Why...

[ct2874]

As someone who is an avid radio listener, I tend to pick up on some tendencies that stations have done lately which has me posing the question why, such as...

Why does AM Tampa Bay (FLA) deem it necessary to play the "FOX News Alert" sounder when throwing it from the "quasi-journalistic triumvirate" to Bill Cole? I thought that sounder was exclusively used for alerts/bulletins (and whenever MJ said something unimportant was "Breaking News" on his show)...

Why am I hearing Florida Gator Basketball on both 1250 WHNZ and the Sports Animal at the same time? A little redundant, don't you think?

Speaking of redundant, why does the Animal have to run a Station ID liner when Fox Sports Radio goes from call segment to National Sports Report, from network commercial to local commercial, AND from local commercial bed to the intro of the call segment. Come on, just once in that stretch is sufficient enough, preferably from local commercial back to network.

While I'm on the subject of liners, why is the Least running the "From the Culpepper-Kurland Studios, this is a 1010 Sports up-to-the-minute Sports Update" liner for the intro to a "Sporting News Flash"? A normal station liner is fine, but to pass off a Sporting News Flash as a local update makes no sense to me...

Speaking of the Least, why is the "Sports Edge" show still on the air instead of Sporting News postgame? The rationale for having a local sports show from 11p to 1a on Saturday night in this market is puzzling to say the least (no pun intended).

Since Nancy and ? has become a topic of discussion, why is "Frodo" even on that show? He's the sole reason i will never, ever, EVER listen to Mix in the AM even in passing through the presets on my radio.

Why wasn't "La Loca" let go from FLZ sooner? Or did she leave on her own? Either way, I think the station is better off without her.

...and probably my biggest question in this subject...

...why is the radio industry so thankless to work for?

I once had hopes of being on radio when I was much younger, but ever since I started reading (and posting from time to time on) this board, I'm thankful that I didn't pursue that career field, even though I could still pick up Ham radio as a hobby. You guys and gals that work in this field are real troopers, and you deserve my admiration, even if I am a little crass in my criticisms...

 

[sbe1]

Please dont take up ham radio. Try CB instead....

 

[newsguy92]

Since Nancy and ? has become a topic of discussion, why is "Frodo" even on that show? He's the sole reason i will never, ever, EVER listen to Mix in the AM even in passing through the presets on my radio.

I am SO glad I am not the only one who feels this way! I think the reason he is still on there is because "Nanc" has less problems with the girls than she does the guys.

 

[ebenbrown]

...and probably my biggest question in this subject...

...why is the radio industry so thankless to work for?

I once had hopes of being on radio when I was much younger, but ever since I started reading (and posting from time to time on) this board, I'm thankful that I didn't pursue that career field, even though I could still pick up Ham radio as a hobby. You guys and gals that work in this field are real troopers, and you deserve my admiration, even if I am a little crass in my criticisms...

There is only one reason why one should enter and/or continue to work in this field: Because one has fun doing it.

Depite being on the recieving end of plenty of BS over the years which I could attribute to many people in many places, I still get a kick out of doing what I do. It makes up for the less-than-stellar wages, the egos, and the thanklessness that this industy is riddled with.

I've never blamed anybody for "getting out" and I certainly don't view them as "quitters." If ever I should cease to enjoy this line of work, I too will find something else to do with my time.

 

[coolaid213]

Ctyner,

Let me see if I can hit all your questions real quickly, here goes...

To find the answer to why 970 and Faux news abuse the breaking news sounder, one need look no further than Ivan Pavlov. Anyone who has ever taken a basic psychology class knows about Pavlov's dogs... and that is why they are abusing the news sounder. It's a form of classical conditioning. You hear the news sounder, and you immediately snap to attention. Oh boy! Breaking news! Paris Hilton passed gas... It's actually quite clever.

Why are you hearing the Gator game on 1250 and the Sport Animal? Simple answer... very few people in this business actually care about content, or what the listener wants to hear, and they probably didn't have anything better to play either.

As for going overkill on station liners, refer to my previous answer.

I hope you'll forgive me for this, but I'm going to skip over the questions related to sports radio. Mostly because sports radio bores me to death, but also because even if I was into that sort of thing, dedicated sports radio stations are still a total waste of frequency spectrum. I'm going to pass on FLZ as well, I know the station is still doing great and all, and the teeny boppers love hearing the lastest garbage music being pushed out, but as far as I'm concerned they died back in 1995, and Bubba is about to slaughter Mr. Snit.

And now on to the 64 thousand dollar question, "why is the radio industry so thankless to work for?". Well it isn't... really. Of course, I can't speak for those unfortunate souls working at CC... The people who are actually getting their hands dirty (as Eben pointed out) love what they're doing, and wouldn't trade it for anything. The reason why the people doing the dirty work are not getting appreciated financially or otherwise stems from problems caused long ago (intentionally) by the FCC. They cause the problems that in turn allow the people at the very tippy top of this *pyramid* to get REAL comfortable. There is no competition because the Feds are bought and paid for. When you are guaranteed a third or fourth of a tiny piece of pie, there is no room for competition, and there certainly is no room for QUALITY. Do the math, if quality doesn't matter, then quality people don't matter. Why not fire that 30 year vet you've got and hire a pimple popper like me? Why focus on improving your content if your sales weasels can still sell time for crap. This leaves room for cost cutting while simultaneously allowing for wasteful spending. The truth is, the people with the power ARE NOT broadcasters, they are hacks, they don't love the business, they love the money. The real talent is disappearing fast, the real talent (that knows nothing other than broadcasting) is scared to death that they're going to end up flipping burgers. Ya savvy?

BTW... SBE is right, don't bother with ham radio, CB is much more fun.

Cedric

 

[billalm]

Why are you hearing the Gator game on 1250 and the Sport Animal?

Could there have been a Lightning game that was gonna conflict at some point during the broadcast? Usually they'll go both stations till one has to break away and refer people to the one sticking with it. Gators were probably getting bumped at some point and you happen to catch the time when both signals were broadcasting the same thing.

 

[ct2874]

Nope, best of my knowledge, the Lightning were off last night, but then again, haven't they been off all season (if you know what I mean)?

 

[naughtytalker]

Celebrating 23 years gainfully employed in commercial broadcasting. No end in sight. Didn't get rich, still having fun. As they say... those who can, do. **Vote, Mitt Romney**

 

[Butters925]

As someone who is an avid radio listener, I tend to pick up on some tendencies that stations have done lately which has me posing the question why, such as...

While I'm on the subject of liners, why is the Least running the "From the Culpepper-Kurland Studios, this is a 1010 Sports up-to-the-minute Sports Update" liner for the intro to a "Sporting News Flash"? A normal station liner is fine, but to pass off a Sporting News Flash as a local update makes no sense to me..

WHY????......Simple when you let someone like Mike Pepper Run a station you might as well through out the rules on how a local station should operate....Enough said! How the hell they got into the book is still a miracle?

 

[4ever_radio]

Since Nancy and ? has become a topic of discussion, why is "Frodo" even on that show? He's the sole reason i will never, ever, EVER listen to Mix in the AM even in passing through the presets on my radio.

Frodo is on there only because Nancy wants him on there. He's was fired from Bay news 9 and from a few other places, but its the Queen B that keeps him right next to her so she can feel safe. Any man is a target to her and Frodo isn't man at all. Time to freshen up a bit I say.

I am SO glad I am not the only one who feels this way! I think the reason he is still on there is because "Nanc" has less problems with the girls than she does the guys.

 

[radioguy555]

I'd like to add another question to this thread:

Why in the heck does some hack from Honolulu have to call in to 620 every morning at 10:30 (that's 4:30 Hawaii time) hawking some herbal product that's probably like all the other crap out there? Can't he cut a commercial for the station? Once I hear Ron's cue of "Back in 90 seconds" for this live commercial thing, I can't turn off my radio fast enough.

 

[ct2874]

That's that "Herbal Bee" product you're referring to I assume. I was listening to Jorge Sedano out of Miami on the web Thursday morning and before the bottom of the hour break (I believe it was approaching 11am), this guy promoting Herbal Bee was on Jorge's show. Must be another product ClearChannel's trying to cram down our collective throats.

And now that you mention it, radioguy555, why does the Animal still have to interrupt a call segment with some lame advertisement (referring to that "Back in 90/60 seconds" cue)? They finally stopped doing it on Sileo's show, you'd think the Animal would've stopped doing so by now as well...

