• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

The pathway is different. Does one still exist?

A

amfmtbay

Hi.
Started while at Penn State. Worked at WGMR and WXLR in the early to mid 80s.
Moved to Tampa in '84, and did brief part time stints at WSUN, WPAS, and WHVE up until '88.

So, I've been out of radio for a quarter of a century, not counting a brief stab at internet radio 10 years ago.

It used to be that the little stations (and even some larger ones,) were always looking for part timers. That was my gateway, here, way back when. Now that local little stations are rarely local, and most stations don't broadcast locally outside of morning drive, if at all, is there any "pathway" for someone like me to get to doing a little weekend on air work?

I would really have interest in giving such a try. However, everything I have seen, read or researched indicates that at least locally, that's pretty close to impossible. I realize I've been out of the biz for quite some time, but have been using computers since the 80s - so learning new methodology/software doesn't worry me.

Suggestions would be quite welcome. Or, am I on a fool's errand?
 
Traffic reporting. There's enough turnover in a decent-sized market that there are usually a few openings a year, and a good chunk of them are part-time.
 
Yes, there was a time when stations had to fill 24/7 with people. If you had some experience under your belt and knew someone you could always land a gig when you were between gigs. Call a buddy PD and he'd find some weekend work for you. May be Sunday night or weekend overnights, however, it was a gig and a place to cut some tape. It was always easier to land a gig if you were working somewhere.
 
I also know the feeling.. Back in 1998 I gave up my 7 hour Friday night-Sat AM shift at a Sarasota Oldies station due to a divorce.. No real choice.. see my son or not 1st thing Sat morning... It was basically a hobby that didn't cost me too much, but after 28 years I still really enjoyed it, in spite of going from one job directly to another and gone from the house for like 20 hours...I made up for it during the rest of the week and on weekends as far as family was concerned. Now that he is grown up, there are no choices or positions available anymore...I would love to pull even a 4 hour board shift...once a week.. but.. radio as a business has changed drastically, and through technology, having a warm body that can react to just about ANY real situation immediately in the studio is no longer required or even desired. Computers can't love what they do...
At least I have some GREAT memories....
 
My thoughts have been confirmed.

For me, this is not a terrible thing - it was only something that could be "fun" and strictly a weekend type thing.

I really feel for all the talent, here, and elsewhere, who have been displaced from earning a living doing what they do well. IMHO, radio, as it is, does a better job of killing itself than the competition from Ipods and the Spotify/Pandora alternatives does.
 
amfmtbay said:
My thoughts have been confirmed.

For me, this is not a terrible thing - it was only something that could be "fun" and strictly a weekend type thing.

I really feel for all the talent, here, and elsewhere, who have been displaced from earning a living doing what they do well. IMHO, radio, as it is, does a better job of killing itself than the competition from Ipods and the Spotify/Pandora alternatives does.
Click to expand...
During my tenure as GM guys like you were heaven sent! Could fill a part time slot with an experienced person and not a green beginner...and being here there were some retired guys who just wanted to keep their hand in it and do some air work. At WAZE in Clearwater I hired a guy that I listened to growing up in Baltimore..such a thrill..
 
amfmtbay said:
My thoughts have been confirmed.

For me, this is not a terrible thing - it was only something that could be "fun" and strictly a weekend type thing.

I really feel for all the talent, here, and elsewhere, who have been displaced from earning a living doing what they do well. IMHO, radio, as it is, does a better job of killing itself than the competition from Ipods and the Spotify/Pandora alternatives does.
Click to expand...

Don't blow off the traffic reporting. It's a great way to knock some of the rust off, it can be a pathway into news or talk, and if you're set on music, it gives you recent on-air work you can put in front of a PD who wants to know what you sound like today, not 25 years ago.

Here in Phoenix, the traffic guys include some heavyweight local jocks from the 70s and 80s.
 
amfmtbay said:
IMHO, radio, as it is, does a better job of killing itself than the competition from Ipods and the Spotify/Pandora alternatives does.
Click to expand...

So you're the savior of radio? I'd suggest you haven't tried hard enough. How bad do you want it? It took me ten years to get a big break. Then again I started as a teenager.

