Thanks for the reply, KXODJ.
Perry & Stephens are indeed private companies who, for better or worse (mostly for better) have carved their own path. To me, they're a couple of the "good guys."
The other companies you've mentioned either were public, or have divided interests. There was a time that diversifying was a good thing for the financial well-being for a company (still is). However, if you have to rob Peter to pay Paul (such as failing stations in other markets, failing newspapers, massive debt load, etc.) that is no solution. You end up dragging the entire company down.
The bad economy has taking a barely workable situation for radio groups & made it IMPOSSIBLE. They were treading water before; now they are drowning.
Radio's survival, is, as you said, related to creating entertaining content to deliver over whatever medium. While it is going to be a while, I believe eventually radio will "leave" AM & FM because once wireless internet is widely adopted it will be more cost-effective to stream worldwide than to a 90 mile circle.
As I stated in my previous post, I believe radio will see success when we see total failure. What I mean is, when the national companies are forced to have "fire sales" on their stations, & local or regional groups buy the stations. At the risk of sounding melodramatic, I picture it a bit like the phoenix from the flames.
I'd like to think radio will be older, wiser... there are certainly things to be learned from having been pulled into the corporate environment after years of "the wild west." Hopefully hiring & firing will be more even-handed, most stations are now non-smoking, & I'd HOPE there will be less underage girls under the console.
I would disagree that wearing a variety of hats is good change for radio. How much attention can you pay to any one responsibility with a hundred things nipping at your heels? I have no problem with a variety of job responsibilities, but these days staff are being squeezed to do more and more with less staff and no pay increase (or pay cuts!) and the result is jobs that are "good enough" because a person can only be stretched so far.
I know of no perfect job or perfect company. However, the owners of these stations can do a LOT better. The 1st way would be to let their program directors PROGRAM. Let their music directors direct their music. Let their production directors image the station(s). And let the jocks be personalities! The talent is there, just waiting to be mined.
It drives me CRAZY that WSB & KRMG sound almost identical, both with live team coverage, depend on it. It drives me crazy that KMOD's website looks just like every other rock station's website that Clear Channel owns. The national broadcast networks are struggling against cable & satellite... so let's be MORE like them? How does THAT make sense?
All the experts are saying "localization, personalization" and the radio owners are taking a cookie-cutter, one size fits all approach to their stations. Why? Because it's cheaper right now. In the end, I believe it will cost them heavily.
You asked if I mentor & train. When I have the opportunity, yes. Actually, when I was new in radio, I trained my then girlfriend to run a radio station!
She wouldn't have won any awards, but she got passable. Since then I've worked with both old & new staff, to train those who has never been in a station before to improving those who have been at this for some time, to learning from those who make me sound like a newbie myself. I work both to train those in broadcast radio, & I'm training up new staff to work in internet radio as well.
I am very proud of what my station is doing. Every day I feel lucky to be able to reach listeners the way great stations of the past have. Not to say I'm of that quality, but I'm creating that connection that got me excited about the biz in the 1st place. There is no bigger rush... and I have the feeling we're just getting started.
You ask if I understand radio is a business. Perhaps I have not been clear.
I would NEVER suggest any station, announcer, etc do anything "for the art of radio" alone.
What I am suggesting is that good radio "art" will make stations MONEY. Yes, this is a business, but radio is not something people need, so it's not like selling meat or milk or another staple. Radio is a want, so you have to make people want it. That has been corporate's goal, don't get me wrong, but their processes have led to APATHY which kills any media.
Imagine if American Idol was just inoffensive? Why would anyone bother to watch?
For radio to make the big bucks again, it has to be compelling. I'm certain there are ways to use research, share resources, etc to help create compelling, income-generating content... I'm arguing the current processes are NOT working. Just because a song doesn't annoy somebody doesn't mean they'll tune in for it. Just because they're aware of a national talk show host doesn't mean they'll tune in. To make the big bucks, radio programming can't be so darned passive! Corporate has to learn to accept that if you're going to play something people love, some people are going to hate it... and that's OK. If nobody cares either way, they'll never tune in.
That's one thing talk radio got RIGHT in the early 80s. Conservative political talk is polarizing... but at least people CARE. And the numbers reflect it. KRMG is on top right now I believe because people care about the content. Doesn't it bother you that popular music with local hosts doesn't beat national syndicated talk that only appeals to a certain segment of the audience? The reason is passion. Period.
I don't believe there's much the local people can do, unless we win the lottery. The only way to keep your job is to do what you're told. It's the golden rule, he who has the gold makes the rules. Mainly I talk about this to vent, and perhaps to say to others in the biz, "you're not crazy; I agree with you."
Oh, sure I've gotten myself fired! I've also quit, sometimes in dramatic fashion, which felt good at the time but thoroughly burned a bridge for all time; I can't recommend it. What I was referring to was layoffs where my boss had NO desire to let me go but was informed by the higher-ups that the budget was to be cut... and I was the part of the budget they were looking to trim.
My boss didn't want to get rid of me, and corporate didn't know who I was. All they knew was on a spreadsheet they were bleeding money, so make it work with less. It was my boss's problem to figure out how to make it work without me. He did of course, because like I said Tulsa radio people are talented people... but has the product suffered? I think my former boss would say yes, although I don't know that for a fact.
HE was a great boss. My boss before that was an all-out jerk, no question about it. I don't have enough bad words for him... and it's not been just me, I hear that from past & present employees. They go through staff like rain there. Before him I had a boss who lied to me about what the other owners wanted, so that wasn't much fun... although it forced me "across the street" to another GREAT boss who really "got" the idea of compelling radio making him money.
Before that, I had a boss who I worked for, for seven years. He was a good boss, & a good friend. The station bored me to tears, but that wasn't his fault.
I had another boss briefly (before full-time opened) who others had problems with, but I got along with just fine.
Before that, I had a boss who regularly came into the station late at night, disappeared into his office for 30 min, & came out wearing sunglasses... hm...
Then a boss who told me I had to shave my mustache or I couldn't tell anybody I worked there(?!?). Before that, a boos who I loved but he let me go & to this day I'm still not sure why. At my first radio gig, the station went DARK so there weren't a lot of options to keep working there.
My current boss is very, very good. Perfect? Of course not. I'm CERTAIN he would say the same thing about me. ;-) I'm very lucky to be working who I'm looking for.
Every day I do my best to do good radio... & my hope is that I will make myself & my boss very, very rich. (Hasn't happened yet... heh...)
I, too would love to hear how we could better communicate to corporate owners of stations what we believe would increase their income without putting our own heads on the chopping block. Ideas?
