The problem with radio.......

[johnnyp66]

In my opinion....even though Im "in" the business...I'm still a listener...and unfortunately THAT is the problem. Radio is NOT about the listener...On my little time slot (sunday 6p-10p waaf) I try and involve the listener any way that I can....I still think that people love to call in to a radio station and actually interact with a live jock! I do a "tv triva theme song" contest on my sunday show....and get a ton of phone calls....the listeners seem to love it...even though I have nothing to give away....I will keep trying to have the listeners "with me" in the studio.

 

[Bigtime Bowler]

I will agree. You are the savior of modern radio. Thank you.

 

[rapking]

Radio need more people like you ( not Voicetrack, Automation, and synication shows ).

 

[ActionJax]

I whole-heartedly agree. I do a show on the weekends on Pixy 103 (actually on the air right now) and I find that the more callers and sound effects and fun stuff I incorporate into the show, the more people like and respond to it.

Does anyone else play funny movie clips and such once in a while to add somthing funny to your show?

 

[ActionJax]

Radio need more people like you ( not Voicetrack, Automation, and synication shows ).

P.S. I think that voicetracking, and automation for that matter are ruining this buisness. I listen to radio to hear a jock, and to maybe interact. Like most people I dont always interact, but it's nice to know I can. I admit that I have Voictracked once or twice but only when I know I cant be there, and never a whole show, just a few breaks. If I know a show is being VT'd I usually dont listen to it. MHO

 

[mistermicrophone]

In my opinion....even though Im "in" the business...I'm still a listener...and unfortunately THAT is the problem. Radio is NOT about the listener...On my little time slot (sunday 6p-10p waaf) I try and involve the listener any way that I can....I still think that people love to call in to a radio station and actually interact with a live jock! I do a "tv triva theme song" contest on my sunday show....and get a ton of phone calls....the listeners seem to love it...even though I have nothing to give away....I will keep trying to have the listeners "with me" in the studio.

Involving the listener and "making radio about the listener" are two different things. While I agree that it feels great when the phones light up when you do a contest, just remember that a tiny percentage (>1%)of your cume at any given time is going to call the station to participate in a contest or for requests. What are you doing to entertain the 99+ %? Do you think listening to you interact with the winner is entertaining to them? Maybe for a few seconds to hear the answer...but anything beyond that and you'll lose the interest of a good portion of them.

How do you make radio about the listener? You give them what they want. Ask yourself this, are people tuning in just to hear the tv theme song contest on a Sunday night? Probably not. They are there for the music. If doing the contest doesn't hurt the station by losing cume, then great (and that's Ron's decision, obviously)! If you are doing it with no regard for the largest portion of your listeners and just to keep the phones going, are you really making it about the listener or yourself?

The same thing can be said for voictracking. How many BAD live jocks are there (I'm not saying you...just in general)?? A lot. If a good jock delivers compelling content, does it matter when it was recorded? If a bad jock does a bad live break, that is going to hurt a station more!

Johhny, it is refreshing to see young kids with passion for the business!! My post isn't an attack on you, rather an open conversation to keep your mind open to all sorts of ideas and thoughts. Keep up the good work, I'll take a listen tomorrow night.

 

[TheBigA]

Radio need more people like you ( not Voicetrack, Automation, and synication shows ).

Either that or use people like him to do the voice-tracking, automation, and syndication.

Those three things are not evils unto themselves. All three can be done well, and they can also be done terribly. Just as a live show can be done terribly. I've listened to live & local DJs sound like they're just phoning it in, with the most disinterested attitude you'll ever hear. They're so burned out, so self-involved, and so disconnected with the public and their show that it's just one big mess. Then I've heard a guy voice track his show from another city, and he's so connected, so focused on his audience, and having so much fun that you forget about where he's actually at. You don't have to be live to be able to interact. It's been done for years. But you have to care. Perhaps THAT'S where the problem is.

 

[MassMusicMan]

Live jocks are great and voicetracking is bad? Huh.

Hey, you guys heard of these new chocolate chip cookies? Pretty delicious, huh?

 

[12 In a Row]

Radio need more people like you ( not Voicetrack, Automation, and synication shows ).

Either that or use people like him to do the voice-tracking, automation, and syndication.

Those three things are not evils unto themselves. All three can be done well, and they can also be done terribly. Just as a live show can be done terribly. I've listened to live & local DJs sound like they're just phoning it in, with the most disinterested attitude you'll ever hear. They're so burned out, so self-involved, and so disconnected with the public and their show that it's just one big mess. Then I've heard a guy voice track his show from another city, and he's so connected, so focused on his audience, and having so much fun that you forget about where he's actually at. You don't have to be live to be able to interact. It's been done for years. But you have to care. Perhaps THAT'S where the problem is.

Amen!
You are correct on all accounts.

May I add, "Live & Local" are the new buzz words.
99% of your listeners want "Focus & Content."
Is your music on target? Are you relating or just annoying?

When your voicetracking, at some point you will be "live."
No excuses for blowing through a break.
If your station simply wants you to read a liner card, do it with passion.

