I Completely Fell Apart

Another true-life lesson, shared in hopes it teaches you something that you don't need to learn the hard way, like I did.

I played trombone in my high school band and orchestra.

It never felt like I was all that talented as a musician, but since I moved up to first chair and eventually my band director encouraged me to enter a regional solo competition, I suppose I was good enough.

However, that Saturday morning in Canton, Ohio, in a school room when my piano accompanist got to the place where I was to come in, I cracked.

Suddenly, my memory was gone.  I had practiced.  I had rehearsed.  I had memorized, but when it was my turn to perform, I lost everything.  My embouchure collapsed.

I didn't play very much, and what I did play was terrible.  I had sounded better in my very first lesson many years before.

I wanted to run and hide as the pianist played her part perfectly.

What I learned:  it's not enough to "prepare." 

From then on, I vowed to always OVER-prepare.

Prepare beyond being ready, beyond knowing your part, past perfect execution.

How did it work out?  A few years later, auditioning for my university band and orchestra, I made the cut.  I've won more than my share of broadcast awards in the intervening years as well.

My hope:  you never have to go through the complete humiliation I had to experience as an adolescent in order to learn how crucial over-prep on everything is.

 I've always wondered what and who (click to read his parents' story if you're not aware of it) it took for the likes of Richard Sherman or Russell Wilson (another powerful tale) to learn that lesson at such a young age.

Broadcasting Is What You Make It

Contributed by guest blogger Kevin Fodor, Dayton, Ohio, (kfodorataol.com) who as a high school student in love with radio hung around my nightly remote broadcasts all summer back in 1969 from The Dayton Mall on WAVI-AM 1210.  He not only makes me very proud today, but is also a great reminder to mentor promising young people you encounter:

I’ve been reading blogs on the web and on Facebook asking, “What would you say to a person considering radio as a career?”. And, what follows, sadly is post after post after post from people who say, basically, “Don’t even bother trying.”

Now, I don’t agree with every decision that’s been made by the corporate biggies (though some of the changes over the years have had positive outcomes). Nor do I think the FCC has always ruled in the public interest. (I think to some degree, they threw the baby out with the bathwater in the 90’s rewrite of the Telecom Act.)

But, I have to take a stand here.  What I’m reading on these blogs makes me feel that a lot of people are just, in effect, stepping on people’s dreams…because theirs didn’t necessarily turn out the way they hoped.

It’s not easy to get into broadcasting these days.  Memo to both young…and old:  IT NEVER WAS!

It’s not like it was “in the good old days” of slip cueing vinyl, loading carts into machines and 24 hour “live and local”. Agreed.  But, some are seeing that, for their station or stations, some of what’s been done in consolidation needs to change.  And others will, too…in the right situations.

The thing, I think, that a lot of people forget these days…is that radio, and television, too…was then and is now…still show business.  For every person working in a broadcast station these days, there’s a hundred or more who would like those jobs.  It’s always been that way.  And, I don’t think that’s going to change.  Just as for every person working on a network TV series or show, there’s hundreds of dishwashers in New York and L.A. trying to get one of those jobs.

Sadly, this business can be a “boulevard of broken dreams”.  Just like show business.

People lament the “frightful insecurity” of this business.  But, show me a business…any business…in America these days where job security is guaranteed.

There are ways, though to decrease the chances that the spotlight will fall on you at budget cutting time. If early on in one’s career, you learn everything you can learn about the business… Learn to be an on-air personality, learn to write a good, concise news story and how to properly deliver it.  Learn to be a good audio editor, learn to write and produce good commercials. If you can do it all, and do it well, the chance that you will be a “statistic” on the “boulevard of broken dreams” will be minimal.

I’ve been in radio now for 39 years.  I’ve only been officially unemployed for 7 days of those 39 years. Yes, that’s unusual. I know that, and I’m grateful for it. I did what I did and learned what I learned because I never took the attitude that I wanted to be just a “disc jockey”.  I wanted to be a “broadcaster”.

I started out as a DJ in 1974. A few years later, I transitioned over to journalism as a radio news reporter, anchor and News Director.  Did that for about 5 years.  Didn’t like the job prospects in radio news after the FCC rule changes that took away the requirement for owners to pledge a percentage of air time for news and public affairs programming. So, I went back to being a jock . Then, I wanted to program stations.  Did that twice and was successful as a PD.  Got tired of the corporate BS in management and went back to being an “employee”.

Today, I work for Cox - a station group in a top 75 market where I get to use all my skills.  I jock on a music station.  I do mid-day news on a sister news-talker. I am part of the programming team.  I produce spots and promos…and my voice is used as a commercial talent on our sister TV station. And, just to keep my programming “chops” up to speed, I volunteer as a program director for an LP-FM that has grown to about 100 underwriters in a small community nearby.  I also teach radio broadcasting as a sideline. And, I even offer my services as a quasi-consultant for small town and small non-commercial stations whenever someone asks my opinion.

What do I tell students who tell me they want to get in the business?  I tell them the truth.  It’s not easy to get into.  You’ll likely start part time.  You may have to work two jobs (a full time and a part time one) to get by for a number of years.  Or else, you’ll have to get creative and start your own DJ or voiceover business out of your home.

But, I also tell them if they apply themselves to the job, if they learn as a new employee and work hard to hone their skills and be willing to take every opportunity offered them to learn new things…they will eventually find success.

I tell them, though…to expect to be laid off or fired at least once in their lives.  Maybe more than once. In this business, that’s not necessarily a sign of personal failure, One thing I’ve learned is that when one door closes, another opens and you have to be ready to walk through it when it does.

I tell them the truth about salaries in radio.  Anywhere from about 20-grand on up. Get on a live morning show at a decently rated station in a decently sized market, and you can make from 50 grand on up. Become really big, and the sky’s the limit.

I tell them everyone who has made a career in this business has had their days when dinner was Campbell’s Soup and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. When “dinner out” was McDonalds and steak was out of the question.  His politics aside, I tell them in the early 70’s Rush Limbaugh was a $150 a week (or thereabouts) disc jockey who certainly knew what it meant to not have a lot of money.  But, he makes 20 million a year now…all because he can attract large numbers of people by talking on the radio. Howard Stern?  Same, too.

Long ago when I was just out of high school, I knew a young guy who had followed my lead into the radio station I had helped to build there. Turns out he thought I was a pretty talented guy, followed my career and, years later I learned, really looked up to me. He followed me into the business. Today, he’s the PD of a major station in New York City.

I’m 57 today.  And I know that kind of gig will now not likely ever come my way. But, I guarantee you, I go to sleep at night proud of him.  And the fact that he scaled the heights of the business and made it to the rarified air of Gotham…and credits me with playing a small part in his success…makes me think that maybe I did accomplish something good in my life.

You see, I am a broadcaster.  Not a “DJ”, a “news guy”, a “sales weasel” or a “suit”.  I happen to think it’s a pretty noble occupation.  I still believe in serving the public interest, convenience and necessity.  And if I manage to entertain along the way, so much the better.

And for the next generation coming down the pike, I suggest they follow the wisdom of the late Mercury Astronaut (and astronaut “boss”), Donald K. “Deke” Slayton who once offered this advice to young people, “Decide what it is that you really want to do”, he said. “Then, never give up until you accomplish it.”  You see, he had to work 18 years in his gig before he ever got to look at Earth from over 100 miles up.

I would respectfully submit, that a lot of people inside and outside the business would do well to encourage young people to go for the brass rings as far as they can grab them, rather than give advice steeped in the bitterness of “what once was” and “what might have been”.  Success is not always a 7 or 8 figure bank account, a mansion or an expensive car. Sometimes, it’s just taking pride in what you do every day. And persistently knocking down the barriers that get in the way.  I'm still the 13 year old radio geek you met way back when.  I always dreamed of having a radio station in my bedroom to play with.  I've kinda accomplished that.  I'm programming an LP-FM and I program it from my office PC at home, and update it on the fly from a notebook computer I carry with me. I'm going to be helping a small, 550 watt non-comm class A FM soon.  So I guess that makes me kind of a consultant....

A personal PS:  Kevin is now looking at hitting his 40th year in radio next year, still loving this business, getting out of bed at 2:30 am for WHIO's morning show, teaching broadcasting several times a week).  He says:  "Maybe I have gotten to the point where I've made a difference.  Hope so, anyway."

Ray Martin

The longtime CBS MarketWatch columnist is one of those voices that keeps writing things that I save and read over and over again.  I'd like to combine some of his "keepers" from over the years and put a radio spin on them for you:

1.  Don't do what you are told.
More precisely, never "settle" for doing "only" what you're told; always try to do a little something extra.  Ask yourself, "Why did he/she request this of me, and what can I do to deliver more than they want?" As Martin puts it, "The way you get promoted is not by doing what you are told, but by taking the initiative to do more..."

2.  Under promise and over deliver.
The idea is to get your manager to recognize you as one who frequently exceeds expectations. My old friend Jay Trachman used to brag that one of his proudest achievements as a beginning jock was to empty the "in" basket in the production studio each evening before going home. He didn't steal other people's voice work, but anything routine that simply required dubbing to cart, or copying with a tag -- he finished. Not only did he get a rep for doing something extra, but he also learned production. By the time he was ready to seek his next job, he could sell himself as a "production Wiz!"

3.  Always make your boss look good.
One of my favorite old sayings: "There's no limit to what you can achieve, if you don't care who gets the credit." And when the person getting the credit is in a position to reward you with a promotion or a pay increase, well -- that sounds to me like the best kind of rational selfishness.

Top qualities of people who get promoted:

• They work for a company and for leaders they respect and admire.  In part, this means quit whining about the lousy outfit you work for, if you do, and find something more to your liking. It may not happen in a day or even a year, but if you're unhappy where you are, and settle, you're settling on your own hopes and aspirations.  Never stop looking until you find someone you can devote your heart and soul to.
• Always keep the "big picture" in mind. Understand how the things you do every day fit into the whole picture. We on-air talents tend to have an inflated view of how important our work is to the company: "Without me, they wouldn't have anything to sell." (Sales people have the same inflated view:  "If we didn't sell, they'd starve!") It takes both sides, along with management and support staff, to make the station "work." It's wise to be seen as one who can bridge these gaps -- one who communicates well with all the various departments of the business.
• They have strong technical skills and work hard on technical projects.  How many things do you know how to do at the station, besides your own principle tasks? In the age of multi-tasking, the more things you can do, the more valuable you are to the company, and the more secure your job is.  It's to your advantage to learn how to sell, create logs, manipulate a data base, etc.
• They work beyond "nine to five" - not just on the work of the day, but by taking classes, reading books and getting extra training that continuously increases their human capital. This is a tricky one for radio people: I don't suggest you "live and breathe" radio, because it's to your advantage, as a performer, to mix with other people and to "have a life." The more different things you do, the more well-rounded a person you become, and the more interesting you are, potentially, on the air. Still: you've heard it a thousand times.  This is not a forty-hour-a-week job. Never was, never will be. When things need to be done, the one who's there to do them will be the one the management values. And if, between going to the movies and concerts, and watching the popular TV shows and being active in civic or religious organizations and all the other things we need to do to become a visible member of the community, you also find time to read the trades and an occasional book on how to improve your skills, so much the better.

Thanks, Ray Martin, for career advice that stood the test of time.

Defining Today's Success, From Salt Lake City

KSL PD Kevin LaRue's want ad in today's Inside Radio has some great advice for all of us:

  •  Produce at a blistering pace
  •  Crackle with excitement
  •  Perform in a creative, upbeat contemporary style
  •  Execute precisely during high-pressure

Rick Dees

The news last week that Dees is out, and Jimmy Reyes gets the wake-up call starting 6-9 a.m. Monday on Hot 92.3 FM (KHHT) has a few lessons imbedded in it.

Dees quickly e-mailed Orange Country Register media columnist Gary Lycan:  "We launched a one-year marketing campaign with my friends at Clear Channel to increase the awareness and revenue of Hot 92.3. The campaign has been a great success and we look forward to other new shows and marketing strategies with the talented team from Clear Channel in the near future. See you on the air again soon and at www.rick.com plus all over the world with the Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 and Daily DeesRadio Show. Be caller #10."

A&O has been fortunate to work with Rick's production company and I can personally testify that his positive attitude isn't just "spin."

He's the real deal.  An entrepreneur who gives 100% to everything he undertakes.

Greg Ashlock, president and market manager of the Clear Channel stations in Los Angeles, wrote in a memo to his staff also quoted by Lycan last week, "Rick has been with us for a year and we've thoroughly enjoyed every moment. He's a consummate professional and we wish him the best as he pursues some national opportunities."

Before I say much more, let's put my personal biases on the table.

I know what Ashlock says about Rick is true,

Hindsight is 20/20, but I have always felt that if Emmis had put Rick in mornings on KZLA and kept it country back in 2006 when they hired him to relaunch the station at "Movin' 93.9" it would have been a match made in heaven and country radio in Los Angeles would be billing considerably more than what Go Country 105 has been doing very happily since they filled the void, due to Dees' power with listeners and savvy with advertisers.

I am a big Dees fan (click to listen to three consummate pros in action earlier this year on Ellen K's birthday on KISS-FM as an example of why I am).

I admire his ability to bring his entire self and skill set to every opportunity as well as his business acumen, professionalism and optimism in dealing with career adversity.

He's an inspiration to anyone who's serious about building a long-lasting career in this business.

Lesson #1:  when the station you're on is positioned as both "hot" and "old school," make sure your fan base really wants you to be "old school" too and if it's possible to be both things the position statement promises.

Lesson #2:  when, like happened with "Movin'", people describe the place where you work as "the Rick Dees Station," it could be a sign that the station's music format may not be the best one to attach yourself to unless you're prepared to work 24/7.

Lesson #3:  when the axe falls, be proactive and positive.  You want to work for these people again in the future.

Lesson #4:  keep a lot of other irons in the fire.

If you're ever in Burbank, stop by his studios just off the Ventura Freeway near Riverside and Olive and see everything he's up to.

And, if you're ever in need of a place to broadcast live from beautiful downtown Burbank for a special event, I know he'd be pleased to do business with you.

That's Rick.  Moving forward, never looking backward.

Where To Go From "Perfect?"

I've been listening to a lot of country radio morning personalities lately, as last week's "The Perfect Morning Show" recapped.

For most of us, the quickest path to success is to follow that kind of blueprint, designed to make a lot of local people like you personally by making listeners a big part of everything you do.

Once you've accomplished that, there's a different path which only a very few manage to take, that can create extraordinary long term market dominance.

Make the kind of folks who don't "live" in your community hate you.

That's the only way to take "like" to "love" for the majority of folks who live in your town, and it's a risky path, requiring deep knowledge of local values combined with a degree of unquestioned personal authenticity.

Before you testify to your personal faith journey, question whether Whitney Houston deserves flags to be flown at half-staff or create your own make-believe brand of beer, you must really get to know your own passions as well as those of the majority of your target listeners.

Or, simply take a risk and hope that it works.

Odds are, with that approach, you'll fail, but if you don't, you'll go from "striving for perfection" to "exceptional."

Not many of us have the courage to climb that high or the ability to do it every day, which is why the ones who do so and make it work have audience shares which very few build and maintain.

Me? Consultant Of The Week? Why, THANKS, Mike McVay!

I have been reading the great interviews with the McVay Media Advisors Alliance team and learning a lot. Now, next week, I know I won't learn a thing, since Mike tossed the questions at me this time.

Here's a preview:

Mike McVay: What is the one thing that is universally concerning when you start a new relationship with a radio client?

JA: Establishing credibility and trust. Of course, it's impossible for someone you hire for their objectivity to get an honest and "can see the forest for the trees" view of your situation because they are an outsider who feels free to point out the things that "insiders" may not either be aware of or feel free to discuss to ever - by definition - be fully accepted as a company employee would,

Thus, sometimes, being politically-incorrect within an organization can be a reason why a consultant is brought it. Yet, the goal is to create long term success not just to shake things up. The more I can learn about the history and people involved and become a full partner, the more assistance I can be.

I work hard from the outset to strike that balance and understand exactly what the company that hires me wants from our relationship.

