Radio Personnel Unite!

[bub]

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 don't know if this is a virtue or not but I'm pretty much in the same boat as the above-quoted. While I'm still in the business, it's only a part of my life, not my life.

 

[The Beave]

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.

Rob,
You just justified the reason for overnight, & Weekend staffing and ACTUALLY having a breathing board op in the station at night. The babysitters can do the job until the news department and other staff show up.

A thankless job but a a needed one, that some consider NOT worth $9.00 - $14.00/hr

 

[beatlenut]

While I'm still in the business, it's only a part of my life, not my life.

That's just it. Radio expects you to "live the lifestyle", or "eat, sleep, and breathe radio" to be able to work in it. That's fine if you're just getting out of high school. But if radio is not paying you to live the lifestyle, it's impossible to do. You have to have two or sometimes three jobs. And then Radio is upset with you because you can't give them what they want. I had an OM get mad with me because I wouldn't work for him on my vacation! Well, if you thought that much of me, why wasn't I given the raise I asked for? You give and give and give some more, thinking management is going to see you as a team player, a valuable asset to the company. But they only want more, and you mean no more to them than the kid just getting out of high school. On my last job interview, I admitted that I don't listen to radio on a regular basis. The PD was shocked! I can't afford to listen to the radio! I'm too busy trying to figure out how I'm going to feed my family!

 

[TheBigA]

What happened in Minot, ND was pure incompetence and hopefully lessons were learned so it won't happen again.

I'm not sure what you mean. There were Congressional hearings about that, and they concluded that the real error was with local emergency officials. They're the ones who are responsible, not some overnight guy at a radio station. If they put improper information on the air, it could cause panic or over-reaction.

 

[TheBigA]

That's just it. Radio expects you to "live the lifestyle", or "eat, sleep, and breathe radio" to be able to work in it. That's fine if you're just getting out of high school. But if radio is not paying you to live the lifestyle, it's impossible to do.

[/quote]

If you're waiting for someone to pay you lots of money to have fun, it's not going to happen. It's been my experience that the people who get paid the most in radio are the ones who do the kinds of work most people don't want to do, like ask people for money. Or deal with the bill collectors, the stock holders, and the pains in the ass.

 

[radiorob2.0]

What happened in Minot, ND was pure incompetence and hopefully lessons were learned so it won't happen again.

I'm not sure what you mean. There were Congressional hearings about that, and they concluded that the real error was with local emergency officials. They're the ones who are responsible, not some overnight guy at a radio station. If they put improper information on the air, it could cause panic or over-reaction.

Whatever, you have an opinion and I have mine. I'm too tired to argue.

 

[firepoint525]

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?

I read those celebrity news items over the air on our automated FM station, and I had people calling in to complain about it! I didn't like those stupid stories myself, but the GM required us to read them! : Your theories are wrong here. I know people who worked their entire broadcasting careers in one or two local small towns, close enough to each other that you could still find them merely by switching the dial! And I am only 45 years old (effective my next birthday) so I certainly know it's happened within the past 50 years! :

 

[firepoint525]

What happened in Minot, ND was pure incompetence and hopefully lessons were learned so it won't happen again.

I'm not sure what you mean. There were Congressional hearings about that, and they concluded that the real error was with local emergency officials. They're the ones who are responsible, not some overnight guy at a radio station. If they put improper information on the air, it could cause panic or over-reaction.

Earlier in this thread, you said the townspeople would not hear any information put over the air, because they would be asleep! Now you're saying if an overnight guy put some faulty information over the air, it would cause panic and disruption. So which is it?

 

[TheBigA]

So which is it?

Read the Congressional hearings on this.

 

[bub]

Radio expects you to "live the lifestyle", or "eat, sleep, and breathe radio" to be able to work in it. That's fine if you're just getting out of high school. But if radio is not paying you to live the lifestyle, it's impossible to do. You have to have two or sometimes three jobs. And then Radio is upset with you because you can't give them what they want. I had an OM get mad with me because I wouldn't work for him on my vacation! Well, if you thought that much of me, why wasn't I given the raise I asked for? You give and give and give some more, thinking management is going to see you as a team player, a valuable asset to the company. But they only want more, and you mean no more to them than the kid just getting out of high school. On my last job interview, I admitted that I don't listen to radio on a regular basis. The PD was shocked! I can't afford to listen to the radio! I'm too busy trying to figure out how I'm going to feed my family!

Been there, done that. I remember even with radio I was holding down as many as 4 jobs at once...and unlike you, I'm not married. My heart goes out to you, though. In my case, I don't listen to the radio much because, quite simply, there's nothing on the radio to listen to. Where I work at now, I don't listen to them because what I do on my own time is my own damn business.