I agree that traffic reporting is a great way to break into a market if you have personality and can convey it in short bits. I've known several Metro Traffic people who've then moved to fill in, and then full time work. The reality that there are more people who want jobs in radio than openings, and nobody who has a gig is leaving voluntarily. So you have to be creative about it, and not just send resumes to the obvious places. Also, go where the jobs are. None in Florida? Move to another state. Must be present to win. If you're someplace and a job opens, and you're first in line, you might get hired. Then again...
 
I guess I did a poor job of expressing myself. When I started on air I was 20, and worked mostly part time jobs on air until my late 20s. It's been more of a "hobby I got paid for" than anything else. My full time work is in an entirely different field, by choice.

I may not want it as "bad" as those who are looking for full time gigs, and those are the people I feel for. The folks who are "full timers" who are out of the field because of the politics, the consolidation, the computerization, or any combination of the above. Too much talent that doesn't have an outlet.

Nor have I given up on the idea of traffic. Don't know anything about it here in Tampa Bay, but I'm starting to look.

As someone who spent nearly a decade as a recruiter, I'm well aware that there are many avenues for a job search. I've used them and taught them in college as well.

If I don't get back on the air, so be it.
It's just something I wanted to look into and hadn't seen much out there.
Figured it didn't hurt to ask, and there has been some very good advice here.
 
amfmtbay said:
I guess I did a poor job of expressing myself. When I started on air I was 20, and worked mostly part time jobs on air until my late 20s. It's been more of a "hobby I got paid for" than anything else. My full time work is in an entirely different field, by choice.
Click to expand...

The good news is stations prefer to hire part timers because they don't have to make a commitment or give them benefits. The bad news is you're at the back of the line. Most of the skills you had are either rusty or no longer necessary. If you have a relationship with a college, volunteer for the local college stations or NPR stations. Do it for free since it's a hobby for you. Everybody likes free help.
 
TheBigA said:
amfmtbay said:
I guess I did a poor job of expressing myself. When I started on air I was 20, and worked mostly part time jobs on air until my late 20s. It's been more of a "hobby I got paid for" than anything else. My full time work is in an entirely different field, by choice.
Click to expand...

The good news is stations prefer to hire part timers because they don't have to make a commitment or give them benefits. The bad news is you're at the back of the line. Most of the skills you had are either rusty or no longer necessary. If you have a relationship with a college, volunteer for the local college stations or NPR stations. Do it for free since it's a hobby for you. Everybody likes free help.
Click to expand...

WMNF has a pretty large listener base for a pubic station. Getting on air may take a little more effort, but if you are looking for true hobby work, that may be the place to look.

Paid part time work is harder to come by, keep in mind CSB in Tampa and Full Sail in Orlando churn out young rookies eager for anything they can get. Let alone people who go to actual 4 year universities for mass communications every year.
 
WMNF leaves me with mixed emotions for two reasons:
1. I had a very negative experience trying to volunteer for them a number of years ago.
2. I don't agree with a lot of their politics - I'm really more of a "centrist."

Neither is a huge obstacle.

However, when I have volunteered in radio before, I really threw myself into it with passion, no matter the task. Don't know if I have that for WMNF right now.
 
amfmtbay said:
WMNF leaves me with mixed emotions for two reasons:
1. I had a very negative experience trying to volunteer for them a number of years ago.
2. I don't agree with a lot of their politics - I'm really more of a "centrist."

Neither is a huge obstacle.

However, when I have volunteered in radio before, I really threw myself into it with passion, no matter the task. Don't know if I have that for WMNF right now.
Click to expand...
I hadnt even thought about politics before I posted my response, but I can grant you that.
 
I think the pathway has narrowed drastically.
The guys who have been in radio for decades will tell you a different story.
It's not the story of what will happen now.
As a person who has been looking for ANY PAID radio work for almost a decade, I find myself at another job in an entirely different field that I dislike.
And right now, I am beginning to explore other avenues of interest besides radio.
I've worked in TV, audio, theatre, & even DJ over the years while I have waited.

At this point, I don't think I'm going to break into it like other guys in the golden days have.
And yes, people in the big 3 radio companies (and some independent & online stations) know who I am.

I've been volunteering on 91.5FM WPRK in Orlando for almost a whole decade while doing other projects & radio shows.
I don't think that's going to change unless I give it up or someone in radio finally hires me.
That's my story.

Even someone with a resume with all this experience & recommendations can't get a PAID radio job today:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/djmoradio

Anyways, good luck & welcome to the club of radio career dreamers!
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom