to broker or not to broker, that is the question!!

[doowopvault]

in reading some replies, and listening to the radio racket, i noticed some high-hatted insults leveled at hosts that brokered their airtime.one comment that i heard on the racket, was one host mentioning that their co-host was"the only one receiving a paycheck from a station. paycheck from a station, yeah, the point being what?is he some impressive talent.that could mean anything. is he part of the janitorial staff[remember to get under the rim with the brush] is he a secretary? mybe part of programing, ooooh, i got it, mybe his job is like the job an acquaintance of mine has in baltimore, there is no hosts, no staff. just one person sitting at the board, cueing up the spots, and the syndicated shows. reading his paper, talking on the phone to his girlfriend till it's time for the next cue. he's receiving a paycheck!!!, impressive!!!!the fact is, the listeners do not know who has brokered their time and who has not. all they do know is, how informative, how knowledgeable, how insightful the host is. i brokered my time at wurd and wnjc. i had 7 paid advertisers at wurd and 4 at wnjc. i was sales, dj and board operator. i did more than your "paid employee" the listener did not know. they just enjoyed the show. the only reason i stopped was sales is a full time job. when you're working a full time job, taking care of a sick parent, making phone calls to prospective advertisers, visting them, making follow up calls etc, is alot of work.so, some respect to brokered hosts. they do a hell of alot more work to keep themselves on the air. and like i said, the listeners don't know the difference. if they enjoy the show, thats all that counts.

 

[BRUSSTAR]

Clearing The Record

Folks on the Racket don't necessarily bust on brokering airtime itself (I have openly admitted my doing so in the past). More so, we selectively cut up on specific individuals doing it purely for purposes of ego inflation and the propagation of false glory.

For the record, Jeff is on-air at WXTU, not a custodian (not that there's anything wrong with it-- I know of many members of janitoral staff making significantly more money than many others in radio).

While I did point out Jeff's being the only one of the three currently "earning a check in radio", Kyle and I have each spent chunks of our lives working full-time (salaried) in broadcasting. It's no big deal. Each of us left the business voluntarily for brighter opportunities.

I left for the reasons you pointed out about the majority of radio airtalent's being reduced to "pointing and clicking" from time-to-time. But anyone who spends hundreds of dollars doing a show with no advertisers on a station few listen to just for the glorification of his massive, unchecked ego is fair game on the Racket. I don't believe you fell into this catagory (you say you had sponsors, and as far as I know, you're down-to-earth), so you have nothing to worry about with regards to our weekly wrath.

 

[doowopvault]

well george, i'm not insulting you or your other hosts. but, you made me laugh when you said that "you openly admitted to brokering time" you say openly admitted,as if you did something disgraceful and you came clean about it. and as far as "a station that nobody listens to" hey buddy, it's what you make it. at 5am every morning, i hopped on my bike with my posters and covered south philly, river to river.taping and stapling the polls. and people began to call. it's a process man, it takes time. thats why i said i wore many different hats, sales, dj, board operator and advertising. and it's more difficult when you are at a station where you can't carry the listeners from one show to the next. because there different genres. it's what you make it my man. and how hard you advertise.

 

[BRUSSTAR]

And, I applaud you for your efforts. That's obviously a lot more work than most people put into their brokered shows (referencing a certain "disco" DJ who has the "if I get the show on the air, they will come because I'm a star" mentality-- and is now off the Philadelphia air).

That being said, for all your efforts, were you able to make any money with your venture? If not, then how do you indeed define success?