people in quick abandon. I wish they could have reached a happy medium and showed loyalty to those who delivered a lot better than predecessors who will remain nameless.
It's all a game. GMs no matter what the company make decisions to enhance their own career and to build their resume for the future. It's not about being fair and certainly it has little to do with what is right for the listening audience.
I am hopeful things will change. A job is a job but I can't understand the heartache people put themselves through when they accept a position in radio.
I suspect Jeff was canned because of budget cuts. And they won't worry because Chuck Beck can easily program the entire Jacksonville cluster. Jeff’s PM drive slot will either be voice tracked or filled by talent readily available. While Gator is seeing huge ratings and WQIK is trending down timing is everything.The economy overall is slow and radio is struggling through industry wide changes. When the economy tanks the first thing business cut is advertising. If revenues are down across the board that affects operating budgets for all station in the chain. Stations have sales budgets and also operating budgets that must also be met. If corp cuts operating budgets.. and sales cannot make up the difference… you know the rest of the story..
When your personal income goes down you cut expenses and go without..
Gator and WEJZ are on fire. Muvin and WSOS are not. Budgets are based on the dreams of corp and they dream about income from 4 Jacksonville stations. Revenues from two hitters would have to be really good to make up for two dogs.
QIK is trending down... but it's not dead yet... The big picture is CC does a better job leveraging their entire cluster of stations for agency buys. Renda has 2.1 Jacksonville stations and 1 in St. Augustine. CC has 6! Ratings help but don’t tell the whole story..
When your personal income goes down you cut expenses and go without..
Gator and WEJZ are on fire. Muvin and WSOS are not. Budgets are based on the dreams of corp and they dream about income from 4 Jacksonville stations. Revenues from two hitters would have to be really good to make up for two dogs.
QIK is trending down... but it's not dead yet... The big picture is CC does a better job leveraging their entire cluster of stations for agency buys. Renda has 2.1 Jacksonville stations and 1 in St. Augustine. CC has 6! Ratings help but don’t tell the whole story..
P
preferprivacy
Guest
The speculation that passes for widsom on this board would be entertaining if it wasn't so sad.
Why assume he was a saint and Renda is the devil?
Clearly Gator is having an impact on WQIK - so it would take a signficant reason to make such a change at a such a crucial time.
I know Gary (the GM) -he's no fool.
Why assume he was a saint and Renda is the devil?
Clearly Gator is having an impact on WQIK - so it would take a signficant reason to make such a change at a such a crucial time.
I know Gary (the GM) -he's no fool.
Whoa, it's understood Gary and/or most in GM positions are no fools. People who are in as well as remain in those positions are charged with acheiving (almost impossible) goals from "above." The crap drifts down as it does in the business world. These guys follow orders and often times the decisions made have adverse affect on the listener and their choices.
Mistakes are made because none of us are perfect and that's the message I've tried to say time and time again.
I agree none of us know the "why" to most things but it seems a lot of the same script is followed across the board that may help short term but doesn't really solve a lot of the problems of radio. Continued cut-backs, automation and the talent revolving door all remove emotional attachment to a radio station. This remains a huge mistake all seem to follow.
If we jump away from Renda for a moment and turn to 96.9, one has to wonder why a station like that seems to have continued turmoil. Just over the past year, they had virtually 100% on-air talent turnover. Why? More on this in the next post as I'm experiencing some computer glitches here. Be right back.
Mistakes are made because none of us are perfect and that's the message I've tried to say time and time again.
I agree none of us know the "why" to most things but it seems a lot of the same script is followed across the board that may help short term but doesn't really solve a lot of the problems of radio. Continued cut-backs, automation and the talent revolving door all remove emotional attachment to a radio station. This remains a huge mistake all seem to follow.
If we jump away from Renda for a moment and turn to 96.9, one has to wonder why a station like that seems to have continued turmoil. Just over the past year, they had virtually 100% on-air talent turnover. Why? More on this in the next post as I'm experiencing some computer glitches here. Be right back.
Sorry about that, somehow the last post posted before I was done. Guess there isn't an undo botton here. 
OK, if we look at 96.9 over the years, can we honestly say that all the decisions made have been correct ones? Certainly not. But my argument involving "if they want you, you are in and if they don't want you, you are out applies. When 96.9 was doing oldies, Pat Garrett as far as I'm concerned had what it took to bring the station to the next level which was to update the sound. He wasn't given the chance as they wanted to take a different direction without him. Apparently, past success means nothing and it's not reward to keep a job and grown into new goals. So they brought in Scott Walker. He was given a playlist and told to make something of it. The station changed because the personality of the station, particularly in AM drive diminished. But this is how Cox operates - keep the music coming and just shut up. And when Eagle was able to fly on it's own, Scott was gone.
