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Reflections

J

jboyd

At the end of another year, the old man cannot refrain from things of the past: Namely...
When the local station was owned by your neighbor, or at least by the guy across town.
When you could call in to a request show, and they would actually play your request.
When the weather forecast was current, with temperature, current conditions...
When you could call the radio station and get a real person
They had obits because the paper was weekly...
Local sports coverage was a must!
If you could not go to church, listen to the local service live!
The radio was the first stop in emergencies to respond, and do fundraisers for the victims...
The first stop for the school annual staff was the radio station.
The Ole "trading Post" was just that..Thankfully...We still do...Merry Christmas All! JBI
 
Not sure radio has changed for the better.But it is what it is.Operators like you are rare today and it's a pity. You kept the local in radio,one big reason for your success.May you have a Blessed Merry Christmas.
And a GR8 2012...ray
 
Please don't take offense to what I'm about to say but I really get tired of seeing nothing but "back in my day we..." posts on here. It seems like all we talk about here is what radio was like years ago and how it should return to those ways (to a degree I agree), etc. However, the reality is this:

It ain't happening.

Radio was great back when it was live. I can remember growing up and listening to the local news and weather every morning on WHOC-AM on my way to school. The name of the morning host escapes me but he had as perfect of a radio voice as I have heard to this day. Deep, authoritative and concise. Now WHOC, like many other small town AM and FM stations, is mostly if not entire automated and on the bird.

It's a shame but it's the reality of the business.

And that's the thing: Radio is a business. I know that the FCC defines it as a "service to the community of license" but far be it for the owner of the station to want to make a few bucks so he can feed his family and put a little back in savings for retirement. They simply don't have the money available to have local personalities and hosts on their stations at all times. They have to go with recorded weather, syndication and automation in order to make ends meet.

Most of the time they do well just to make the ends touch.

As for corporate owners, well, they're a whole other breed. They don't care about the communities in which they have stations. They don't care about funeral announcements, tell it and sell it or anything else like that. In all honesty, most people under 50 find that stuff hokey anyway and tune out when they hear something like that. They're going to do what they have to do in order to make a profit so that they can show their shareholders that they are using the money that they (the shareholders) have invested into their company.

Again, that's how business works.

The days of radio being done simply as a community service are gone. The lights have to stay on somehow and the reality is that it isn't cheap. Plus it's nice to make a few dollars so that they owner can enjoy a decent living. Unfortunately that often means that he can't hire many people to work with him but that's what he has to do in order to protect his livelihood. I can promise you they don't like it but with voice tracking and syndication being so available and cost effective, they often don't have a choice.

If you don't like how your local radio station is being run, make the owner an offer. Maybe he'll sell it to you if the price is right and then you can run it as you see fit. If you run it with live jocks /hosts 24/7 and such as many of you want, you'll find out quickly that you simply can't stay in business. Don't be surprised if you quickly sell.

Again, that's just the reality of today's radio.

I'm not saying that I agree with everything. I certainly don't. However, I get it and understand why it is the way it is.

Jonathan
 
I'm sorry, but are you lecturing Mr. Ingram on how to run a business? Not wise. The point JBI is making is not that the old ways are lost, but that his stations still do them and they still work.
 
robgrayson said:
I'm sorry, but are you lecturing Mr. Ingram on how to run a business? Not wise. The point JBI is making is not that the old ways are lost, but that his stations still do them and he cares enough about his community, his clients, and his stations to make sure they still work.
Click to expand...
 
Sorry for the redundant posting. I'm not lecturing you either. I'm no Polyanna. Few people who have worked in radio in the past couple of decades have escaped being a "vicitim" of the way things are now. The ones that are still in power positions seem to be playing musical chairs, lucky to grab an open spot when the music stops, or out on their cans with no place to go when they don't. When I worked for Sirius, I used to get a chuckle out of the fact that my little recording studio made more actual profit than their mighty corporation did (by a factor of millions, if I recall correctly; they were losing millions of dollars, I was making tens of dollars.)

But there are those out there who didn't lose their heads with greed and buy more than they could afford to run. Not many, but a few.
 
robgrayson said:
I'm sorry, but are you lecturing Mr. Ingram on how to run a business? Not wise. The point JBI is making is not that the old ways are lost, but that his stations still do them and they still work.
Click to expand...

