Part 1 – It’s all about time
This weekend, I will make my usual trip back to the land of the condo commandos and the early bird special to be with family for the holidays. In many ways, I consider myself very lucky to have been raised by my parents. My dad is 92 and I’m just so dog-gone proud of him. All of this really got me thinking about time. I hope there are still many more Christmas's together. A person born in 1980 will be 30 in our new year. That’s unreal- time is flying!. Then I also realized with each new year, radio as it once was is nothing more than a memory for many who no longer have relevance or perceived importance in the radio business model.
Times change and nothing remains constant. Never would I expect radio to operate as it once did. But I always believed in balance and in having diversity in teams. When I hired people to work for me, we earned success because the ideas that became reality were born from those in a wide range of age, gender, race and work background.
It’s not unique to Jacksonville, but obsession with all things youth I believe have draw-backs. Occasionally, Ch 4 runs some spots for their 10PM news. The typical viewers in the commercial seem to be between 25-30. Mary Bear is dressed like she’s heading to a club on a Friday night. I always believed journalists had to convey an image of professionalism. Really, I think she looks ridiculous dressed like that and not credible. I understand the importance of attracting younger demos for billing reasons but surely a way must exist to do it without compromising journalistic integrity. This is just another case where things have been taken to an extreme.
The other day I found myself on the WEJZ website. I discovered Arthur has a new, young looking sidekick. Talent is talent and I never believed in putting age requirements out there as a basis for hiring. I'm not saying they did that here as I really don't know. Maybe they think it’s all about relating as someone younger will bring up subjects relevant to those, lets say who are 25-35. No one on the board ever reported what happened to Valerie Seagraves. I thought they worked well together. Anyway, it’s pretty obvious Jim Byard has a diminished role, at least on the website.
Jim defies the odds and he works very hard. While the average listener may think he goes home by 10:05, we know better. I suppose if Jim looked like some of those specimen’s one would find in the picture at the entrance of Abercrombie & Fitch, his role on the station would be even more prominent. Anyway, I respect Jim a lot and I see beauty in Jim’s experience and skills. I wish him well.
Again, not unique to Jacksonville but radio seems to be unforgiving. While it’s not as prominent as it once was, business outside radio brings onboard those who have a proven track record in a competing company. I had the pleasure of meeting Pat Garrett a few times during his visits here. He seemed down to earth to me and he still has a love for radio, despite how poorly he has been treated. When Pat got a gig in NC, his show earned impressive numbers in 25-54 – far better than what preceded him and what followed him. That should account for something and prove his star quality and how typical listeners respond to him but it doesn’t. Maybe I will always be a dreamer but how I would love to see Pat create something wonderful for our market. I truly believe it makes good business sense and it’s time is long overdue. Opportunity should be given to those who earn it no matter their age.
I can go down the line and talk about many others who are displaced because it’s felt their usefulness or their ideas are a throwback to the past. There is a danger in this line of thinking. Whether someone is 25 or 55, if they demonstrate success and they know their stuff, I say why not.
Stay tuned for just a bit more before.
This weekend, I will make my usual trip back to the land of the condo commandos and the early bird special to be with family for the holidays. In many ways, I consider myself very lucky to have been raised by my parents. My dad is 92 and I’m just so dog-gone proud of him. All of this really got me thinking about time. I hope there are still many more Christmas's together. A person born in 1980 will be 30 in our new year. That’s unreal- time is flying!. Then I also realized with each new year, radio as it once was is nothing more than a memory for many who no longer have relevance or perceived importance in the radio business model.
Times change and nothing remains constant. Never would I expect radio to operate as it once did. But I always believed in balance and in having diversity in teams. When I hired people to work for me, we earned success because the ideas that became reality were born from those in a wide range of age, gender, race and work background.
It’s not unique to Jacksonville, but obsession with all things youth I believe have draw-backs. Occasionally, Ch 4 runs some spots for their 10PM news. The typical viewers in the commercial seem to be between 25-30. Mary Bear is dressed like she’s heading to a club on a Friday night. I always believed journalists had to convey an image of professionalism. Really, I think she looks ridiculous dressed like that and not credible. I understand the importance of attracting younger demos for billing reasons but surely a way must exist to do it without compromising journalistic integrity. This is just another case where things have been taken to an extreme.
The other day I found myself on the WEJZ website. I discovered Arthur has a new, young looking sidekick. Talent is talent and I never believed in putting age requirements out there as a basis for hiring. I'm not saying they did that here as I really don't know. Maybe they think it’s all about relating as someone younger will bring up subjects relevant to those, lets say who are 25-35. No one on the board ever reported what happened to Valerie Seagraves. I thought they worked well together. Anyway, it’s pretty obvious Jim Byard has a diminished role, at least on the website.
Jim defies the odds and he works very hard. While the average listener may think he goes home by 10:05, we know better. I suppose if Jim looked like some of those specimen’s one would find in the picture at the entrance of Abercrombie & Fitch, his role on the station would be even more prominent. Anyway, I respect Jim a lot and I see beauty in Jim’s experience and skills. I wish him well.
Again, not unique to Jacksonville but radio seems to be unforgiving. While it’s not as prominent as it once was, business outside radio brings onboard those who have a proven track record in a competing company. I had the pleasure of meeting Pat Garrett a few times during his visits here. He seemed down to earth to me and he still has a love for radio, despite how poorly he has been treated. When Pat got a gig in NC, his show earned impressive numbers in 25-54 – far better than what preceded him and what followed him. That should account for something and prove his star quality and how typical listeners respond to him but it doesn’t. Maybe I will always be a dreamer but how I would love to see Pat create something wonderful for our market. I truly believe it makes good business sense and it’s time is long overdue. Opportunity should be given to those who earn it no matter their age.
I can go down the line and talk about many others who are displaced because it’s felt their usefulness or their ideas are a throwback to the past. There is a danger in this line of thinking. Whether someone is 25 or 55, if they demonstrate success and they know their stuff, I say why not.
Stay tuned for just a bit more before.