 

[ebenbrown]

And now on to the 64 thousand dollar question, "why is the radio industry so thankless to work for?". Well it isn't... really. Of course, I can't speak for those unfortunate souls working at CC... The people who are actually getting their hands dirty (as Eben pointed out) love what they're doing, and wouldn't trade it for anything. The reason why the people doing the dirty work are not getting appreciated financially or otherwise stems from problems caused long ago (intentionally) by the FCC. They cause the problems that in turn allow the people at the very tippy top of this *pyramid* to get REAL comfortable. There is no competition because the Feds are bought and paid for. When you are guaranteed a third or fourth of a tiny piece of pie, there is no room for competition, and there certainly is no room for QUALITY. Do the math, if quality doesn't matter, then quality people don't matter. Why not fire that 30 year vet you've got and hire a pimple popper like me? Why focus on improving your content if your sales weasels can still sell time for crap. This leaves room for cost cutting while simultaneously allowing for wasteful spending. The truth is, the people with the power ARE NOT broadcasters, they are hacks, they don't love the business, they love the money. The real talent is disappearing fast, the real talent (that knows nothing other than broadcasting) is scared to death that they're going to end up flipping burgers. Ya savvy?

I dunno. I never really looked at it as a "Haves VS Have Nots" situation. It's a business, and like any other business - those at the top will make more. I don't have any illusions about that. It isn't a gripe of mine. I knew it getting into the business many moons ago. I can't change it.

So, the best advice I'd have for somebody is: "Only do this line of work if you can put the other BS aside and concentrate on what you're doing. Have fun with it."

 

[coolaid213]

I dunno. I never really looked at it as a "Haves VS Have Nots" situation. It's a business, and like any other business - those at the top will make more. I don't have any illusions about that. It isn't a gripe of mine. I knew it getting into the business many moons ago. I can't change it.

So, the best advice I'd have for somebody is: "Only do this line of work if you can put the other BS aside and concentrate on what you're doing. Have fun with it."

This is not a "haves vs. have nots" situation, that wasn't my point. Radio IS NOT a business like any other, and you should know better. The FCC and NAB have done everything in their power to stifle competition, going so far as to claim that LPFM's would cause, "oceans of interference"... oh but what about all those religious translators??? These folks don't have the public's best interest at heart, and they're allowing mediocrity (at best) to thrive. When I talk about employees being unappreciated, this isn't the main issue, it's merely a symptom of a greater problem that is festering. I'm not griping about money, I'm upset that radio is DYING, and make no mistake about it, it's dying... not because of new technology, not because of television, not because of the internet, not because of satellite radio, but because it's being smothered to death from the inside by people who care more about money in the short term than the longevity of the medium.

Do you ever talk to people outside the business? I do! What's the first thing I always hear? They want more local news, more local information, they don't want voice tracked DJ's, and quite frankly, they want to know if a damn tornado is about to sweep across the Gasparilla parade, or not!!!

While you feel that you can't help provoke change from within, you're probably right that you can't, but I feel that I've been a positive influence upon everyone I come in contact with. I explain exactly why nobody is listening, I explain the REAL REASON local news is being phased out, I explain why stations are forced to play piped in garbage on the weekdays while having no choice other than to air the most opprobrious and contemptible forms of radio during the weekends. Believe it or not, many of your co-workers DON'T understand why this is happening!!! Maybe you should take them aside and clue them in sometime... just a thought.

From what I gather, your advice to others in the business is to shut up and pretend that you're not on a sinking ship. I abhor this line of thinking! I will continue to do good work despite the conditions, but how dare anyone else suggest that I (or anyone else for that matter) disregard what's happening here.

Cedric

 

[ebenbrown]

This is not a "haves vs. have nots" situation, that wasn't my point. Radio IS NOT a business like any other, and you should know better.

Yes, Cedirc. I know. I've been doing this for a very long time. You're missing my point entirely. My advice to is people looking to work in this field. Working in this field often means disappointment in the state of the industry as a whole. But even in such general disappointment you can still have fun doing your job.

The FCC and NAB have done everything in their power to stifle competition, going so far as to claim that LPFM's would cause, "oceans of interference"...//... not because of new technology, not because of television, not because of the internet, not because of satellite radio, but because it's being smothered to death from the inside by people who care more about money in the short term than the longevity of the medium.

Maybe... Maybe not. Maybe both. I can't do much about it until I hit the lottery, buy my own stations group and do what I want with them.

Do you ever talk to people outside the business? I do! What's the first thing I always hear? They want more local news, more local information, they don't want voice tracked DJ's, and quite frankly, they want to know if a damn tornado is about to sweep across the Gasparilla parade, or not!!!

When have I stated in this thread I agree with what is going on with radio news? I know what listeners tell me. I know what I would like to hear on the radio. I just don't get to make those strategic decisions.

While you feel that you can't help provoke change from within, you're probably right that you can't,

Thanks. This is getting repeatitive.

...but I feel that I've been a positive influence upon everyone I come in contact with.

Go you!

Believe it or not, many of your co-workers DON'T understand why this is happening!!! Maybe you should take them aside and clue them in sometime... just a thought.

I disagree. Most of my co-workers through the years all see the decline of radio news. We all lament in our beer becuase of it. We see the cost-cutting and abandoment. It hurts. Some of the youngin's don't have a clue because they never knew anything else. Can't do much about that either.

From what I gather, your advice to others in the business is to shut up and pretend that you're not on a sinking ship. I abhor this line of thinking! I will continue to do good work despite the conditions, but how dare anyone else suggest that I (or anyone else for that matter) disregard what's happening here.

Nope. My advice is to not do this line of work if you can't enjoy it. By what you're telling me here, you'll never enjoy working in a radio newsroom because of what some folks in a corporate office in Texas or New York are doing to your local budgets. In that case, I'd suggest not working for those companies. Or in this business. You'd be miserable.

If, despite all the BS, you can still have fun daily working in a radio newsroom... then do it. It's still a fun gig even if it's not what it used to be. It beats digging dtiches. (At least for me.)

 

[Don62]

Do you ever talk to people outside the business? I do! What's the first thing I always hear? They want more local news, more local information, they don't want voice tracked DJ's, and quite frankly, they want to know if a damn tornado is about to sweep across the Gasparilla parade, or not!!!

Yeah, we saw how well corp. radio worked on that one. Nowhere to be found.

If radio is so hard to run by CC and the other big chains, why are they in the business?

It can't be for money, 'cause they ain't makin' none, at least from what I hear.

All they can do is lay off people and run the stations at the lowest cost possible. If child labor were allowed, they'd likely exploit that. Wait. THey probably wouldn't. Would cost too much. :'(

 

[FiddlerOnTheRoof]

Do you ever talk to people outside the business? I do! What's the first thing I always hear? They want more local news, more local information, they don't want voice tracked DJ's, and quite frankly, they want to know if a damn tornado is about to sweep across the Gasparilla parade, or not!!!

Yeah, we saw how well corp. radio worked on that one. Nowhere to be found.

If radio is so hard to run by CC and the other big chains, why are they in the business?

It can't be for money, 'cause they ain't makin' none, at least from what I hear.

All they can do is lay off people and run the stations at the lowest cost possible. If child labor were allowed, they'd likely exploit that. Wait. THey probably wouldn't. Would cost too much. :'(

Don't let them fool you. They are making TONS of money. Layoffs and budget cuts are all in the name of maintaining profit margins in excess of 50%, meaning that for every dollar that comes in, at least 50 cents goes straight to profit (actually it's more like 60 cents at most groups).

 

[Rockin Rob]

Why does AM Tampa Bay (FLA) deem it necessary to play the "FOX News Alert" sounder when throwing it from the "quasi-journalistic triumvirate" to Bill Cole? I thought that sounder was exclusively used for alerts/bulletins (and whenever MJ said something unimportant was "Breaking News" on his show)...

The gentleman before me said it best: to emote attention. Here in Philadelphia, our all news station had a continuous beeping sound played whenever a breaking news situation occured. You knew, when you heard the beeping, something major was about to transpire.

Of course, Opie and Anthony used/abused the FOX News Alert stinger, only to be served with a C&D from News Corp because of it.

 

[YEKIMI]

I am glad, for the most part, that I got out of radio in 1985, I saw what was coming down the road and figured better get while the getting is good. I figured after the new owners of a station I worked at promised no format changes for 18 months, it would be wise not to trust them since they were lawyers. Sure enough, 9 months later they "gave" the station to a religious broadcasting company so they could claim a $500,000 donation on their taxes. I figure I have more job security now, swimming naked in a pool full of hungry sharks with bloody hams strapped to my body.

 

[Wazzie]

I figure I have more job security now, swimming naked in a pool full of hungry sharks with bloody hams strapped to my body.

Where can I get THAT job? Sounds cool.

Eben has it right. Those of us still in the trenches are still having fun at what we do. The most interesting thing I thought about the first post was that it was aimed mostly at Clear Channel. What? No problems to report at Cox? Most of CBS is okay with you?

The last time I checked, there is a knob/button on your radio that allows you to change stations. If your knob is broken and you're stuck on WFLA/WDAE/WHNZ/WMTX, consider getting a new radio.