Radio Personnel Unite!

[oldies5161]

Buddy..you can be my Les Nesman anytime.. I was never fired for a younger , less experienced jock..but did get canned for farting on the air..5:30 AM...who's listening anyway ?? ..uugghh,,the owner..i think buntin got them to hire me back..but i'm not sure..so much of the 70's were a blurrr, as i remember..or rather try to.. ;D

So thats why there was always a brown cloud hovering in the control room @ WHIN when you were on the air. ;D

 

[olebud]

]I was never fired for a younger , less experienced jock..but did get canned for farting on the air..5:30 AM...who's listening anyway ?? ..uugghh,,the owner..i think buntin got them to hire me back..but i'm not sure..so much of the 70's were a blurrr, as i remember..or rather try to.. [/quote

Pat >>>>>>>>> maybe it was the blurrrrr....and the "who's listening anyway at 5:30" attitude was not the one to have. There was a lot of fun...but not at the cost of our careers. It was still a job, but a fun job and you had to know the difference and not cross the line. I would have fired you for that trick.....and Buntin would not have been able to help.

me, Les Nessman ----- you gotta be kidding

 

[deltas69]

i was too young and stupid to know about crossing the line..actually i didn't do it on purpose..happened in the middle of an intro..kinda made a refference to it not thinking much about it..next thing i know..buntins calling and wanting to know if i'm farting on the air..denied it of course..but the die had been cast since tommy perkins was listining..if i hadn't made a reference to it..never would have been noticed..funny now and as previous post echoed..would have garnered a big salery in today's raunch market..guess that means i was 35 years ahead of my time..lol...me, Les Nessman ----- you gotta be kidding as for this..i only love the ones i kid.......or something like that.. ;D

 

[olebud]

me, Les Nessman ----- you gotta be kidding

Everyone who knows me well knows I can't get a line straight enough to make me an office. I'd have to get someone else to do itl Plus, I know nothing about the pig market.

 

[deltas69]

i can tell you all you need to know about hog futures..if your a hog..your future is breakfast..ham, saugage,bacon..and at our age..we should both be in bed...g'night ..

 

[The Beave]

Radio stations are being run by corporate suits who don't understand that if they want to make money, they have to hire qualified staff at a rate higher than the poverty level. They run to the nearest corner, hire the cheapest and least inexperienced kid they can find, who in turn hires more kids like him because they are cheap and they can't intimidate their boss. These kids are scared to hire the experienced talent because we are better than they are (the latter part is generalized, there are talented people younger than the dinosaurs).

How difficult would it be to get a union in this market? With options dwindling and pay decreasing, we need to band together and bring the standards back up. Not only in this market, but in others as well. Corporate America is taking advantage of us. We need to fight back. It can be done if enough of us are willing to take a chance.

Davy,

Check to see if Tennessee is a right to work state. The last time I was there (1993) it was not.
I'm in North Dakota after a run through the Phoenix, Tucson sprinkler of heat, and "Right to workism"
ND is a right to work state with many unions still around. I wonder being there is several IATSE AFL-CIO and AFM
locals that if it would be possible JOIN the Nashville Local.

Contact:
NASHVILLE Randall Himes, Executive Director-Nashville Local AFTRA
P.O. Box 121087
1108 17th Avenue South
Nashville, TN 37212
(615) 327-2944
(615) 329-2803 fax
[email protected]

 

[firepoint525]

Tennessee is a right-to-work state.

 

[beatlenut]

i was too young and stupid to know about crossing the line...buntins calling and wanting to know if i'm farting on the air..denied it of course..

I was 16 and still at my first station when they changed to talk. I was part-time weekends, but wanted to take a stab at talk radio. I knew nothing about everything, but being in market #161, it really didn't matter. So in the middle of talking to a caller, I let out this huge burp. The PD heard it and called me on it. I apologized to her, but she said, "Well, you should have said you were sorry on the air, and not 'Good Coke'."

Live and learn.

 

[Mike Sheridan]

Learn what? That dumb people can't take a joke? Jeeze I would have laughed along with you on that one!

I figured out a long time ago that I loved radio but it didn't love me back. There were a few good stations and I was lucky to get as far as I did. I did better than lots of my friends but that didn't get me a house until age 35 after I left radio for awhile and got a real job.

Somebody say 95% ego and 5% are crazy? I guess I'm in the crazy category. I think having a big ego in radio is dumb! I just wanted to play the hits and have some fun!

 

[beatlenut]

I figured out a long time ago that I loved radio but it didn't love me back.

