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Thanksgiving Thoughts

This is the time of year where we salute the folks working on the holiday. Thanks to cutbacks and computer run stations, the question is:

Is anyone working on the holiday?

On a different subject, I ran into one of our part time guys selling CD's for beer money at a record store. I guess it beats selling plasma for dough. What will happen to the art of sellng promo CD's when CD's cease to exist? Most record companies are now making their singles and samplers available for download thanks to a couple of industry programs. How will radio folks make easy extra side money by cleaning out their CD racks?

Happy T-Day!
 
The last bastion of 24/7 radio, FM 100, is totally automated and jockless today. They've got announcements saying that they gave the dj's the day off for Thanksgiving. Not sure if I like the method that enables that, but it is a nice touch.
 
I've been off since Tues. go back next Monday...Thanks to the power of voicetracking!
 
i have been out of radio and then retired and i remember automation system that ran the radio station sometimes on fm. It was a IGM i think but i hear the term voicetrack a lot now and presume that is automation but please humor old man what is exactly voicetracking? i guess it is all computer now but was reels of tape before. It like learming it all over again.
Help me out on these terms.
 
Not all stations were jockless, at least this morning. WREC's morning news was live and I think I heard WDIA, too. I heard Luca on Rock 103 sometime after lunch, too. (I like her accent!) But this evening I don't remember hearing a jock on Kix nor WRVR (that I remember).

Now a question for you techie types out there: how does the FCC view a station operating all by its lonesome? Just curious.
 
Well, now-a-days voicetracking is pretty simple, anybody can do it (which explains the low salaries in radio). Most stations already have the music pre-scheduled well in advance into the computer system. All the announcer has to do is simply insert their voice into the pre-designated talk breaks (ie- before the spotset or in between two songs), after it's recorded, it automatically will show up in the automation playlist in order at that correct date and time (that's if the computer doesn't decided to get a mind of it's own and screw up the whole clock)..

As for the FCC question, don't know about other stations, but at the station I'm with we all share a monitoring schedule (usually the jock will monitor the station, during their daypart from where ever). We have to check for the ID, to make sure it runs and you can still call and do transmitter readings, and even pull up the automation system from home if it's screws up severely. If all else fails, engineers are always on standby to do their part..I'm sure that's about all FCC is concerned with on one simple occasion, unless there's a national disaster, then of course everyone available needs to haul ~you know what~ to work.
 
radio_head said:
Well, now-a-days voicetracking is pretty simple, anybody can do it (which explains the low salaries in radio). Most stations already have the music pre-scheduled well in advance into the computer system. All the announcer has to do is simply insert their voice into the pre-designated talk breaks (ie- before the spotset or in between two songs), after it's recorded, it automatically will show up in the automation playlist in order at that correct date and time (that's if the computer doesn't decided to get a mind of it's own and screw up the whole clock)..

Which takes me back to the K-97 automation, circa 1978. The overnight show was automated, usually voice tracked by one of the 680 AM jocks. I think Walt Jackson did it, I did for a while, using the name The Real Bob Mitchell. The system would always be getting off track, leaving you coming out of Michael Jackson saying "that was Barry White..."
The "voice tracking" was done break by break, in order, on a huge cart tape, which means if you goofed up badly enough, you would just have to erase it and start the whole show over again. Whenever you did production for K-97, you had to type up a punch tape thing with the client and length, which was coded onto a cue track while the spot was recording. This would play back when the spot played, and log it.
I, for one, am "live" this afternoon (the day after Thanksgiving) on FM100.
My best wishes and prayers for those who are looking for new positions and careers as the year comes to an end.
 
Just an FYI, today on 103, filling in for Dennis and Ric, to my surprise pleasure, was Andrew Clark, Sr. Cut backs make strange air staff I suppose.
 
Just so you and others will know Lucille, the man's name is Andrew Clarksenior, not Andrew Clark Sr. I know it's a little wierd but I know you'd want to be correct.
 
Correct, which begs the following question:

If Andrew had a son and named him Andrew, wouldn't he be ...

Andrew Clarksenior, Jr.

And then Andrew would be ...

Andrew Clarksenior, Sr.

Although anyone who calls Mike Fleming "The Great One" should probably stay out of the gene pool.
 
Did Andrew play any music or did he spend the whole music shift talking about race and politics? And did he deny doing it every single shift?

Sorry, memories of his time at 98.
 
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