Time on the Beach

[SirRoxalot]

The Buffalo News article about Brad Riter's firing got me thinking about the times I got fired in radio. Fully half of my radio jobs have ended in dismissal. Some of those dismissals were justified, some were planned by me to escape an untenable situation, and I actually was fired by a small-market PD who was unhappy that the ratings went up significantly after I took over his shift and he moved to another. He indicated that he thought that I was "after his job". As if I wanted to spend years in Podunk, USA...

Getting fired is no fun, of course, but it does lead to some soul-searching. You start to evaluate the reasons that you're in "the biz" in the first place. You look at your employment alternatives. Often, if you get fired for cause, you're in one of those "down" periods where your radio show becomes a chore, not a joy. Management sucks, the format sucks, the consultant sucks, the facilities suck - you name it, it sucks. You're not exactly at your best when that attitude prevails.

So you find yourself on the beach, collecting a paycheck from the state, and plotting your next move. After you figure out that your broadcasting degree doesn't qualify for any other job in the world anyway, you begin to look for your "next opportunity". You end up at a place with worse equipment, unfamiliar management, a different format, and a new consultant - yet you're energized and at the top of your game, and you can't wait to get to the studio every day.

I guess my question is: Do we all (except Roger Christian) burn out after some period of time, and have to go through a period of revaluation and renewal? Or, is broadcasting happiness - like nirvana - attainable?

 

[Mike Sheridan]

For me management kept sucking the fun out of radio. As AM music went away and it was FM music things changed. Unless you were doing morning drive it was shut up and play the music. I got into radio because I love music but also because I liked communicating and joking around with people on and off the air. That and the music is what made it fun to go to work everyday.

Even when the on air talk became limited there was fun to be had in the production room. The chance to create and come up with the perfect sound to sell the product. There are 1,000 different ways to say a line, the right emphasis and inflection on each word to convey mood and meaning. I remember hearing another station using the same copy with someone else doing a spot. Many times I liked their read better, I made note of that and tried harder next time. The 4 track production studio was heaven!

What got me down after awhile was the realization that as soon as most listeners hear the music stop they hit the button and you're gone. So much for my 60 second masterpiece!

We all like to be recognized for what we do and like to feel that we are a valuable member of the team at the station. I see that happening less and less as time goes on. It's more like do this or you're fired, we can get someone else. You need more money? Tough, we can get somebody else if you don't like it.

After working in the business for many years my income didn't keep up with the growing needs of my family. I got tired of seeing friends with more income who had weekends off. They were talking about vacations, stock options, 401K's and retirement plans while everything I made went into the survival of our family.

I was somehow able to keep working in radio dispite some rough times. I will admit that I took some less than great opportunites to keep food on the table, some were better than I thought while a few were worse. I only had to collect about a week of unemplyment.

I still love radio I just get the feeling it doesn't love me back.

 

[buddy1025]

It's really baffling how you got fired so many times. I have been in Buffalo radio since 1983 and have never got fired. Infact, every year just keeps getting better and better. It may have something to do with your qualifications. Just a thought. Maybe this is just not your industry. You may want to do some soul searching.

 

[cee]

It's really baffling how you got fired so many times. I have been in Buffalo radio since 1983 and have never got fired. Infact, every year just keeps getting better and better. It may have something to do with your qualifications. Just a thought. Maybe this is just not your industry. You may want to do some soul searching.

On-air people don't get fired in radio?? And if you do get fired, it's always your own fault? Ratings, format changes, digital automation, management changes - none of that has anything to do with it? Are you joking? Are you on-air or in sales?

 

[skyrocker]

You're right, Mike, radio doesn't love us back. (But neither does it renounce us!)

A great description for one's career in broadcasting might be "unrequited love."

 

[Mike Sheridan]

It's really baffling how you got fired so many times. I have been in Buffalo radio since 1983 and have never got fired. Infact, every year just keeps getting better and better. It may have something to do with your qualifications. Just a thought. Maybe this is just not your industry. You may want to do some soul searching.

Your theory begs the question if he didn't have the qualifications how did he get hired in the first place?

Wrong place wrong time, there are so many reasons for getting fired. Some of the all time greats in radio have been fired many times!

Going through my own personal list, some were my fault and some were not.

 

[SirRoxalot]

Beach Slapped

If Buddy1025 really is Buddy Shula - which I doubt - he's primarily a sales guy, and reputedly a very good one. He's been a jock in the past at second-rate, low-rent radio stations, or a part-timer at Star, which is a very good radio station.

