The Devastating Physical Effects of Working AM Drive

[Tom Wells]

At 46, my schedule varies within "normal" now, but when I was 20-22, I had a job where I worked one week 4-12 PM, next week 12PM to 8 AM, back-n-forth, never varying, every weekend off. One weekend was 48 hours exactly, the next weekend 64 hours.
I was in the computer room of a continuous steel slab caster, a 24-hr operation. I had days free to spend at the beach windsurfing,
but for those two years, I never knew which way was up, sleep-wise.
I remember my very first midnight shift on that job . I went home to my parent's house, my bedroom upstairs. Got in bed about
9:30 AM. Sleep came instantly.
At 10:00, the roofers showed up to repair the shingles that hadn't sealed down. This was a keynote for the next two years
of this lifestyle. It was impossible to not be sleepy all the time.
Even as a 21 yr old it was completely wrong. At least the steel production crews got to run 5 weeks at a time on one shift, before "backing up" to next earlier shift for 5 weeks.

I still sort of enjoy sleep deprivation when there's monetary gain, but I could never go back to something so crazy.

My last job permitted late sleeping and working as a "free agent". The current one is much more strictly punctual and clock based.
It took me about 2 years to become an early riser by habit.

 

[Mike Sheridan]

Wow lots of great comments here on a very good topic. As one who has filled in on the morning show all I can say is somehow it was a breeze and by 9am I was amazed that there was only one hour to go. Getting a head start on everyone else was also nice. As suggested here I enjoyed every minute of it and thought radio beat having to really work for a living.

My Dad worked for the Erie Lackawanna and they made him work hard physical jobs the last few years before he retired. Any job in radio is a piece of cake compaired to that.

My shift was always Midnight to 6. My problem time was always from about 3:30 to 4:30. Some good uptemp songs worked wonders during that time. The people listening really appreciated having someone live on the air and they paid attention. At night it was my radio station and I didn't have to share it with anyone!

Now I'm doing an overnight IT Helpdesk shift and just play music for an audience of one. It's not as easy to stay awake or sleep during the day as it used to be. Thanks for reminding me how rewarding the radio days were!

 

[bub]

While I have the absolute greatest respect and admiration for those air talents and producers willing and able to work ungodly hours to put together the best morning show product on the air, speaking from experience as a fill-in morning drive talent and producer, it's not for everybody. Having "been there and done that," I knew personally I had no future in radio doing it long term. Fortunately for me (whether this is a virtue or not), and speaking only for myself, my self-esteem and self-image is not dependent on me doing morning radio; and big bucks or no (LOL!), there's no pleasure tempting enough to get me to go through that. But hey, to each his/her own.

 

[humble1]

Exercise. Most radio people are spuds. I do mornings. Have for 25 years. I walk about 30 miles a week. That gives me more energy, and it also helps me sleep better at night. Also, cutting back on coffee helps. I love caffeine, but it tends to make me crash later in the day. I don't really agree that there are ''devastating physical effects'' to doing morning radio. My brother is a cop in Phoenix and has to sit on his motorcycle in 110 degree heat inside a kevlar suit for 10 hours at a stretch. I sit in a chair and make funny. It's not hard. I just take care of myself. Most radio people don't.

 

[umtrr-author]

Fascinating subject. A question from a relatively uninformed listener...

Those of you who have done mornings, were/are you also required to do other kinds of work for the station on a regular basis after your air shift? And did that then make life (at least the waking up part) more difficult?

There are promo appearances/remotes, for example. But I've also heard stories that at smaller market stations, the workday consisted of doing morning drive and then doing office work, selling ads, whatever. Is there any truth to those stories?

Just curious.

I'm not a morning person either. In my fantasy radio world I'm doing PM drive...

Thanks for a really interesting topic!

P.S. to Mike S, I'm a railfan/model railroader as well and had many relatives including my grandfather (Railway Express) and great-grandfather (the Lackawanna, predecessor to the EL) work for the railroad. It is very hard labor indeed. One can't work the right of way from inside an office, and locomotives are not known for crew comfort either...

 

[Kent]

I don't really agree that there are ''devastating physical effects'' to doing morning radio.

I think it depends on the individual. People, their habits and their styles are different. For example, I never had any real trouble getting used to doing the overnight shift. However, I'm in the minority. Third shift workers have a higher percentage of heart attacks and strokes than the rest of the population, and third shift has the highest percentage of on-the-job accidents of any shift. It's a proven fact that there are "devastating physical effects" for some who work third shift. There's no reason to think early mornings, and even hours we'd consider normal, wouldn't have the same effect on some people.

I just take care of myself. Most radio people don't.

I certainly take better care of myself now that I'm not in radio full-time. I found it very hard to do the things I needed to do and stay healthy on both morning and evening radio. Probably the biggest issue I had was simply budgetary. Junk food is cheaper, and restaurants, especially fast food, basically give you discounts to eat junk. My food expenses almost doubled as soon as I started changing the way I was eating. It's a good thing my salary has more than doubled since I left full-time radio!

 

[Mike Sheridan]

Fascinating subject. A question from a relatively uninformed listener...

Those of you who have done mornings, were/are you also required to do other kinds of work for the station on a regular basis after your air shift? And did that then make life (at least the waking up part) more difficult?

There are promo appearances/remotes, for example. But I've also heard stories that at smaller market stations, the workday consisted of doing morning drive and then doing office work, selling ads, whatever. Is there any truth to those stories?

Just curious.

I'm not a morning person either. In my fantasy radio world I'm doing PM drive...

Thanks for a really interesting topic!

P.S. to Mike S, I'm a railfan/model railroader as well and had many relatives including my grandfather (Railway Express) and great-grandfather (the Lackawanna, predecessor to the EL) work for the railroad. It is very hard labor indeed. One can't work the right of way from inside an office, and locomotives are not known for crew comfort either...

Yes there are other things offf air to tend to when you get off the air. It varies a lot by station, some do more and some do less. Naturally the morning show gets the most scrutiny from management so there are aircheck sessions and more show prep than the other dayparts.

Off topic: My Dad, his 8 brothers and his father all worked for the Lackawanna Rail Road. Things went downhill when they merged with the Erie. My Dad was there when they moved out of the station at the foot of Main Street, he loved that place. He had to work in the old Erie rail sheds. They were so bad the guys named them "Fort Laramie" and "Fort Apachie". Dad used to say I could work at anything I wanted to for a living as long as it wasn't the Railroad.

 

[Kent]

Fascinating subject. A question from a relatively uninformed listener...

Those of you who have done mornings, were/are you also required to do other kinds of work for the station on a regular basis after your air shift? And did that then make life (at least the waking up part) more difficult?

There are promo appearances/remotes, for example. But I've also heard stories that at smaller market stations, the workday consisted of doing morning drive and then doing office work, selling ads, whatever. Is there any truth to those stories?

I never had to do office work or sell ads, but there is almost always more than just doing your airshift. I've worked at a few places where I could get by with just doing my airshift one or, if I was lucky, two days a week. However, I'd pay for those days by getting a lot more production thrown on me later in the week. My experience was that those situations were usually caused by a traffic or production manager not knowing how to prioritize work. I remember one case where the production manager turned over, and the traffic director temporarily took on his duties. Her response was, "I hate the way he dumped work on me at the last minute. I'm not going to let that happen again." The result was fewer four and five hour days but a more balanced work schedule overall. I found that MUCH easier. There were also fewer missed spots, which meant fewer phone calls at 5:30 AM on Saturday asking you why you didn't produce something that hit your mailbox after you left work the previous day. Don't get me wrong, there were still the last minute spots you never expected, but there were far fewer of them.

Most remotes, by the way, didn't count toward your time spent at the station. I was compensated additionally for most of them. I remember rearranging my weekends plenty of times because I couldn't afford to miss out on an extra $400 to cover two remotes. On an $18,000/yr salary, those remotes really made a big difference. A friend of mine who did radio in Memphis was able to more than double her salary on remotes.

Also, there are some groups I know of that require jocks to also be salespeople. A friend of mine works for such a group. He does the morning show and spends a substantial part of the rest of his day selling his show. As I mentioned before, I've been fortunate enough to never have to do that.

 

[Element9]

The Devastating Physical Effects of Working Remotes

Remotes. Ugh. Two hours of doing the Home Shopping Network without lights, cameras and props... all the while hearing the prize pigeons ask, "whataya have for free today?" and clients say, "I thought we'd have more people in for this." I'd rather wake up at 4 a.m. and get paid to do morning drive.

BTW, some morning drive guys do quite well on the air AND sell time afterward... thinking the legendary Stan Roberts at WBUF and WECK. Indefatigable.

-9-

 

[umtrr-author]

"Prize pigeons" ... I haven't heard that one before. I did laugh out loud when I read that...

I have been to a few remotes in my time to meet the on-air staff; just curious as usual. I had previously mentioned that I made my "radio debut" at a remote when I was still a lad.

With one exception, I haven't been to any remotes recently except for the ones I just plain bump into like the Lilac Festival or the Park Avenue Festival. (The exception was one of the recent Legends promotions for thanking the troops.)

With this relatively small sample though I have noticed that the goodies for the "prize pigeons" (Mr. 9, I am going to have to remember that and use it someplace in a story) have decreased along with the rest of the radio budgets. Instead of "prize x" it's "put your name into a drawing for x" or "spin the prize wheel for x" for example. (My daughter Thalia Elizabeth is extremely lucky, by the way, so those of you on the air here in Rochester, you've been warned.) I guess that with voicetracking replacing many air shifts, there simply even aren't that many "live people" available to do remotes either, leaving the work to the people who are there, which around these parts are largely (or exclusively) morning drive hosts.

It's also amazing, technologically speaking at how little is required to do a remote these days versus back in nineteen-seventy-something when the turntables, records, microphones, sound board etc. were all carted into the appliance store or car dealer or wherever. And of course the on air personality was also playing the role of pack mule for that exercise. It certainly seems easier to just drive the WZZZ van over to the site and walk in with a cell phone. Until the cell phone decides not to function, that is.

 

[Radknowski]

umtrr, Mr 9 was being quite kind with his reference to those who stop by every radio station remote of the day looking for somethin' for nothin'. Years ago when I worked afternoons at a small station in Pennsylvania, we had two families that brought their kids to every remote the station did. Because they looked amazingly like the family portrayed in a skit on Saturday Night Live, they were dubbed "The Loopners."

When I first arrived at the station, I felt very badly for this family because they appeared poor and always arrived at remotes in a beat up Dodge woodie station wagon. Silly me.

This family not only ate us out of house and home at remotes where we cooked hot dogs or 'burgers on the grill, they won more than their share of station contests. Their manners and attitude were attrocious. They'd grab stuff of the prize and serving tables, ate like pigs, chewed food with their mouths agape and spit soda (this was Pennsylvania, we didn't say "pop") at each other. The parents were as bad as the kids. They smoked like fiends and swore like sailors. Oh, and their personal hygiene... well... apparently soap and water were in short supply at their home... or so we thought.

Because The Loopners were repeat offenders on station contests (even with our 30 day rules), their address was on file. So one day, our morning guy drove by their home and comes back to the station. Seemed this family lived in a very nice home with manicured lawn and a pool, in a neighborhood very close to our GM's home! When our morning guy drove by the home, two of the older kids were standing in the driveway shooting hoops, looking well-scrubbed and "normal." Same family. The ratty woodie was parked in the street, but in the garage was a late model van and some kind of snazzy import.

The morning guy was in a rage when he came back to the station. I'm telling him he had the wrong family. At 7 o'clock, he came back to the station and picked me up to drive me by The Looper estate. No kids in the driveway this time, but there's ma and pa Loopner washing and waxing the family van! That import in the garage looked like a Beemer! So much for my bleeding heart, eh?

Next remote, a few weeks later, the Loopners show up like clockwork. I greeted them with a warm smile and said, "gee, I thought you'd be driving the Beemer today!" The look on the parents faces was, as the TV commercial goes, "Priceless!"

This didn't stop the Loopners from coming to remotes, but it did make them more civilized. Apparently, word got out because when they visited our competitors' remotes, they were equally self-controlled.

'Tis the season, so enjoy the remotes, umtrr, but don't turn into a prize pigeon (or prize "worse") and make sure your daughter always says "thank you." (I'm sure she's sufficiently well-mannered that I don't have to advise about eating protocol and spitting.)

Have fun!

 

[therealjm12]

In my younger days I pulled some "all nighters". I got my 1st ticket and had visions I would be the next all night guy at KB. It never happend but I was offered some over night gigs in major markets (mostly because I did have the 1st ticket) but never took them. I always felt terrible when I worked overnights. It threw my digestive system off. Without getting graphic, let's just say it wasn't worth it. My body just could not adjust.
I have never worked morning drive on a regular basis. I did a lot of fill ins, though. My favorite was a station where I had to stop by the transmitter and switch power because there was no local control (the telegram to the FCC was on the wall). That meant I had to get up at 2:00 AM. Just might as well had been doing the overnight.
I'll take mid days!

 

[cee]

Radnowski,

LOL! Classic radio story! I wonder where they got their money from. Perhaps they won the Pennsylvania Lottery.

umtrr, Mr 9 was being quite kind with his reference to those who stop by every radio station remote of the day looking for somethin' for nothin'. Years ago when I worked afternoons at a small station in Pennsylvania, we had two families that brought their kids to every remote the station did. Because they looked amazingly like the family portrayed in a skit on Saturday Night Live, they were dubbed "The Loopners."

When I first arrived at the station, I felt very badly for this family because they appeared poor and always arrived at remotes in a beat up Dodge woodie station wagon. Silly me.

This family not only ate us out of house and home at remotes where we cooked hot dogs or 'burgers on the grill, they won more than their share of station contests. Their manners and attitude were attrocious. They'd grab stuff of the prize and serving tables, ate like pigs, chewed food with their mouths agape and spit soda (this was Pennsylvania, we didn't say "pop") at each other. The parents were as bad as the kids. They smoked like fiends and swore like sailors. Oh, and their personal hygiene... well... apparently soap and water were in short supply at their home... or so we thought.

Because The Loopners were repeat offenders on station contests (even with our 30 day rules), their address was on file. So one day, our morning guy drove by their home and comes back to the station. Seemed this family lived in a very nice home with manicured lawn and a pool, in a neighborhood very close to our GM's home! When our morning guy drove by the home, two of the older kids were standing in the driveway shooting hoops, looking well-scrubbed and "normal." Same family. The ratty woodie was parked in the street, but in the garage was a late model van and some kind of snazzy import.

The morning guy was in a rage when he came back to the station. I'm telling him he had the wrong family. At 7 o'clock, he came back to the station and picked me up to drive me by The Looper estate. No kids in the driveway this time, but there's ma and pa Loopner washing and waxing the family van! That import in the garage looked like a Beemer! So much for my bleeding heart, eh?

Next remote, a few weeks later, the Loopners show up like clockwork. I greeted them with a warm smile and said, "gee, I thought you'd be driving the Beemer today!" The look on the parents faces was, as the TV commercial goes, "Priceless!"

This didn't stop the Loopners from coming to remotes, but it did make them more civilized. Apparently, word got out because when they visited our competitors' remotes, they were equally self-controlled.

'Tis the season, so enjoy the remotes, umtrr, but don't turn into a prize pigeon (or prize "worse") and make sure your daughter always says "thank you." (I'm sure she's sufficiently well-mannered that I don't have to advise about eating protocol and spitting.) Wink

Have fun!

 

[umtrr-author]

What cee said... what a great story! As one of my long time friends says when relating his workplace tales (not radio related): "You can't make this stuff up."

I'm pretty scarce at remotes these days. Our kids keep us fairly engaged with what they are up to on a regular basis as it is. In terms of prize pigeoning (or worse), trust me, no worries there, and I'll explain why with a story that relates prizes with Morning Hosting.

For reasons that will become apparent, I won't name names or stations here. However, I will mention that we are well beyond the Statute of Limitations; this occurred during the Previous Century.

As we all already know, there are any number of gigs that pay so badly that the on air talent has to moonlight somewhere else just to make ends meet. It happened that for a short time, my wife worked with just such a radio staffer, who was a morning host at a rimshot station in a moderate sized market and was also doing an part time evening shift working at my wife's office.

The station in question was promoting a fairly high profile event and had tickets that they literally could not give away-- no matter what name was drawn, the lucky contestant did not call within the number of minutes specified to claim their prize! And it was not two or three minutes, but the number of minutes denoted by the station's frequency.

Apparently this had been going on for several days, and the event date was approaching with still no winner. Finally, two days before the show, the somewhat exasperated morning host told us to be sure we were listening the next morning. I think you might be able to guess whose name just happened to be called... and yes, the prize was claimed. Literally... I had to drive over to the place to pick it up-- there was no time for it to be mailed-- and I got thoroughly lost trying to find the studio.

The morning after the day of the event, my wife called in and provided a complete on the air review; I think it lasted four or five minutes. I was still feeling quite a bit sorry for the on air talent who was almost forced to answer the question, "What if we held a contest and no one showed up?" I could not imagine how I would have felt if I had gotten up at some unearthly hour, dragged myself into the station, and not even had enough of a listenership to give away event tickets? I mean, I'm quite used to presentations I've written for executives being stored next to The Ark of the Covenant (cf "Raiders of the Lost Ark") but come on, this was radio here! Besides the physical effects of working the morning, how could there not have been emotional impact at the idea that you can't even award prizes?

Anyway, I don't know what ever happened to the morning host, but not long afterward the station flipped and said host was no longer on the air. I certainly hope that better days awaited, even if they didn't involve radio.

Meanwhile, I feel we have more than met our lifetime quota for station giveaways! But Thalia Elizabeth is a sweetheart and the radio people we've met here have all been very nice to her.

Oh, and no food products of any kind were inappropriately consumed during the above

 

[Mike Sheridan]

In my younger days I pulled some "all nighters". I got my 1st ticket and had visions I would be the next all night guy at KB. It never happend but I was offered some over night gigs in major markets (mostly because I did have the 1st ticket) but never took them. I always felt terrible when I worked overnights. It threw my digestive system off. Without getting graphic, let's just say it wasn't worth it. My body just could not adjust.
I have never worked morning drive on a regular basis. I did a lot of fill ins, though. My favorite was a station where I had to stop by the transmitter and switch power because there was no local control (the telegram to the FCC was on the wall). That meant I had to get up at 2:00 AM. Just might as well had been doing the overnight.
I'll take mid days!

There were a lot of us with the dream of doing all nights at KB... Hello world! Only a few got the chance though.

 

[cee]

The tale below is a story I can relate to. I worked at a bunch of rimshot stations and other various poorly listened to radio outlets. It's pretty depressing when even the contest hogs don't call in. I worked at one station that fancied itself a part of a larger market(30-35 miles away and reached into the market with a weak signal, though contest hogs often found us). They would do the usual 9th or 10th caller to win and all the winners named will be put in the hopper and one grand prize winner out of that for some upcoming big event. They thought they were clever always making sure the big winner was someone from that not too far away larger market. Of course, the city folk listening were mostly contest hogs...not average listeners who might have ratings diaries...afterall, who's going to go out of their way to pull in a slightly out of town signal. Naturally, we'd pull out grand prize names and they wouldn't always call back in the allotted time...then pick another...sooner or later somebody would call. Predictably, this doesn't pull in the big arbitron numbers. Lesson: don't rig contests & get real and accept that you're not part of the larger market and superserve your local base.

Ever give away local prizes - tix to local movie theater, high school plays, dog shows, etc. and nobody calls? You can always save face by making up names for fake winners or use your friends names - or - for an inside joke, use real names of well known radio personalities..."congratulations to Martin Krimski of Clarence...he was the 9th caller and wins a pair of tickets to the annual Tractor Trailer show at the Alden Moose Lodge. Listen again next hour for your chance to win."

As we all already know, there are any number of gigs that pay so badly that the on air talent has to moonlight somewhere else just to make ends meet. It happened that for a short time, my wife worked with just such a radio staffer, who was a morning host at a rimshot station in a moderate sized market and was also doing an part time evening shift working at my wife's office.

The station in question was promoting a fairly high profile event and had tickets that they literally could not give away-- no matter what name was drawn, the lucky contestant did not call within the number of minutes specified to claim their prize! And it was not two or three minutes, but the number of minutes denoted by the station's frequency.

Apparently this had been going on for several days, and the event date was approaching with still no winner. Finally, two days before the show, the somewhat exasperated morning host told us to be sure we were listening the next morning. I think you might be able to guess whose name just happened to be called... and yes, the prize was claimed. Literally... I had to drive over to the place to pick it up-- there was no time for it to be mailed-- and I got thoroughly lost trying to find the studio.

The morning after the day of the event, my wife called in and provided a complete on the air review; I think it lasted four or five minutes. I was still feeling quite a bit sorry for the on air talent who was almost forced to answer the question, "What if we held a contest and no one showed up?" I could not imagine how I would have felt if I had gotten up at some unearthly hour, dragged myself into the station, and not even had enough of a listenership to give away event tickets? I mean, I'm quite used to presentations I've written for executives being stored next to The Ark of the Covenant (cf "Raiders of the Lost Ark") but come on, this was radio here! Besides the physical effects of working the morning, how could there not have been emotional impact at the idea that you can't even award prizes?

 

[Element9]

..."congratulations to Martin Krimski of Clarence...he was the 9th caller and wins a pair of tickets to the annual Tractor Trailer show at the Alden Moose Lodge. Listen again next hour for your chance to win."

Don Pesola, Warren Miller and Stan Littenberg work equally well.

 

[dustintv]

A couple years ago I had the pleasure of volunteering my time at a public radio station for a few days. Unfortunately, I had to be there early. I'd love to do it again, but never again at that god awful hour...

 

[SirRoxalot]

You Want Devastating Physical Effects?

This has been a very interesting thread. I've worked every shift at one time or another, and I'm in the "overnights are easier for me than mornings" camp. The longest I've done either mornings or overnights - before moving on to bigger and better things - was 8 months, so my experience may not be long-term enough to count.

I found that weeks were cyclical. The beginning of the week was easier, more fun, and more uptempo. Sleep was more elusive at the beginning of the week - four or five hours max, and seldom at in one session. As the week wore on, I wore down, until I'd crash on Thursday at sleep for 10 or more hours. Friday, I'd be ready to go again, and the weekend would find me sleeping at all kinds of odd times.

One lasting effect - which developed while I was in college and working full time in radio - is that I can nap - anywhere, anytime. I'm one of those lucky people who can nap for half an hour and feel better, not logy.

All of the tales of sleep deprivation told so far would make a new mother laugh and offer the sobriquet "WUSS!". Talk about "devastating physical effects". On the other hand, most morning people aren't as moody as a new mom...

PS - It would take a LOT of money and a guaranteed, long-term contract to get me to take a morning shift at this point in my life. I don't see THAT happening anytime soon. On the other hand, my bouts of insomnia might come in handy!

 

[JohnGault]

I have also done every shift known to the CLOCK, in and out of Radio, on air and off air.

The hardest was overnights. Life felt completely backwards. I crashed within an hour of finishing my 6 hour shift. I seemed just wrong to wake up, have a life for a few hours, and THEN go to work.

Mid-days were the best!

Mornings when I napped were also difficult. It felt like I didn't want to get up TWICE a day. Some can nap, I couldn't. Not that I didn't try. I was a walking ZOMBIE. Took a nap from 2 to 4, then couldn't sleep again until midnight. Got a total of 6 hours if I was lucky.

Now I sleep like a baby most nights, a solid 8 hours.

Tips:

1) No TV in bedroom. Bedroom is for 2 things only, sleep and the other thing that will make a guy fall asleep afterward.

2) Try to go to bed every day at the same time, and unwind for a least an hour before you want to be sleeping. Make sure the room is dark, and wear ear plugs.

3) Don't read any radio trades before trying to sleep, as the industry news will give you nightmares.