Texas Radio Hall of Fame Voting is going on

[little1]

There IS a bigger point here, that it's normally been the talent who gets in the TRHoF, just as it was the talent who got all the accolades over the years. I'd like to see some engineers, board operators, producers and others get inducted.

No argument that some of those people are deserving, but it's much harder to quantify what if anything they contribute to a successful show. And arguably those same people could DETRACT from a show, and we might never know it.

Let's take Kraddick as an example, and use the first job from your list. Maybe his engineers are great, and kidd says "I Want to do this (broadcast live, hook up a sat interview,etc) " and they make it happen. And perhaps he says "I want to do this" and they say "Nope, no can do".

Do we elect somebody just on the basis of the resume? "Well, he was an egineer for Bo and Jim in the 90's, bummed around various places for a couple of years, then worked for Kraddick in the '00's, 2 successful shows, yeah, he's worthy". That doesn't take into account AT ALL whether that person actually contributed to the show, whether they helped or hurt the show, etc.

And did people tune into Chapman (for example) because he had a good board op or producer, or because he was 'relatable', knew how to tell a joke, etc etc...

If it's the latter (Which i think it was) do you elect someone to a HOF based on that talent of the person they worked for? Again, aren't we talking the soft bigotry of low expectations? As in, "you don't have to be talented yourself to get into the HOF, you just have to have worked for someone talented".

Best case scenario it would be like tha academy awards- where the technical awards get awarded in a seperate ceremony, in elections voted on only by people in that speciality-

but good luck making that happen-

 

[busyradioguy]

Sorry Little1, but your example with Kidd stinks to high heaven.

You have to factor in WHY the engineer says "No can do". It could be budgetary, technical or any other number of possible reasons.

 

[busyradioguy]

WHy is BIG 2 Bashing/"Slamming" on Little 1?
Little 1 hasnt done anything youve said
so far. Or Do anything youve said he does...
If your gunna bash/"slam" on some one at least have
proof behind what your saying

Personally I think it may have something to do with Little1's confession awhile back, that he's close to retirement, and only worries about his retirement financial plans. This suggests he doesn't really care about much else, and isn't exactly the best impression to leave for your colleagues.

 

[little1]

Sorry Little1, but your example with Kidd stinks to high heaven.

You have to factor in WHY the engineer says "No can do". It could be budgetary, technical or any other number of possible reasons.

Exactly.

I heard Russ bitching about his engineers the other day, why they couldn't get something fixed for him, why he didn't have a digital board, blah blah blah.

Is that guy a bad engineer (and therefore not worthy of going into a HOF) or is there some other reason why they can't do what Russ wants.

Thanks for prooving my point- that it's very hard for 'outsiders' to know if an 'insider", (like a producer board op or enginner) is doing a good job. We're not privy to the nuts and bolts.

But a job of a DJ is to be entertaining, to get an audience. We CAN all judge that pretty easily- did they get ratings, were they successful, are they HOF worthy, etc...

So we're back to my point- that there are producers, b-ops, engineers, and yes, even traffic reporters who might be deserving of a HOF nod. But it's much harder to judge them. It's much harder to judge what that person added (or how they detracted) from a successful radio show/station...

 

[MikeShannon914]

OK, this is where the whole process gets dicey. Even with the talent that's nominated, how do I know what kind of personality Don Couser is? What contributions Sam Pate made? And any other examples like that. I know that's one reason why Larry Shannon breaks down the voting results by region...and it's usually 35% DFW, and the rest carved into 10-15% groups for Houston, San Antonio, etc. There were complaints early on that DFW is over-represented in the TRHoF, and I believe that's why he publishes those numbers. Larry can't control that most TRHoF voters happen to come from DFW. Really, that's a result of the KFJZ reunion Larry put together in 2000...that's when serious talk of doing a Hall of Fame came to fruition, amidst a big group of DFW radio notables.

It's not a perfect system. It really can't be. It may be that, for example, Don Couser had tons of great years at KONO and set the town on fire in San Antonio, but my only knowledge of him is just through reading R-I posts. I might vote for Cat Simon instead, even though his total years and contributions to the industry might pale greatly in comparison to Don's. But I listened to Cat, and I know what he did here in DFW, and might decide for myself that he's one of the best candidates.

That's why I think the bio's of each nominee should be published. I know years of experience or employment in a large market doesn't always equal success, but it'd be nice to know more about the who, what, where, etc before casting votes. A guy like Joe Leonard that owned l'il ol' KGAF in Gainesville for many years might be the most deserving person on the list, but he'll be overlooked for the popular names, the big talent names, etc that may be "perceived" to be more deserving. I don't know. ???

 

[little1]

Personally I think it may have something to do with Little1's confession awhile back, that he's close to retirement, and only worries about his retirement financial plans. This suggests he doesn't really care about much else, and isn't exactly the best impression to leave for your colleagues.

That's not exactly what I said.
For the record- we were discussing a claim that radio is SLOWLY losing audience. I basically said that it won't effect me if it's slowly losing audience, I'm hoping to retire withing the next 5-7-10 years.

But I've also said that radio has been declared dead many times over the years- and yet here it is still surviving-

Absent a catostrophic event to radio that destroys it as a viable medium, I think you guys are kidding yourselves if you think you care about what happens to radio 20-30-40 years down the line. Much less that any of us can accurately predict or forecast what's going to pop up in teh future-

Look at TV- if you made rabbit ear antennas in the 60's you probably had a cushy gig. Then this cable thing slowly starting sneaking in, then direct TV, now digital- in 40 years your job has disappeared.

All I'm saying is I'm not going to freak out about what might happen to radio 10-20 30-40 years down the line. Part of it because I've done well and I'm close to an early retirement age, but part of it because I'm adaptable- I've held a number of different jobs in the last 30 years- again, absent the death of radio as a medium, there's laways going to be a need for DJ's, a need for engineers, etc etc...

 

[radiowise]

Re: Texas Radio Hall of Fame Voting is going on - Mike Scott already inducted

Re: Mike Scott

I checked the Web page http://www.texasradiohalloffame.com/index2.html

It shows that Mike Scott has already been inducted in 2003 at the Houston induction event. He was a team member of the Hudson and Harrigan radio shows on KILT along with several others.

 

[busyradioguy]

Personally I think it may have something to do with Little1's confession awhile back, that he's close to retirement, and only worries about his retirement financial plans. This suggests he doesn't really care about much else, and isn't exactly the best impression to leave for your colleagues.

That's not exactly what I said.
For the record- we were discussing a claim that radio is SLOWLY losing audience. I basically said that it won't effect me if it's slowly losing audience, I'm hoping to retire withing the next 5-7-10 years.

IIRC your words were to the effect of "Frankly I don't care". You should care, even if you know you won't be in the business much longer. But if you really don't care, then keep it to yourself. Admitting you don't care about any aspect of an industry you work in, simply because you're near retirement, reflects poorly on yourself, your colleagues and opens up your other opinions about the industry for invalidation. Furthermore, admitting you’re more fixated on an early retirement and pertaining financial matters of your retirement reveals your level of selfishness. Why anyone would gleefully post such personal information on a message board is beyond belief.

 

[little1]

IIRC your words were to the effect of "Frankly I don't care". You should care, even if you know you won't be in the business much longer. But if you really don't care, then keep it to yourself. Admitting you don't care about any aspect of an industry you work in, simply because you're near retirement, reflects poorly on yourself, your colleagues and opens up your other opinions about the industry for invalidation. Furthermore, admitting you’re more fixated on an early retirement and pertaining financial matters of your retirement reveals your level of selfishness. Why anyone would gleefully post such personal information on a message board is beyond belief.

Man, for people ina communication biz, some of you have serious comprehension problems. Where did I say I don't care about 'any' aspect of the industry I work in? Link? Proof? Oh yeah, that's right,you won't be able to find it.

And what i don't care about is this: I don't care about reports that radio is declining. Because I've seen and heard the same reports for decades. For example, AM radio was killed by FM radio way back in the 70's. That's a 'fact'. Everybody 'knows' that. Except no one who believes those facts can explain how the 2 most successful stations in this market, the 2 stations making the most money (and let's all remember, like it or not, these are busineses) are WBAP-AM and KTCK-AM.

And last time I looked, it wasn't just by a little, they were ahead by a LOT. Sure, some of that can be written off to having more units to sell. (even though KRLD has just as many units, if not more, and don't make that much money)
But how are 2 AM stations, on a dead frequency that's been killed by FM, beating all those powerful 50Kw FM stations?

Unless those reports that AM is dead are wrong. Hey, maybe the reports that radio is declining are wrong too. And that's my point. I don't really care what some of you believe, I don't think it's dying as fast as some of you think it's dying. It may not be dying at all.

And there's a lot of stuff about this industry I don't care about. Like the techno-geeks obsession with dx-ing obscure out of market stations. Fine, i understand that some people dig that. A very small amount of people. Me, I don't see the thrill.

I don't care about the whiners complaining about HD and the digital sidebands that interfere w/ those obscure out of market stations. Some ridiculous figure (90%???) lives in the dallas/tarrant/collin/denton/rockwall/wise/parker county area. I care a lot more about what that vast majority can hear, and not so much about what interference that tiny mimority has to deal with...

And keep it to myself? I though the purpose of this board was to share our opinions? My opinion is those people preparing radio's funeral are idiots. Again, frankly I don't care what the naysayers say.

And selfish? Damn straight. This is radio. It's a cut throat business where you've got to look out for number 1.

