S
scottstjohn
Guest
So, for the 3rd time I have walked away from radio, specifically Y-102 in Reading. I was part of the morning show and while this was not an easy decision, I did make it.
It's hard for us old guys who grew up listening and then taking part in the radio of the 70's and 80's to get excited listening to a station knowing that a machine is going to do the next seg and more than likely it will be perfect everytime. It's also hard listening to anything past 7pm knowing that more than likely no one is even in the building. Part of the fun of WPRR was listening to Tom Lewis after midnight
Even more fun was being in the building when he was on the air!
One of the most frustrating things for me has been how I have felt so out of place. Radio has not been my full time job for a long time, but I am always looking for new ideas, new ways to be in touch with our audience and be the best we could be. Sadly this fell on deaf ears and it is frustrating to watch something start to fall apart while you sit on the sidelines screaming with ideas on how to stop the downward trend.
I am sure you can imagine how frustrating it can be when you have 22 years in the business and just try to tell your GM of a way we could maybe pick up some more listeners or reinforce the one's we already have - then watch them walk away because you are just a part-timer.
Worse - a couple of years ago a hurricane was racing up the coast and there was concern on what would happen if the studio lost power - what would we do? There was, at the time, no backup of the music or commercials. Being that I am a network engineer/computer programmer I had a server I could donate to cover the station until the hurricane passed.
I told the engineer of my idea and we met at the station where I connected it to the network and made a complete copy of the station music and all the commercials on one machine. I took it home, put it in my basement and made sure my cell phone and regular phone were up loud so I could hear if he called me and needed me. I told him I would meet him at the base of the hill the tower was on and we would have the station back on the air.
Makes sense, right? Well, one week later I received an email telling me that I must now donate that server to corporate because I had information that belong to the company (note - he did not say station, he said company) on it and I was breaking corporate policy. I explained what it was used for and that when the storm passed I would format the drive anyway. No go, they demanded the very server I bought given to them immediately.
You get the point - I had the best interests of the station at heart and that is how I was treated. One of many, but again, I walked again for a 3rd time and I do miss it. But, I miss my time in Altoona, Johnstown and State College the most.
If you guys want, I am doing a podcast now: www.scottah.com where I do a daily, 30 minute show the way I want to. It is a release for me
Sorry for the long post.
-Scott
It's hard for us old guys who grew up listening and then taking part in the radio of the 70's and 80's to get excited listening to a station knowing that a machine is going to do the next seg and more than likely it will be perfect everytime. It's also hard listening to anything past 7pm knowing that more than likely no one is even in the building. Part of the fun of WPRR was listening to Tom Lewis after midnight
Even more fun was being in the building when he was on the air!One of the most frustrating things for me has been how I have felt so out of place. Radio has not been my full time job for a long time, but I am always looking for new ideas, new ways to be in touch with our audience and be the best we could be. Sadly this fell on deaf ears and it is frustrating to watch something start to fall apart while you sit on the sidelines screaming with ideas on how to stop the downward trend.
I am sure you can imagine how frustrating it can be when you have 22 years in the business and just try to tell your GM of a way we could maybe pick up some more listeners or reinforce the one's we already have - then watch them walk away because you are just a part-timer.
Worse - a couple of years ago a hurricane was racing up the coast and there was concern on what would happen if the studio lost power - what would we do? There was, at the time, no backup of the music or commercials. Being that I am a network engineer/computer programmer I had a server I could donate to cover the station until the hurricane passed.
I told the engineer of my idea and we met at the station where I connected it to the network and made a complete copy of the station music and all the commercials on one machine. I took it home, put it in my basement and made sure my cell phone and regular phone were up loud so I could hear if he called me and needed me. I told him I would meet him at the base of the hill the tower was on and we would have the station back on the air.
Makes sense, right? Well, one week later I received an email telling me that I must now donate that server to corporate because I had information that belong to the company (note - he did not say station, he said company) on it and I was breaking corporate policy. I explained what it was used for and that when the storm passed I would format the drive anyway. No go, they demanded the very server I bought given to them immediately.
You get the point - I had the best interests of the station at heart and that is how I was treated. One of many, but again, I walked again for a 3rd time and I do miss it. But, I miss my time in Altoona, Johnstown and State College the most.
If you guys want, I am doing a podcast now: www.scottah.com where I do a daily, 30 minute show the way I want to. It is a release for me
Sorry for the long post.
-Scott