I saw Sonny Bono on David Letterman in 1987. David asked him why he left show business. Sonny said, "I didn't leave show business. Show business left me." No one can argue Bono's talent, it's just that Cher was better received, so Sonny gets a big laugh when his name gets mentioned.

Somebody say 95% ego and 5% are crazy? I guess I'm in the crazy category. I think having a big ego in radio is dumb! I just wanted to play the hits and have some fun!

I agree. Although I probably had a pretty big ego between year #1 and year #4. And I've clashed with a few program directors, especially female program directors. They seemed to be the laziest for some reason. I can't say that for all, because I haven't worked for them all. But the ones I worked for always got pissy about things. Barbara Britches hates me to this day, and the saddest part is, she doesn't even know why. Sarge tried to build up his ego by making a comment comparing him to me. He's very talented; I just didn't realize he was that insecure. I guess we're all insecure. That's why we're in radio.

 

[roadrunner]

I cannot stand it when stations let a computer do all the work. Try listening to The River (or probably any other station) in the middle of the night. Some pre-recorded voice says, "New Music.....Now" ...............well wtf song is it? who sings it? Can't tell us because, well, that would require a live human being saying it. Of course they can't have a prerecorded voice say what the song is or who sings it because that would be too much trouble. Easier, (and cheaper) just to have the prerecorded voice say "new music...now". Well who cares. And voicetracking. It's so obvious. I know when someone is 1000 miles away in a studio somewhere talking after a song has been played. And I know that it was prerecorded 7 or 8 hours before hand. Do they ever say "give is a call if you want to hear something"? Is there ever a "live" dj if you call the station? Probably not 90 percent of the time. Radio has gotten so impersonal, so computerized, so terrible that I don't even want to listen anymore. You need to have more than just good music with a station. I suppose Jack FM may be an exception, but more and more I'm getting tired of his voice coming on between songs along with listener's comments (although some are funny). All I can say is radio has gone downhill from what it was in the 80's.

 

[romer979fm]

And voicetracking. It's so obvious.

not when it's done corrrectly

 

[knoxbob]

More obvious than not:
Like when they say call with your request and you get an answering machine or voice mail.
When they do the weather and don't mention current conditions or area temps.
The only time they mention anything relevant is when they are reading a liner card for a remote.

 

[deltas69]

they are reading a liner card for a remote. as for remotes..doesn't the jock at the remote phone it in and have it recorded..so when it's played..it's not in real time? why even show up ? you can phone in the talking points from the next cubical..or is that already being done..a "virtual remote"?

 

[firepoint525]

I cannot stand it when stations let a computer do all the work. Try listening to The River (or probably any other station) in the middle of the night. Some pre-recorded voice says, "New Music.....Now" ...............well wtf song is it? who sings it? Can't tell us because, well, that would require a live human being saying it. Of course they can't have a prerecorded voice say what the song is or who sings it because that would be too much trouble. Easier, (and cheaper) just to have the prerecorded voice say "new music...now". Well who cares. And voicetracking. It's so obvious. I know when someone is 1000 miles away in a studio somewhere talking after a song has been played. And I know that it was prerecorded 7 or 8 hours before hand. Do they ever say "give is a call if you want to hear something"? Is there ever a "live" dj if you call the station? Probably not 90 percent of the time. Radio has gotten so impersonal, so computerized, so terrible that I don't even want to listen anymore. You need to have more than just good music with a station. I suppose Jack FM may be an exception, but more and more I'm getting tired of his voice coming on between songs along with listener's comments (although some are funny). All I can say is radio has gone downhill from what it was in the 80's.

Lightning 100 does have a prerecorded voice telling you what you just heard (I believe it's David Hall, y'all! ;D) whenever they promote any of their new music. And the best part is they back-announce it! Listen for Laurel (the voice of Team Green) to front-announce what you are about to hear. But you still must listen for David at the end, to give you the actual title.

 

[firepoint525]

More obvious than not:
Like when they say call with your request and you get an answering machine or voice mail.
When they do the weather and don't mention current conditions or area temps.
The only time they mention anything relevant is when they are reading a liner card for a remote.

I listen to WKOM out of Columbia quite a bit, even though the signal is not all that great from here in Pegram/Bellevue, but they are the only oldies station I can get anymore! :'(

Anyway, they give an 800 number that you can call in for requests, never a local number! And they give out the website classichitsradioonline.com or something like that. (I believe you must enter a zip code before it will even let you in! Another important clue!)

