• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

ONE WAY LAYOFFS COULD WORK IN RADIO'S FAVOR

Z

za-rex

Guest
Let's face it. Not all the layoffs that have happened have been good for the stations involved. None of them have been good for the people involved. However I think anyone with any connection to the business, past or present, knows a lot of people got in and managed to stay in that really have little to offer but elbow grease and the willingness to work for less. If layoffs have to happen, wouldn't radio benefit if the talented ones are not touched by them because they are the ones having a positive effect on what their stations sound like? I'm not belittling the other people who are along for the ride as when times are good, it's good to have them. Times are not good though and even though the true talents are making more money and it's easier to save more by letting them go, why not concentrate the layoffs on the others. I know the ones who keep their jobs would have to assume more duties, but be honest, how much work is there really to do after your shift when you have support people? So the ones that keep their jobs take on more duties and work harder. Hello?? Welcome to the real world. I'm not belittling the others but the proof of the pudding is what comes out over the air and that has to begin with the personalities who are making a difference. Do I sound too harsh here or am I not explaining it the right way?
 
za-rex said:
Let's face it. Not all the layoffs that have happened have been good for the stations involved. None of them have been good for the people involved. However I think anyone with any connection to the business, past or present, knows a lot of people got in and managed to stay in that really have little to offer but elbow grease and the willingness to work for less. If layoffs have to happen, wouldn't radio benefit if the talented ones are not touched by them because they are the ones having a positive effect on what their stations sound like? I'm not belittling the other people who are along for the ride as when times are good, it's good to have them. Times are not good though and even though the true talents are making more money and it's easier to save more by letting them go, why not concentrate the layoffs on the others. I know the ones who keep their jobs would have to assume more duties, but be honest, how much work is there really to do after your shift when you have support people? So the ones that keep their jobs take on more duties and work harder. Hello?? Welcome to the real world. I'm not belittling the others but the proof of the pudding is what comes out over the air and that has to begin with the personalities who are making a difference. Do I sound too harsh here or am I not explaining it the right way?
Click to expand...

I can't buy into that theory in the year 2009. New positions are not being opened because of layoffs and firings. Local music directors, sales managers, and program directors are being fired, but instead of "underlings" being promoted for less salary, these positions are being handed off to managers and directors in other markets. Personalities are being fired and being replaced with syndicated programming. What we're seeing in the industry are PERMANANT losses of jobs throughout the country. What up and coming talent are you seeing be offered positions in the RI market or other markets as "veterans" are being laid off and fired?
 
I'm not in favor of the layoff decisions made over the last year when it comes to personalities, but given that it's happened, you'd have to let go a whole lot of underlings to save the same kind of money. Going along with the theory that people having a direct effect on the on-air product are the only ones not touched, it means producers, board ops, etc are the ones gone. Then it's 1980 again & drive time personalities are doubling as board ops & morning teams do 6 day work weeks. And as far as implying there really isn't a lot of work to be done after a shift, what about show prep for morning people? The Internet has made prep easier, but the days of grabbing a USA Today & Projo on the way in are gone if you want to stay current & relevant. Prep for a morning show, including any production needed for it, isn't something that can be done in 15 minutes. Corporate ownership may have resulted in the necessity of a lot of duties and positions that weren't needed before consolidation, but the fact is there's a need for the so-called underlings now. The whole situation is ridiculous. The main thing radio has going for it besides the music is the personalities & they're the ones being looked at as expendable. The current situation is not acceptable, but neither is za-rex's solution.
 
Let's look at the REAL question here, where do you get a job ANYWHERE if you lose a radio job? It's not like a guy or girl with 25 years on-air experience is going to post their broadcasting resume on Monster.com or Career Builder, and pick up something else up right away. Your heart has to be broken for these people. Is radio announcer even a category on those sites? There isn't anything available anywhere. I thank the Lord above for every day that ends with me still employed. Not that long ago, you could get something part-time to supplement your unemployment until things opened up a little. Even weekend radio jobs were available. Now, there aren't even retail jobs to go to anymore. I read all the time on this site of people complaining about the lack of radio opportunities in RI radio. You guys sound like the damned East Providence teachers. You can't get blood out of a stone :mad:
 
When you say employed, i'm assuming you mean more than just the one Sunday shift in radio. But yes, NO ONE is hiring. Someone told me a few weeks ago..."I'm glad i'm not in radio with these layoffs." Not a smart thing to say...EVERYONE is cutting, not just radio...not even close.

On a side note....If you are listening to radio on the web and your listening to a Vt'ed shift, how can you be listening LIVE on the web.
 
RadioNut said:
On a side note....If you are listening to radio on the web and your listening to a Vt'ed shift, how can you be listening LIVE on the web.
Click to expand...

Only takes one side of that equation to be live, the listener. So unless you are a zombie risen from the dead, you are listening live on the web.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom