Why work in radio anymore?

[SirRoxalot]

What people are whining about now isn't much different that what people were whining about in 1975. "Waah, they make me read liner cards and they won't let me do produced bits between beautiful music songs".

Puh-lease. NOBODY ever wanted to "do produced bits between beautiful music songs." Yeah, a lot of guys worked beautiful music stations to break into the business, and polish basic skills, but nobody ever went to work expecting to do personality radio on a background music station.

Does anyone seriously think Howard Stern EVER said "oh, Mr. Bossman, can I talk dirty on the radio? Please"?

If a guy like Howard Stern came along today, his chances of getting a job would be slim, and his chances of hanging onto the job long enough to build and act and an audience would be virtually nil.

You don't always get to practice on the audience's ears. If you're doing soft A/C, why do you think you're going to be allowed to do long form comedy bits, stream of conciousness talk and pick your own playlist?

There you go again. Hyperbole to the point of the ridiculous. Nobody doing "soft A/C" is expcecting to do "long form comedy bits" or "stream of consciousness". Nobody expects to pick their own playlist. A little flexibility with that playlist would be a welcome relief for both jocks and listeners who cringe at some of the train wreck transitions selected by a computer. Computers are great at schedule based on numbers. They have NO aesthetics or taste.

Have a talker in your cluster? Volunteer to do a couple hours on the weekend to develop your chops. Just one of many examples. Some of you think it's up to "the boss" to let you break format and do what you want, and it's never been that way. Sometimes what's funny to you isn't to your audience.

Sure, "volunteer" on a talker - a VERY different skill set than jocking at a music station - and add more hours in both prep and airtime to a schedule that already is long on hours and short on compensation.

Basicall, take responsibility for your own career and stop thinking of it as "I go to work and a paycheck lands on my desk every two weeks". Radio stations aren't General Motors in 1972. Sorry, but "the big bad coroprate evil bossman is holding me back. If it wasn't for Farid I'd be a star" is bullcrap.

Name me ONE star developed by Farid & Company. Or Clear Channel. Or Cumulus. Somebody who started in the business after 1995, and wasn't an import from another form of media. BTW, most people can name more than a handful of people from other media who found out that radio WASN'T that easy. David Lee & Whoopee just to name a couple of the bigger busts. Anybody want to say that they're not talented? Yes, they are - but not at radio.

Mostly what's being suggested by you and TheBigA is to GET OUT OF RADIO. I guess that's your real answer to the original question - "Why work in radio anymore?"

 

[SirRoxalot]

The assets and skill sets required for TV and/or movies is very different from the skillset required for radio. There's something to the concept of "having a great face for radio".

I agree that deregulation has taken the teeth out of any penalties for jocks who go over the line. At one time, you risked your FCC license - which was critical to your ability to work in the industry. I have little sympathy, though, for employers who encouraged outrageous behavior and prodded talent to "walk the edge" in a quest for ratings. People like Stern and Bubba were encouraged to go a little further - and rewarded for it with 7-figure contracts. If you're paying a jock millions, a $75K fine got you more publicity - and morning show mileage - than you could have bought on local media.

Now that the fines have been ramped up, how many jocks have been guilty of crossing the line intentionally? How many owners have decided to drop local talent in favor of "safer" syndicated talent, or voice-tracked talent that is more easily censored?

I'm willing to go get an FCC license again if you're willing to reinstate competition in local radio by reducing the limits on ownership.

 

[gr8oldies]

Well, Rox, you've spent months here complaining about your job and your company and how you can't catch a break because the big bad bossman won't let you do what you want.

If anyone is letting Selector spit the playlist out, airing it as is and not manually editing it they aren't doing their jobs. I worked with a Program and Music Director once that spent literally hours massaging the music logs after Selector had spit out the basic log. I jocked Friday night/Saturday morning and more often then not the PD and MD were walking out of the station along with me at 5am because they spent that much time doing the weekend and Monday logs to get them just right. So, spare me the "computerized playlist" nonsense.

"Pig Vomit" did not develop Howard Stern. He stood in his way every step of the way while Stern was at WNBC. If you're thinking one of the consolodator CEO's owes you a shot at stardom, sorry, they don't.

So basically, yes, take your paycheck that lands on your desk every two weeks and your vacation and think that someone owes you a shot at stardom while you still want an hourly-job-with-benefits or do something about it.

Whether you do or don't get out of radio is up to you, but you're not making yourself more marketable by bitching on a message board about how the man won't give you a break..while at the same time accepting a paycheck from him.

 

[gr8oldies]

Cox just added the anything-but-safe Bubba in my market..when their local product has always been squeaky-clean.

 

[TheBigA]

Mostly what's being suggested by you and TheBigA is to GET OUT OF RADIO. I guess that's your real answer to the original question - "Why work in radio anymore?"

If what you want if for radio to be like it was, then you're right. Get out. There's nothing you or anyone can do to bring back the past. It's done and over. Lots of things killed it. I believe it was dead before 1992.

However, if you believe in yourself, and you're willing to invest in yourself, and take some personal responsibility, the sky is the limit. But not for a regular paycheck with benefits. If that's what you want, just read the liners.

The assets and skill sets required for TV and/or movies is very different from the skillset required for radio. There's something to the concept of "having a great face for radio".

Not any more. Radio isn’t just audio. Radio is multi-platform. Your show is on the web site and people can see you, on video and at personal appearances. If you have a face for radio, that means you’re going to be in production, not on the air.

Talent is talent, and if you are talented, you can transfer it to TV and the movies. Adam Sandler is not a movie star. He’s a comedian. But he was talented, and could transfer his talent to other media, just as the Marx Brothers did in the 1920s, or Bob Hope did in the 30s.

I'm willing to go get an FCC license again if you're willing to reinstate competition in local radio by reducing the limits on ownership.

You simply don’t get it, do you? The past is done. The FCC got rid of licenses because they didn’t have the budget to oversee it. And don’t act like getting a 3rd phone license is any compensation for ownership limits. That train left the station when the FCC tripled the number of stations. Most of the biggest problems facing radio today were created by bad FCC regulations PRIOR to 1996. And as one who’s been competing for a long time in radio, I can tell you that competition is much harder now than it was 20 years ago. Because radio stations are competing against lots of things, not just other radio stations.

 

[gr8oldies]

Rox, sounds like what you want to do is talk up intros, tell jokes over them and do bits between songs. That went away and is not coming back.

 

[SirRoxalot]

Rox, sounds like what you want to do is talk up intros, tell jokes over them and do bits between songs. That went away and is not coming back.

So THAT'S what you consider to be "relatable radio"? You really don't have a clue, do you. When was the last time that you were on the air? 1975?

There's a great difference between radio of the 1980s, the 1990s, and radio today. The audiences have different expectations. What they do expect, however, is something more than robotic "listen to our station" pap that doesn't inform or entertain. Most radio today talks AT an audience, not TO an audience. The most common exception is morning drive - where the ability to entertain still holds some sway with management.

If you sell your entire presentation based on music, you'll lose. There are too many sources for music, and you can't outprogram somebody's iPod. Radio needs to differentiate itself, and be MORE than a music delivery system. It needs to be relatable, and a companion to the audience. Otherwise, what's the point of listening - especially to stations that don't present new music?

BigA, you really don't get radio as a medium, do you. You don't understand that it's not just "TV without the pictures". The appeal of radio is unique when it's done well. If people want to watch music videos, they're are plenty of other sources that are on-demand and under the control of the viewer. And do you seriously think that anybody wants to watch people working in a radio studio? Puh-lease.

Yeah, you guys are right. Radio needs MORE syndicated and out-of-town voice-tracked pap. It's working SO well these days that most of the major groups are flirting with bankruptcy. Carry on. Sooner or later, you'll drive the value of stations down so far that the banks will force bankruptcy just so they can get SOME value out of their investment - even if it's just to get their money OUT of radio and invest it in a GROWING industry. Then, maybe some people who understand the medium will buy in at a reasonable price and rebuild the industry.

 

[gr8oldies]

I know. Everyone hates Delilah, Rush et al and they are dying for someone to have their butt in a chair downtown and talk to them between songs. That's the sum total of your argument...local DJs doing happy talk is the salvation of radio.

 

[TheBigA]

BigA, you really don't get radio as a medium, do you. You don't understand that it's not just "TV without the pictures". The appeal of radio is unique when it's done well.

You really don't know who you're talking at. There was an era when radio did drama, and people listened. Those days ended before you were born. Then there was an era when DJs played music. That era is in the process of ending. Radio is many things and is very adaptable to many different circumstances, not just the one very narrow use you have for it. It can be TV w/o pictures, and it can be theater of the mind, and it can be part of a fully integrated media experience, if in the proper hands. You need to let go of the past in order for radio to move into the future. You haven't done that yet.

Then, maybe some people who understand the medium will buy in at a reasonable price and rebuild the industry.

There you do again, with your wishful thinking. Everyone thought Larry Wilson was one of those people who understands the medium. Watch what he's doing in Portland. I heard today he just added a syndicated evening show on one of the stations he just bought. Rebuilding the industry won't be going back to the past. It means moving into the future.

 

[TheBigA]

Most radio today talks AT an audience, not TO an audience.

That's the mistake...they shouldn't talk "at" OR "to." Radio should talk WITH an audience. That is real talent.

 

[SirRoxalot]

Hmmmm. It's really hard for a voice track to talk WITH an audience. It's tough for syndicated show from another region and another time zone to talk WITH an audience.

"Theatre of the Mind" requires very talented people, which the industry is NOT developing. About the only place you'll find "Theatre of the Mind" these days is on NPR - who incidently is doing better than ever. Coincidence?

You guys keep talking about the "future of radio". So, just what do you envision? Enlighten us poor mortals.

 

[elchupacabras]

Hmmmm. It's really hard for a voice track to talk WITH an audience. It's tough for syndicated show from another region and another time zone to talk WITH an audience.

"Theatre of the Mind" requires very talented people, which the industry is NOT developing. About the only place you'll find "Theatre of the Mind" these days is on NPR - who incidently is doing better than ever. Coincidence?

You guys keep talking about the "future of radio". So, just what do you envision? Enlighten us poor mortals.

It's obvious what the "future of radio" is to many: zombie bots! A robot voice reading liner cards! Already happening with song tagging. Do you know how ridiculous it sounds to have a monotone female voice announce the name of the song, and have an another announcer come on and talk about something else?

Years ago, we would have never settled for such mediocrity. And now those on top seem to think that is "great radio." (Yes, tagging has been around even under the old SMC automation systems, but not like it is now.)

 

[gr8oldies]

The voice track itself cannot talk with an audience, the person recording the voice track can. Delilah certainly isn't my thing, but can you seriously tell me that a caller to her show who is massaging a broken heart or madly in love with her husband or boyfriend cannot relate to someone across the country just because Delilah's butt isn't in a chair in Rochester, Fargo or Dayton? A broken heart really feels different in San Diego than in Baton Rouge? Not to mention that you get better callers with the nation to pick from than the same 14 callers over and over that would call a local market (I worked at a relatively small station that did a love songs show, and yes, it was the same handful of callers).

Find it interesting that all my friends who listen to KLove never complain "gee, the DJs in California. I want a DJ to be here". They even make a point to check the website to find a KLove affiliate when they travel. Why is that when supposedly everyone wants a local butt in a local chair saying local things between songs.

Rox, you seem to not want to take any responsibility for your own career, but you are waiting for a savior to buy your station, hire DJs and let them say things like "Q109, that was Beyonce. Wow, that was a big pothole on Main Street on my way to work. I had fun hanging out at the local bar this weekend". Supposedly that's going to get audiences rushing back to radio because we all know people want talk between songs. Somehow I wouldn't hold my breath.

No one really knows what the future holds..it'll probably involve a lot of trial and error. But for those of you wanting 1975 or 1985 back, and insisting that local butts in chairs are what will solve an advertising recession, dream on. Don't get too gray waiting for your savior, however.

 

[TheBigA]

"Theatre of the Mind" requires very talented people, which the industry is NOT developing.

You obviously can't see the contradiction here: You hate corporate telling people what to do and how to do it. Yet you want corporate to develop talent. You of all people should love my view of individual talent development, and personal responsibility, rather than relying on corporate to tell you what to do and how to do it. You hate liner card readers, yet you seem to want a script on how to talk with the audience. This is not uncommon. Lots of people hate corporate today. Very few are willing to step in and take personal responsibility to replace them. You want me to lay out the future of radio because obviously you have no plan yourself. You want it to come from the great white father, who you hate, but you can't live without. You seem to just want the current corporate owners to be replaced by some more benevolent corporate owner. One who does what you want. It's not going to happen.

 

[SirRoxalot]

You obviously can't see the contradiction here: You hate corporate telling people what to do and how to do it. Yet you want corporate to develop talent. You of all people should love my view of individual talent development, and personal responsibility, rather than relying on corporate to tell you what to do and how to do it. You hate liner card readers, yet you seem to want a script on how to talk with the audience.

WTF? HOW do you derive THAT from ANYTHING I've ever posted? All I've asked for is a little more freedom to relate to an audience, and a few more opportunities that weren't "station promo". You know, time for actual human interaction where you're not trying to SELL something. That's hardly wanting "a script on how to talk with an audience". That's simply wanting an OPPORTUNITY to talk with an audience.

BTW, I'm not talking about ME. I'm no kid. I'm well enough established that I have a bit more leeway than most. I'm not above criticism, but I've already developed a level of skill that's brought me what I consider to be personal and professional success. It ain't personal, Bub. It's about what I see in the industry, not about MY career. You obviously don't understand that it's tough to make progress is your only qualified critic is YOU. Talent needs to be developed. Good companies IMPROVE their product.

This is not uncommon. Lots of people hate corporate today. Very few are willing to step in and take personal responsibility to replace them. You want me to lay out the future of radio because obviously you have no plan yourself. You want it to come from the great white father, who you hate, but you can't live without. You seem to just want the current corporate owners to be replaced by some more benevolent corporate owner. One who does what you want. It's not going to happen.

What you're saying is that YOU have NO IDEA what to do with radio to keep it a viable medium.

What NEEDS to happen is that corporate needs to look beyond the end of the quarter toward what their product is doing to the overall health of the enterprise, and the overall health of the industry. Anybody want to posit that radio is healthier to day than it was 10 years ago? That corporate radio has IMPROVED the industry?

I freely admit that I don't know what radio is going to sound like in 10 years. My guess is that most of the current corporations will either go bankrupt or get out, and radio will be reinvented from the bottom up, not the top down. Name me ONE format that came out of a corporate environment that WORKED, let alone revolutionized the industry. Virtually every one was born out of the head of somebody who was considered a lunatic early on, then embraced when corporate got their ass kicked by some hard working people at a peashooter across town.

What we have now is a bunch of money changers who decided that they could synthesize and manufacture radio by distilling the success of a few stations and formats, and applying their formatics on a mass scale, regardless of market size, or other factors that differentiate regional populations. It ain't workin', gentlemen. Much of the audience response to radio is less than enthusiastic. They like the convenience, but they aren't in love with a lot of the repetitive programming.

You want to talk about "personal responsibility"? I have a personal responsibility to put enough money away that I can retire someday without much help from corporate. There isn't a guy on the air anywhere that hasn't accepted that radio is at best a temporary mistress, and that there's no gold watch at the end of the career. It's strictly "what have you done for me lately, and how willing are you to do it CHEAPER". Yet, they go to work every day, do more with less, and work hard to entertain an audience as best they can within the confines of the format.

While we're at it, what about the "personal responsibility" of corporate to look at the long term interests of the enterprise, including the stockholders and employees? How's THAT worked out so far? And don't tell me that "nobody could predict a recession". You don't have to be smarter than a 5th grader to understand the Business Cycle.

 

[KevinFodor]

I am not going to argue with anyone here. But, I am going to offer my opinions.

Corporate radio has done good things...and bad things to the business. There are good corporate operators, some not as good ones and some flat out baaaaaddd ones. The really bad ones are going to get their due within the next year or two, as their bad business decisions lead them into possible Chapter 11 actions. There is a day of reckoning for some of these operators and for them, it won't be pretty.

The upside of this, is that there are sure to be buyers who will attend the fire sale with checkbooks open.

That having been said, if you're one of those who is still hanging on to the hope that radio will return to live 24/7 operation, that the computers will go away and we'll all go back to doing live shows with carts and cd's, don't hold your breath. That kind of radio is gone forever.

However, there are still talented programmers, and talented jocks and potentially talented people wanting a shot in the business.

I work for a "corporate radio station". I am allowed the ability here and there during my show to do some personality bits, quick phoners, artist news, shoutouts and sendups (I guess that's what they're called now). But, just like KHJ and 'CK, I have to do 'em over the intros and get out before the post.

What in the world is the problem with that? If it worked for Drake, it can work for me. But as the guys who worked those formats can tell you, it's not the easiest thing to do. You have to develop that talent.

You can develop a "relationship" with listeners in voice tracked environment. I know I've done it when a listener e-mails me and tells me how much their office loves listening to me, and asks me to say hello to them, which I do. They don't know it's tracked.

I talk about local events, music news, artist news, if something big happens in town that day, I relate it over an intro. I use radio's "theater of the mind" advantage to make it sound like I'm there. And when you do it right...it works.

Nobody teaches you that? I do in my broadcasting school classes. In the business and don't know how? If your PD can't tell you, ask people who can. Find a mentor. We're out there.

This is not to suggest radio doesn't need some reinvention, it does. We've got to become relevant to the teens again. But the only way that's going to happen is for some stations to commit to programming to them again. Not this "oh yeah, we got some teens, but we really program to 18-34 women" mindset.

I believe things will eventually turn around. But not before a great deal of bloodletting, which could begin at any time.

 

[firepoint525]

I remember working at my first station (the aforementioned 500-watt daytimer); the GM, who must have been 90 years old at the time (okay, that's an exaggeration) actually complained that I "talked too much." But I realized two things about him:

1) He was probably used to having "shy" kids working for him, who were reluctant to say anything over the air, even once every half-hour or so, so he wasn't used to having anyone like me there.

2) He basically hated anyone under 80 (okay, another exaggeration), and I was 27 at the time (the truth, not an exaggeration).

 

[TheBigA]

All I've asked for is a little more freedom to relate to an audience, and a few more opportunities that weren't "station promo".

Freedom is not something you ask for. You don't wait for the memo that says "Today, you can say what you want." Do I have to hold your hand? This isn't that hard. If you can drive your car between the lines, you can do what your boss wants and still have some fun. If you have talent, you know what to do. If you don't you wait for the memo.

What you're saying is that YOU have NO IDEA what to do with radio to keep it a viable medium.

No..I know exactly what to do with it, and unlike you, I'm doing it now. I'm not waiting for permission from mother, or someone else to tell me what to do.

 

[SirRoxalot]

So, fill us in, BigA. You talk a big game. What are YOU doing besides blowing smoke on RI? You've yet to reveal any info that would allow us to judge your success as a talent, programmer, or executive. Or are we just supposed to take that on faith. We've seen a lot of idiots rise to the top in this industry, collect big paychecks, and simply have NO idea what they were doing as BROADCASTERS as opposed to glorified real estate agents.

 

[TheBigA]

So, fill us in, BigA. You talk a big game. What are YOU doing besides blowing smoke on RI? You've yet to reveal any info that would allow us to judge your success as a talent, programmer, or executive.

I'm not interested in YOUR judgement. This ain't reality TV. This is real life. You want to judge something? Volunteer to judge a beauty contest. I put my money where my mouth is. And I don't care what you think.