On the TV side, no viewers are saying, "I'm not watching CSI or House this week, it's not "live & local."

 

[ActionJax]

Radio need more people like you ( not Voicetrack, Automation, and synication shows ).

Either that or use people like him to do the voice-tracking, automation, and syndication.

Those three things are not evils unto themselves. All three can be done well, and they can also be done terribly. Just as a live show can be done terribly. I've listened to live & local DJs sound like they're just phoning it in, with the most disinterested attitude you'll ever hear. They're so burned out, so self-involved, and so disconnected with the public and their show that it's just one big mess. Then I've heard a guy voice track his show from another city, and he's so connected, so focused on his audience, and having so much fun that you forget about where he's actually at. You don't have to be live to be able to interact. It's been done for years. But you have to care. Perhaps THAT'S where the problem is.

Touche...however the automation thing is the most evil of those three. It litterally takes a job from away from some kid trying to break into the buisness by board op-ing. I wouldnt have my on air gig if it wasnt for me board oping, so IMHO if I had to get rid of VT'ing or automation obviously it would be the latter.

 

[Bigtime Bowler]

Um... without automation there could BE no VTing. So you just killed two birds...

 

[ActionJax]

Um... without automation there could BE no VTing. So you just killed two birds...

sorry what i meant by automation is the mike fm's and frank fm'setc... Maybe i used the wrong phrase.

Bottom Line- I hate the fact that some stations dont have dj's and/or board ops

 

[dumber than a box of hair]

Um... without automation there could BE no VTing.

Um...wrong. They were doing VTing in the 1950s. The ingredients back then were: a wire (later, tape) recorder and a skilled engineer.

Martin Block's show on WABC was entirely voice-tracked. His engineer, John MacDonald, was so good at putting the chatter tracks together with the music that the listener couldn't tell that it wasn't live. Block even did time checks which were right on the money.

Automation just made it easier.

 

[ZRXOA 5248]

well in the 80's it was consultants

in the 90's it was consolidation

now it is technology.. either competition from the internet , SATcasters.or MP3 players/IPODS, and automation/voice tracking and the collapse of the big radio companies formed by the aforementioned consolidation.

For those of you that are not old enough to remember the 60's, the birth of FM as a rock music medium, and the 70's when it was just plain crazy in the music and radio business you missed one hell of a party. I wouldn't have missed it for the world!

 

[TheBigA]

For those of you that are not old enough to remember the 60's, the birth of FM as a rock music medium, and the 70's when it was just plain crazy in the music and radio business you missed one hell of a party. I wouldn't have missed it for the world

Keep in mind that what you're talking about only involved about 30-40 radio stations mostly in major markets. The other 6,770 stations on the air were pretty awful. I remember trying to get a job at one of those great rock stations, and no one was budging. They knew they had a good thing. Most people I knew ended up working at local AM daytimers playing Montovani.

 

[Speaker of Truth]

One of reasons that most stations use VTing and Automation to one degree or another is that "all these kids with enthusiam" have it as long as they get the shift they want, and can play "PD" to one degree or another..just don't ask them to work Friday or Saturday night, or major Holidays, or during school, and on and on and on...

There are exceptions of course, but those are exceedingly rare..I've been in radio for most of my adult life, since 1977, and I want out of this gig so bad I can taste it..the problem I have is trying to explain to someone that the skill sets I have are transferable to a number of occupations..

Those of you bemoaning consolidation have never worked for local owners who want to micromanage every aspect of the radio station they own..give me a big company any day of the week...at least you have some idea of what to expect on a daily basis...

 

[ZRXOA 5248]

I find it hard to believe that young people don't want to work in radio, or as you describe it they want to cherry pick their shifts and contribute to the management of the place with all their years of experience, but then again there is an opening at MRBI and there has been ZERO interest from qualified candidates and zero from less than qualified candidates. When I was breaking into the industry, many of the people at the college station I CE'd for were working for Curt Gowdy's WGCY. We also had people at WHAV and WSSH/WLLH.

Cripes half of WBCN's staff came from WERS at one point.

There are skills from radio that are desired in other fields. "Do you want fries with that" in a good radio voice should be good for more money than the radio companies are willing to pay these days. If there were still record stores the self compiled PhonoLog locked up in our heads would be useful to someone.

Then again some of us from the 70's could be pharmacy techs with the extensive knowledge of pharmaceuticals we learned from independent promoters trying to get spins. A career with the D.E.A. isn't out of the question. Who needs a CSI type lab we can ID all the good drugs.

I have heard stories about micro managing in small stations, including the hot line ringing to have a song stopped in mid spin because the owner didn't like the song. It is his station, I guess he does get to make the call.

 

[12 In a Row]

The past is the past and some of it was good.
Auto, shoe, banking, gas stations (except New Jersey) you name it, technology has forced them to move on.

Embrase today and the future.
Radio in one form or another will be around for many years.

Jobs that are and will be in demand:

Exceptional morning shows
Exceptional voice trackers
Exceptional production and promo pros
Exceptional sales pros
IT experts

There won't be as many jobs as before, but there will be high pay for the exceptional talent.