And this is how things are done. Sure, it can make the bottom line look better but I'm convinced these type decisions will really hurt radio in the long run.
In prior posts, we have learned that one person programs 4 stations. A great money saver but it doesn't allow for any creativity as there is little time. Not than anyone around here from what I can tell even does it anymore, weekend programming is the same as M-F. I used to enjoy special weekend themes as it was good to hear songs you hadn't heard in a while - no time to do that now. The average listener does not benefit and it continues to remove that emotional bond and incentive to listen longer that I feel is a mistake.
Really, the listener remains underserved. I really wanted to mention this in prior posts about the decisions we experience that just keep chasing a part of a demo. You can put this under the GM goals and I can't really fault any of them for doing this as they are just carrying out orders. But what upsets me is how stations are often set up to fail so they can justify something else to make themselves look good. Again, the average listener is screwed.
We've seen a lot of posts regarding WMUV. Here is a classic example of what is wrong with the current thinking and radio station operation. When I mentioned in an earlier post about GM resume building, here is a classic example to illustrate my point.
When 100.7 was oldies, the station was allowed to die on the vine. The station received no life-support, the wrong people were in charge and potentially they could have done a lot better and grown profitability earlier. Today, I'm convinced, especially given the resurgence of today's oldies, they could have outperformed their replacement. But what were the events that occurred that can make the resume look better?
If you allow a station to flounder with the intent to replace it with another format, there is a strong potential that the replacement will perform better. Have you ever wondered why stations that seem to get it together are often flipped right at the point? It happened to KOOL because they needed to document improvement and increase in total audience. From a resume perpective to justify the flip, Gary can easily say "increased revenue XX %." But what is not said is the station went jockless for some time and now only has one person on-air. Sure you increase revenue. He then could say, " grew audience to Top 10 target demo." A stretch cracking the Top 10 but I saw someone on this board mention that like it was something big to celebrate. And lastly, he could say "first in Florida (or among the first) to introduce the Moovin' format to Florida." The fact that the format had little track-record and is now being dropped in some markets across the country, will of course not be mentioned.
This is what I mean when I say all of this is a game of survival for those in charge. it usually has little to do with making radio better and more exciting for the listener. Perhaps I'm naive but I believe it's all about the listener.
OK, if we look at 96.9 over the years, can we honestly say that all the decisions made have been correct ones? Certainly not. But my argument involving "if they want you, you are in and if they don't want you, you are out applies. When 96.9 was doing oldies, Pat Garrett as far as I'm concerned had what it took to bring the station to the next level which was to update the sound. He wasn't given the chance as they wanted to take a different direction without him. Apparently, past success means nothing and it's not reward to keep a job and grown into new goals. So they brought in Scott Walker. He was given a playlist and told to make something of it. The station changed because the personality of the station, particularly in AM drive diminished. But this is how Cox operates - keep the music coming and just shut up. And when Eagle was able to fly on it's own, Scott was gone.
And this is how things are done. Sure, it can make the bottom line look better but I'm convinced these type decisions will really hurt radio in the long run.
In prior posts, we have learned that one person programs 4 stations. A great money saver but it doesn't allow for any creativity as there is little time. Not than anyone around here from what I can tell even does it anymore, weekend programming is the same as M-F. I used to enjoy special weekend themes as it was good to hear songs you hadn't heard in a while - no time to do that now. The average listener does not benefit and it continues to remove that emotional bond and incentive to listen longer that I feel is a mistake.
Really, the listener remains underserved. I really wanted to mention this in prior posts about the decisions we experience that just keep chasing a part of a demo. You can put this under the GM goals and I can't really fault any of them for doing this as they are just carrying out orders. But what upsets me is how stations are often set up to fail so they can justify something else to make themselves look good. Again, the average listener is screwed.
We've seen a lot of posts regarding WMUV. Here is a classic example of what is wrong with the current thinking and radio station operation. When I mentioned in an earlier post about GM resume building, here is a classic example to illustrate my point.
When 100.7 was oldies, the station was allowed to die on the vine. The station received no life-support, the wrong people were in charge and potentially they could have done a lot better and grown profitability earlier. Today, I'm convinced, especially given the resurgence of today's oldies, they could have outperformed their replacement. But what were the events that occurred that can make the resume look better?