My post wasn't directed at anyone in particular, I was ranting in general. I get so sick and tired of the same posts coming through with every thread. I'm glad that Mr. Ingram can make it being local but he's in the minority. The vast majority can't. It simply isn't always feasible.

Like I said, I don't like it but I get it. Having rescently seen a great owner have to pull the plug on local programming and go on the bird because he wouldn't be able to stay in business otherwise, I won't ridicule anyone for doing what they have to do. Unfortunately too many people here don't agree and will fuss and moan about how the owner doesn't care about the town, they're greedy, etc.

If that's the way you react, shame on you. You obviously don't get it.
 
Silly me! But taken in context, you just picked a thread which began with a savvy operator who didn't get in over his head and buy more stations than he could afford to run, and indirectly relegated folks like him to the over-the-hill-and-out-of touch pile.

You may not have meant him, but you chose his thread to set up your scenario. My mistake, I'm sorry. Merry Christmas!
 
jo-nathan said:
Please don't take offense to what I'm about to say but
Click to expand...
Not taking offense, but I am taking umbrage.
I very much understand JBI's post....which indicated to me that while many stations have changed how they do business, there are still stations among us who are successful by doing what they have always done, served the local community, employing local people, and with a strong local management/ownership presence. I did not perceive the post to be nostalgic melancholy. Merry Christmas....
 
I love talking about the old days. If you don't like it, you can just "change the channel." Merry Christmas. Especially to you, JBI.
 
Guys there are no more "old days". That is very depressing but a fact of life as we know it on the radio. Making a living with local radio is becoming harder day in and day out.
 
Kind of a sharp turn from the subject, but reflecting takes me back to the mid 70's, in Starkville. First Christmas morning as a married on-air guy. Signed the station on at 5AM, ten degrees outside. Absolutely knowing NOBODY is up listening, but did the shift. These days, voicetracking takes that out, as well as the dj. I'm thankful for coming along at a time to have had that job, and to be able to survive in a business I'm pretty fond of, in spite of the adjustmants that have occured. As I go into year 39 (dang, had to use a calculator for that) of radio, I'd like to wish my buddies of broadcasting a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

I saved so much postage this way.
 
I take neither offense or umbrage. That said, having worked MANY years ago with J. Boyd, I can say I have much respect for him. I remember few people from those years, but J. Boyd is still crisp and clear in my mind. I agree with what he had to say...
 
tzbarber said:
Kind of a sharp turn from the subject, but reflecting takes me back to the mid 70's, in Starkville. First Christmas morning as a married on-air guy. Signed the station on at 5AM, ten degrees outside. Absolutely knowing NOBODY is up listening, but did the shift. These days, voicetracking takes that out, as well as the dj. I'm thankful for coming along at a time to have had that job, and to be able to survive in a business I'm pretty fond of, in spite of the adjustmants that have occured. As I go into year 39 (dang, had to use a calculator for that) of radio, I'd like to wish my buddies of broadcasting a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

I saved so much postage this way.
Click to expand...

I too did those 5 AM shifts at WSSO on holidays; for me it was in the late 70's. It was kinda lonely without Starkville High in session.

Merry Christmas to all.

Bob
 
Guess what...Dr. Bob just left the station following a nice visit. We are in the process of installing some new equipment ...hopes he comes back again at another time for a tour when things get back to normal (?)....best to you, Dr. JBI
 
It's just one of two new automation systems that we are in stalling...but it requires massive rewiring, and a new learning curve to make it click....come on! JBI
 
Thanks for the kind words and your time catching up on things J Boyd. I wish you the best on getting the new automation squared away.

It sure was great seeing a successful small market station with some of the old (45's in colored paper sleeves & cart machines) and some of the new (PC automation).

Bob
 
Wow - Bwana Jimmy?
I grew up in Waynesboro - my family owns WABO there. Used to hear Jimmy on WJDQ - one of my radio heroes.

Anyway, yes, the glory days of radio before de-regulation turned radio from being an artform to strictly money.

I am the GM at WUSM, USM's station in Hattiesburg, and I teach radio production when I am not writing my dissertation. I urge my students to bring actual personalities back to radio; personalities is the only thing that differentiates the radio from an iPod.
 
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