Getting fired goes with the territory if you're in radio. It happens to almost everybody. It's not a question of if, it's a question of when, unless you own the place, beat the suits to the punch, or work so cheap, or do so many things that they can't afford to fire you. Even then, it happens. People who are much smarter, more talented, rich, and powerful than I am have been fired. Randy Michaels is pretty smart, and been at the top of the heap, and he's been fired. If you haven't been fired, you probably haven't tried to reach beyond your grasp.

I searched my soul. My Acme School of Broadcasting certificate says I'm qualified. I think I'll stay, thank you.

 

[therealjm12]

Getting fired in radio is not a cause to go into deep depression. It has been a right of passage for the greatest and most talented people I have known in radio.
When I was in high school I got fired from my first jock job. The new G. M. had in interest in a local TV teen dance show and wanted me to become a dancer on it. Needless to say, I was out the door real quick. Soon after that I was fired from a station because I was accused of some kind of a theft from the station. I never did find out what was stolen or who stole it. Soon after that the guy that fired me was fired and I was rehired.
In my younger days I a--holed myself out the door a few times. Looking back I deserved it. In more recent years I have not been brutally shown the door. Format changes, ecconomics, and automation have been the reasons I have been let go. I am proud to say I am still in contact with most of my former bosses for the last 25 years or so and consider them as friends and look to them with high regards. I hope they feel the same way about me.

 

[Yeziknoradio]

...Then there's those times when a station decides to change direction and go after a younger audience.

My favourite example of a huge mistake comes out of Toronto Canada when they let Erin Davis go from CHFI.

They thought they could do better going after a younger audience

CHFI fell from top or near top of the ratings down to only a 5.7 share.

EZ rock picked up Erin and EZ's numbers 25-49 went way up.

CHFI was quick to rehire Erin.

 

[RadioStar23]

If Buddy1025 is Buddy Shula then Buddy ur not telling the truth, I remember Buddy Shula getting FIRED from WYRK for dropping the "F" bomb on the air...... Remember that Buddy, and sure Buddy won't get fired from WTSS because he has been the #1 sales person for a few years... It would be silly to get rid of him....

 

[Radknowski]

Never been fired? In radio? As a jock? GMAFB!

Jackson Armstrong, Sandy Beach, Don Imus, Bill Lacy, Howard Stern, Larry Norton, Shredd, Ragan, George Hamberger, Jim Santella, Shane, The Janitor... errr...

Sorry, not everybody can be Roger Christian (that's a genuine compliment.)

Being fired is almost a badge of honor, but not as big a badge as being HIRED by the competition and returning to the airwaves to wreak havoc upon your former employer... and telling your new employer where all the bodies and skeletons are hidden. Isn't petty vindictiveness fun, boys and girls?!

There have been some fine posts here, but Mike Sheridan created poetry when he wrote, "I still love radio I just get the feeling it doesn't love me back." Beautiful. I got misty-eyed.

BTW, I think radio would sound much better if more sales guys were on the air.

tee...
tee-hee...
bufffwahhh...
bwahhhh.... hahhhhhhh

[/sarcasm]

 

[SirRoxalot]

Hey, Buddy

For the record, I don't believe that Buddy1025 is really Buddy Shula. I think it's some troll trying to stir up a little shinola. It's probably somebody who's jealous of Buddy's success. Right, Darren?

 

[cee]

sounds like a troll to me. get off the computer and get to bed sonny, tommorow's another day of learning at middle school.

 

[midnight_skulker]

"Jackson Armstrong, Sandy Beach, Don Imus, Bill Lacy, Howard Stern, Larry Norton, Shredd, Ragan, George Hamberger, Jim Santella, Shane, The Janitor... errr..."

Stan Roberts... Joey Reynolds?... Slick Tom... Gary McNamara... Ray Marks... Dick Biondi... Tony Magoo... Tom Puckett... Taylor & Moore... and there are surely more good folks who got dismissed (and didn't necessarily deserve it), whom we've merely forgotten.

 

[SirRoxalot]

It would be easier to post the list of people who HAVEN'T been fired. It would be very short.

 

[Steven21]

"Jackson Armstrong, Sandy Beach, Don Imus, Bill Lacy, Howard Stern, Larry Norton, Shredd, Ragan, George Hamberger, Jim Santella, Shane, The Janitor... errr..."

Stan Roberts... Joey Reynolds?... Slick Tom... Gary McNamara... Ray Marks... Dick Biondi... Tony Magoo... Tom Puckett... Taylor & Moore... and there are surely more good folks who got dismissed (and didn't necessarily deserve it), whom we've merely forgotten.

Tom Puckett?

Really?

 

[Mike Sheridan]

There have been some fine posts here, but Mike Sheridan created poetry when he wrote, "I still love radio I just get the feeling it doesn't love me back." Beautiful. I got misty-eyed.

Thanks....and the really sad part is....There is a small sick part of me that still loves radio! If I didn't why would I be here writing?

Some people get very bitter about radio after awhile and those are the people who are still in the biz much later. I vowed never to be one of those people who crawl into the bottle after their airshift.

 

[Call Me Sherlock]

Ah, but how many have been fired by the same guy twice? 

I was fired in an ownership change, brought back several months later to engineer a format change as a programmer. 

And then, the same guy fired me a second time along with the new GM when the Mediastat (a one time rating snapshot) indicated that the station wasn't where the owner thought it should be after just a few short months in the new format. This in spite of the fact that he told me many times how pleased he was with the sound of the station.

I was gone and the station went religion not long after.  That's when I decided maybe a new career in sales might be for me.

 

[Element9]

Looks like this thread has brought out the best of the board. Good stories here; I have another.

Many years ago, I was fired from a very good medium market Top 40 station and a great paying job because I accidentally discovered that the PD and the GM were, how shall I say, having a daliiance.

Sometimes being diligent and conscientious can get a person in trouble. I was doing afternoon drive and went back to the station late one night to tidy up some production and prep a few promos that were going to start the following Monday. There were three people in the station. One of them was the night guy, who was on the air, playin' the hits and chatting up the girls on the request line.

I walked through the sales department, taking a shortcut to the production room. I heard what sounded like rustling coming from the sales manager's office. There was a dim light passing though the space beneath the door. I thought it was a break-in, thought somebody (like our CHR competition) was rifling our sales files. So I went up to the door, and in my toughest of tough guy voices said, "Stay where you are pal, I just called the cops..." Dead silence. "You're in deep sh*t, dude..." Silence.

I grabbed the doorknob and slowly turned it The door was unlocked. I was sweating bullets because I expected to get cold-cocked. I opened the door.

Gah!

I don't know who was more surprised. All I know is that of the three people standing there, I was the only one fully clothed. It was clear as to what caused the rustling. I wanted to burst out laughing and point, but the looks on the faces of the PD and GM indicated this wasn't a laughing matter to them. Embarrassed. Angry. Ashamed. Outed.

In that tough-guy voice I said, "I thought somebody had broken in..." Silence.

"Did you call the cops?"

"No, it was a ruse."

"You're done here."

"No problem, I just had some production I wanted to take care of."

Little did I know that when the GM said "You're done here," that he meant I was really done there: Fired the next Friday for alledged insubordination because I played album versions of the songs that were hits. The station policy allowed playing the LP version in place of the 45 version after 3 p.m. if there was sufficient time. I was furious. I was fired because I (inadvertently) discovered their secret and caught them "in flagrante delicto."

I said nothing of substance to anybody, but within a few days, I called the GM and calmly told him that my firing was BS and that I had consulted a labor attorney. Truth is, I talked to a guy in a bar who was a first year law student and vaguely described what "might" have happened to "a friend of mine." I suspect doctors, lawyers and priests hear the "friend of mine" story all the time. He told me it appeared I had grounds for recourse.

I told the GM I wanted three months pay and a letter of recommendation or I was going to sue; court procedings would have been a matter of public record. It could become very "messy." I wasn't making threats, I had no intention of harming people or messing up their lives. What they did was their business and I wasn't making judgements. But I was the guy who was getting, in a matter of speaking, screwed, and I wasn't going to take the fall.

Later that afternoon, they cut me a substantial check that held me over well beyond getting my next job. I put the check in the bank and siphoned about ten per cent off it. I also got a glowing letter of recommendation.

Within a month, I had a better gig at the Country station across the street. The two guys who fired me were terrified that the entire market would find out what was going on, but I never breathed a word about what happened that night I discovered the "rainbow follies." Within a year, both guys had found new jobs in bigger (and different) markets.

It's a weird business. It sure isn't M & T Bank or Chevy Tonawanda, that's for sure.

-9-

 

[Steven21]

It's a weird business. It sure isn't M & T Bank or Chevy Tonawanda, that's for sure.

-9-

Don't be so sure. Office hijinks are office hijinks. Although, I do admit, few have been fired from M&T or Chevy Tonawanda for playing LP cuts before 3PM.