If you allow a station to flounder with the intent to replace it with another format, there is a strong potential that the replacement will perform better. Have you ever wondered why stations that seem to get it together are often flipped right at the point? It happened to KOOL because they needed to document improvement and increase in total audience. From a resume perpective to justify the flip, Gary can easily say "increased revenue XX %." But what is not said is the station went jockless for some time and now only has one person on-air. Sure you increase revenue. He then could say, " grew audience to Top 10 target demo." A stretch cracking the Top 10 but I saw someone on this board mention that like it was something big to celebrate. And lastly, he could say "first in Florida (or among the first) to introduce the Moovin' format to Florida." The fact that the format had little track-record and is now being dropped in some markets across the country, will of course not be mentioned.
This is what I mean when I say all of this is a game of survival for those in charge. it usually has little to do with making radio better and more exciting for the listener. Perhaps I'm naive but I believe it's all about the listener.
M
MN Maniac
Guest
TommyR said:
When did Chris leave WHTQ? Sorry, but I've been out of the loop for awhile. Migrating back to Minnesota will do that to you!
Chris had been with WHTQ since June, 1991. I know this because I was his replacement at WTRS/Ocala for 7-Midnight.
As far as morning radio in Jax, "DA GREASE" on the Mighty 690 will always be the king!
A
alcapone
Guest
Gee in case know one knows, Chris does mornings on Eagle 96.9 Cox just really goes hole hog promoting their morning people. No one even knows Chris is there. Wow what a shocker. Oh sorry they promote Bubba, the class act he is
Johnjax you’re right on. Corporate does influence decisions made on the local level and sometimes their effects are beyond the control of the GM.
We have also learned Jeff apparently didn’t have fond feelings of the morning show. If errors in judgment happen we swallow our pride acknowledge the mistake and move on. Jeff isn’t a stupid guy and is capable of making any corrections. And with the ratings, Jeff wouldn't have had any objections to the morning show. I just don’t understand all the drama?
Like no other business, egos in the radio are really big and emotions can be a driving force behind the decisions. People are human and prone to making mistakes.. I hate to admit it, but emotions drive decision and we use logic to justify our decisions. Even in the business world this happens more than we know.
We have also learned Jeff apparently didn’t have fond feelings of the morning show. If errors in judgment happen we swallow our pride acknowledge the mistake and move on. Jeff isn’t a stupid guy and is capable of making any corrections. And with the ratings, Jeff wouldn't have had any objections to the morning show. I just don’t understand all the drama?
Like no other business, egos in the radio are really big and emotions can be a driving force behind the decisions. People are human and prone to making mistakes.. I hate to admit it, but emotions drive decision and we use logic to justify our decisions. Even in the business world this happens more than we know.
B
Brother Bear
Guest
vt's right on about Cox and their lack of morning show promotion outside Bubba. They never gave Chris a chance, nor did they do any favors for Mark & Kris at APE (They don't even mention them on their new round of TV spots) or Mark, Genny, & Dahmer when they were at Rock ... they had to make their OWN website to pump up on their own show.
And that Bubba show ... mmm huhh ... keepin' it CLASSY!
And that Bubba show ... mmm huhh ... keepin' it CLASSY!
A
alcapone
Guest
The days are gone when radio corp's promote morning shows. True a music intensive station should be about the music but aside from a few times a day on the station ID Cox never promotes Mark, Chris and Mikey P on WAPE. CC promotes Boomer & Robbie and show them in their TV ad's and no offensive but those guys are older now and I'm not sure that's such a good thing. I do think their TV spots are great though. Even in most major markets the AM personalities aren't promoted. The human touch isn't there anymore it's all geared toward "check us out on the web" mentality. If you ever check most CC websites, have you ever noticed it's almost like they don't want you to contact them. No phone numbers no addresses. Most radio station companies only care about one thing ... themselves. The Mays family, the Renda's ..only care about them. Now that the CC is a done deal the industry will be better without those heartless --------
Now the Clear Channel deal is done, the fun is just about to start!
First thing the deal must be approved by the shareholders.
And if you think the new buyers will come to your rescue? think again! Let’s not forget the new buyers have bought the remains of a radio company. The new buyers financed the deal and are obligated to pay back a big boat load debt. Plus, this is an investment company not a radio company who understands the business. They’ll be led like fools by consultants looking to make a killing. And they’ll be looking for a return on investment or will spin the whole mess to another fool. I’m sure TR is chomping at the bit to buy up what stations he can when this thing flops. The radio industry is in transition.. and at least CC was tested and was better prepared for the future. And they had clout and leverage
These guys don’t know what they don’t know and will be under pressure to pay back the bank.