Some more clues to listen for: does the announcer constantly talk about celebrity "news" or what's on television tonight (instead of anything of local interest)? Do they throw it to a local meteorologist for the weather forecast? (Some stations that are local also do this.) And most importantly, is the announcer too "good" for the market? Columbia, Tennessee, can't pay enough to attract such "engaging" announcers! : If they went local, they would have high school kids working on the air for them! And they would sound like high school kids, too! If the station were truly local, the announcers would be people you might know personally in your local community, particularly in a small town. (Someone you went to high school with, for example.) Remember, in small towns, everyone knows everyone else! If your satellite announcer is from 1000 miles away, it is going to be even more obvious on small-town radio!

 

[TheBigA]

If the station were truly local, the announcers would be people you might know personally in your local community, particularly in a small town. (Someone you went to high school with, for example.)

I really think that changed 50 years ago, when DJs traveled from town to town, seeking out better pay or moving up to bigger markets.

There are very few local DJs who actually grew up in the towns where they live. And very few actually stay in the same town their entire career. And that situation isn't unique to radio. Lots of people in other occupations move around the country. It's why regional accepts are starting to disappear.

The reality is that we don't live in small towns any more. TV and the internet have changed all that. We can see other parts of the country instantly, and know what's going on in New Orleans or New York as easily as what's going on down the street. The music we listen to is all national, and can be heard on cable TV channels or the internet.

So forcing radio into a small box, requiring them to talk about or focus only on things happening in a small town ignores the majority of things people in the audience are interested in. If everyone in town watches American Idol, why should a DJ in Iowa ignore it only because it didn't happen in Iowa or there isn't a local angle?

 

[beatlenut]

The reality is that we don't live in small towns any more. TV and the internet have changed all that. The music we listen to is all national, and can be heard on cable TV channels or the internet.

So forcing radio into a small box, requiring them to talk about or focus only on things happening in a small town ignores the majority of things people in the audience are interested in.

So what happened to the theory that in order to compete with XM and "cable radio", the local stations would have to sound more local??? Why listen to a local station to get what XM doesn't have if the local stations don't have it, either?

 

[TheBigA]

So what happened to the theory that in order to compete with XM and "cable radio", the local stations would have to sound more local??? Why listen to a local station to get what XM doesn't have if the local stations don't have it, either?

Because you don't have to pay $12.95 a month for local radio.

I think the lack of success by satellite radio over the last two years has made them a non-entity in terms of competition. I think consumers have considered the choices, and they're satisfied with what they either get or don't get from radio. Or they're not dis-satisfied enough to spend $12.95 a month for it.

Having said that, it is still obvious that there still is a lot of local radio being done around the country, with local DJs talking about local things. But I find it interesting that Jack in Nashville does none of those things, and they're one of the highest rated stations in town.

The fact remains that the biggest competition to local radio today is other local radio stations.

 

[radiorob2.0]

Here is a scenario:

Airstaff: "We want a better deal or we strike!"
Mgt: "I'll hire a high school kid to manage the computer." (Translation: "Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out!")

AFTRA has been useless especially in the last dozen years. Even the 1967 strike did little as management was able to keep things going. If you have a moment read John Rook's experience as a fill-in employee at WABC, it's an interesting read. http://www.johnrook.com/johnrookwlsbound.htm. Ten years later the airstaff of WPGC went on strike, management replaced all of them. So good luck in uniting.

As far as the attitude, "Don't like it, buy your own station!", good luck. The purchase of an existing frequency is likely to cost six to seven figures for in some cases, nothing more than a license and maybe an old transmitter, the rest is up to you and the amount of debt your willing to assume. The other option is to dig through the red tape to for a new frequency. Thanks to a sentence John McCain added to a budget bill it's now an auction process, so you will have to lay down six to seven figures and hope it is more than others bidding. That's assuming a frequency is available that hasn't been gobbled up by a church so they can import out of town "teaching" programs through a translator.

Finally, the comment about people are asleep late at night is hores**t. There is this concept called shift work so a tornado, an anhydrous ammonia leak, or any other nasty event is just as relevant at 2am as it is at 2pm because not everyone is asleep. What happened in Minot, ND was pure incompetence and hopefully lessons were learned so it won't happen again. But then again where I live hasn't learned its lesson. My neck of the woods has little local TV coverage of my community and the ten local radio signals are pretty much useless for information. We just wait until the local paper is delivered and then follow along as the radio "news person" reads it word for word later in the morning. In other words, we fend for ourselves.