 

[little1]

Everybody remember the naysayers who said Xm and Sirius would kill terrestial radio?
Anybody else see this in the morning trades?

http://www.radioink.com/HeadlineEntry.asp?hid=142607&pt=todaysnews

The highlights:

NEW YORK -- June 19, 2008: After Goldman Sachs analyst Mark Wienkes cut his six-month price target on XM Satellite Radio to $6.50 from $11.50 and on Sirius Satellite Radio to $1.75 from $2.25, both stocks tumbled in Thursday's trading. At press time, XM was down by 17 percent, to $8.59, while Sirius was at $2.09, down 14 percent from the start of the day.
(snip)

Goldman Sachs analyst Mark Wienkes (snip) by itself, he sees Sirius as worth $1.

(snip). "With core demand for satellite radio falling amongst the younger demographics, vs. rapid increases for MP3 players and other new technologies (3G iPhone streaming audio), and declining core [average revenue per user], we see long-term risk to the outlook."
(snip)

"persistent retail channel weakness" that is likely to continue even with a la carte offerings, the approximate 20 percent decline in auto production in the second half of 2008, rising churn metrics for the satcasters, and increased competition.

So the industry that is going to kill radio just lost 15% of it's value. And Sirius could be facing a 50% loss in stock price.

THAT is what I don't care about. I don't care that some of you think XM and Sirius will kill terrestial radio. For one, i don't see it happening, for another, we're content providers. If it's not on radio, it'll be on sat radio. If it's not sat radio, it'll be digital media, internet radio, or podcasts. Our job is still about delivering entertianment or information or some kind of service to our listeners. Wherever they may be, and however they may be listening.

 

[busyradioguy]

And to think Little1 says some of us whine too much? :

Is the sermon over yet?

 

[BBontheRadio]

/yawn

 

[CW]

Sorry Little1, but your example with Kidd stinks to high heaven.

You have to factor in WHY the engineer says "No can do". It could be budgetary, technical or any other number of possible reasons.

Exactly.

I heard Russ bitching about his engineers the other day, why they couldn't get something fixed for him, why he didn't have a digital board, blah blah blah.

Is that guy a bad engineer (and therefore not worthy of going into a HOF) or is there some other reason why they can't do what Russ wants.

Thanks for prooving my point- that it's very hard for 'outsiders' to know if an 'insider", (like a producer board op or enginner) is doing a good job. We're not privy to the nuts and bolts.

But a job of a DJ is to be entertaining, to get an audience. We CAN all judge that pretty easily- did they get ratings, were they successful, are they HOF worthy, etc...

So we're back to my point- that there are producers, b-ops, engineers, and yes, even traffic reporters who might be deserving of a HOF nod. But it's much harder to judge them. It's much harder to judge what that person added (or how they detracted) from a successful radio show/station...

Russ will use anything he can for a bit.....including picking on engineers (even if they dont deserve it)...When he was on the Eagle, he called me one morning because the Eventide delay had died (again...damn power supply)....He had a live interview at 7 and here it was 6:30....I did a 1 minute shower then realized getting dressed, etc there was no way in hell I was gonna make it to the studio in time...so I called him back and told him to get the back up unit out of engineering.....He gasped and said "you trust ME?" Heck he was probably one of the only technically able jocks on the Eagle.....so he gets the spare and screw gun and then makes a 10 minute bit as he changes out the delay....my girlfriend at the time called me and told me he was making fun of the situation on the air....
EHhh I got into the station at 7:05.....PD Greg Stevens came up to me and started to apologize for Russ' temper....about that time the control room door swings open and Russ looks at me and says
"Hey you know it was all a joke right?? I had to stretch out something as a bit...thanks!! Oh HI Greg!" and he shut the door...Greg stood there dumbfounded...as I chuckled!
Russ would run the board better than anyone else (especially coming out of the delay at the end of his shift....and when the Prophet automation went online, he took to it like a fish to water)...at least he told me when he split coffee in the console....Kramer and Twitch spilt a Coke in the NEW Radiomixer 2 weeks after it was installed...and the board always had some static in the telephone module after that.....but I had to find out about the Coke from Russ.......he at least ponied up on the coffee......(but it was a minor spill....unlike the one Simon did on MIX's console one Sunday morning)

 

[NealH]

So the industry that is going to kill radio just lost 15% of it's value.  And Sirius could be facing a 50% loss in stock price. 

THAT is what I don't care about.  I don't care that some of you think XM and Sirius will kill terrestial radio.  For one, i don't see it happening, for another, we're content providers.  If it's not on radio, it'll be on sat radio. If it's not sat radio, it'll be digital media, internet radio, or podcasts.  Our job is still about delivering entertianment or information or some kind of service to our listeners.  Wherever they may be, and however they may be listening. 

Sorry to hijack the thread, but....XM & Sirius aren't going to kill terrestrial radio.  Personal Audio Devices like IPODs, content-on-demand, and radio shooting itself in the foot will do more harm than satellite will. 

Terrestrial radio's been fighting the wrong enemy, pouring water down a rathole to get HD online and widely accepted, and for what?  So they can sign on stations that fewer than 10% of the people in DFW can get, generating little to no return on investment, forcing companies to cut back at the stations that actually DO have live programming.  HD, thus far, has been the DUMBEST thing that radio has pursued.  I've got news for you, the average listener just doesn't give a crap.