Better of with the devil you know.
First thing the deal must be approved by the shareholders.
And if you think the new buyers will come to your rescue? think again! Let’s not forget the new buyers have bought the remains of a radio company. The new buyers financed the deal and are obligated to pay back a big boat load debt. Plus, this is an investment company not a radio company who understands the business. They’ll be led like fools by consultants looking to make a killing. And they’ll be looking for a return on investment or will spin the whole mess to another fool. I’m sure TR is chomping at the bit to buy up what stations he can when this thing flops. The radio industry is in transition.. and at least CC was tested and was better prepared for the future. And they had clout and leverage
These guys don’t know what they don’t know and will be under pressure to pay back the bank.
Better of with the devil you know.
You are definitely right about the promotion part...barely a mention of the morning shows on the music stations, of course OKV pimps JMN constantly!!...
And since when were morning show all about being classy??...the Greaseman and Hoyle and Fizz where 'out there' for there day....very good but I dont think classy would describe them
And since when were morning show all about being classy??...the Greaseman and Hoyle and Fizz where 'out there' for there day....very good but I dont think classy would describe them
A
alcapone
Guest
To the listeners Grease and Hoyle might not of been class acts but behind all the toilet humor those two are genius. Bubba and people like Stern are just pigs. If it weren't for Mel Karmazin Stern would still be on WNNNNNNN BC doing his corny juvenile humor.
Everybody might not agree with the content of Stern and the Greaze But in 2008 we’re still talking about the two of them. Stern kept me in the car with the engine off listening to one of his bits. He is a pig but he did what few have ever done. With both personalities and they were just that, I’ve laughed out loud so hard and nearly drove off the highway. Talented people who can entertain with humor always walk a dicey edge of offending someone. Sadly what we have now is mediocrity.
When you hear quotes like “radio has the power to surprise” The above is what they’re talking about. Voice tracking & jocks who do nothing more than intro a song, read the weather or liner don't surprise anyone. They’re like wallpaper and blend in.
When you hear quotes like “radio has the power to surprise” The above is what they’re talking about. Voice tracking & jocks who do nothing more than intro a song, read the weather or liner don't surprise anyone. They’re like wallpaper and blend in.
Ok. I'm confused. Smooth jaz on 92.7? gosple on 93.3? now tell em is this is incorrect. the reason i found this out is from a site called radio station world. they had the streaming links. So i do not live in jax. i'm in orlando. so can someone clarify this for me? no more beat in jax? unless i clicked the wrong link for the stations but i'm pretty sure i clicked the right link. Thanks. that woudl suck if the beat was gone in jax. that was a highly rated station. thx.
Ok. somehow they got there links mixed up on that site.. scared me for a minute. it turns out what happened is that 92.7 has smooth jazz on there hd channel. thought they flipped the beat. sorry for the confusion.
who knew they have HD? And Jazz! I thought Jazz died in Jacksonville.
I REMEMBER WAPE-FM, IN FACT, MOST WILL NOT REMEMBER, BUT BACK WHEN 'APE-FM ' FIRST SIGNED ON UNDER. MARK DRISCOLL, I WAS THE FIRST ON THE AIR, (DR. ZOOM ) I WORKED OVERNIGHTS, (1985, I WAS 26 YRS OLD AND THOUGHT WE WERE THE HOTTEST STATION IN THE WORLD)! AT 12:01 AM WE FLIPPED THE SWITCH. IT WAS HOYLE DEMPSEY, FIZZ' CAME LATER...KANDY KLUTCH, MARCUS AURELIUS (MARK DRISCOLL) CADILLAC JACK , BOBBY OCEAN AND ME (DR. ZOOM)...I AM 49 NOW..LIVING IN DALLAS, TX. FORMERLY (2007) FROM ABC RADIO NETWORKS, I CAN BE SEEN AS YOU GOOGLE: GREG ROBERTS AND CLICK IMAGES, WHERE I AM WEARING A BLACK RADIO JACKET. (BLACK DUDE) I WOULD LIKE TO GET IN TOUCH WITH HOYLE IF ANYONE KNOWS HIS WHEREABOUTS! HE'LL KNOW "DR. ZOOM' FROM THE MID 80'S, I WOULD ALWAYS HANG AROUND THE STUDIO AND HELP WITH THE MORNING SHOW! GOD BLESS YOU HOYLE. [email protected]
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