MM: What has changed about the way you program today from the days when you started as a consultant?

JA: Once upon a time, the consultant would set the agenda as a detailed action plan and expect the client to do most of the work involved. Now, I actually have more backup and support than many of the programmers and managers I work with. Thus, we provide prep, assist with researching the audience if you have no other way to do it internally, coach, create, brainstorm, write and produce. Though this change would not have been foreseen when I first went to work for Drake-Chenault in Los Angeles almost thirty years ago, but I like the much more hands-on approach a lot. It used to be that you'd meet, write a report and then move on, wondering if the client was executing your agreed-upon vision as well as possible. Now, I find myself much more involved on a daily basis and that is very gratifying, let alone being much more productive.

MM: What are the three things that broadcasters should be focusing on ... that they're ignoring or unaware of?

JA: 1. The quality of our streaming content. A&O's "Roadmap 2011" national perceptual study of country radio core users are gravitating to our streams especially on their fast-growing use of mobile media and they are aware that the quality of online audio is inferior to what they hear on FM and AM. They want to use us more online, and find our poor quality control of streams an impediment to doing so.

2. Building authentic personal brands which execute consistently and creatively and thus enhance the station brand. Leverage them across all platforms. Your "position" is no longer what you claim you do, it's what you actually do in real time.

3. Focusing on what goes between the songs as much as on the quality of the music. In the 80's, air personalities were told to shut up and play the hits. In the last decade, we taught them that what we want from them is as many voice tracked hours in as little time as possible. Tomorrow's audience can get music with little or no talk in many places, and will remain loyal to radio only if we understand how important fresh, topical, relevant, well-written, tightly-edited content is as well.

MM: You're viewed as a successful programmer ... what is the ONE thing that you're most proud of (to date) in your career as a broadcaster and consultant to the broadcast industry?

JA: Attending the annual Pre-Country Radio Seminar Country Radio Hall Of Fame induction ceremonies and seeing so many longtime friends and clients being enshrined in the Hall, based on work that we have done together. It's such an honor to be among the plaques hanging on that wall, surrounded by people who have been my heroes.

MM: What would you like to be known for as a broadcaster?

JA: A mentor, an effective trainer and motivator.

MM: What advice would you share with a 1st time program director who is entering your format of expertise?

JA: Listen. Thanks to streaming audio, it's now possible to hear every great radio station and personality in the world in real time. Don't become so busy in your daily life that you fail to listen carefully to the people you work with, compete with and admire.

MM: Anything that you'd like to add?

JA: If you're good and want to get better, I'd love to get to know you. Call, txt or email me, especially if you have content you're proud of that you'd like to share.

Practice Makes PERFECT (more steps to greatness)

Radio personalities have generally gotten pretty good at building memorable brands for themselves, and that's what it takes to perform well in diary ratings measurement, but in PPM there's that extra step which can mean a 25% increase in your recorded listening: perfect execution with no missteps. Metered audience measurement punishes the mediocre. That's why this old Fortune article hit me right between the eyes. Excellence is no longer a hoped-for goal, it's a necessity each time you open the mic, produce a commercial or piece of imagery.

2. As you do the task, focus on what's happening and why you're doing it the way you are.

3. After the task, get feedback on your performance from multiple sources. Make changes in your behavior as necessary.

4. Continually build mental models of your situation - your industry, your company, your career. Enlarge the models to encompass more factors.

5. Do those steps regularly, not sporadically. Occasional practice does not work.

The Secret Of Greatness

#1: Approach each critical task with the explicit goal of getting much better at it. This is called deliberate practice.

Research shows you'll process information more deeply and retain it longer.

Why It Pays To Go To The Dentist

While sitting in the waiting room, I picked up a four year old copy of Fortune and discovered five secrets to true greatness, starting with a technique called deliberate practice.

It applies to self-improvement no matter what you want to excel in - from making presentations to negotiating deals to deciphering financial statements.

Thank you, (Dr. Vicky LeClair and..) Fortune, for giving me blog content for the next five days!

Now And Then, Life Reaches Out And Gives You A Hug

I just got one from WTCM, Traverse City's Jack O'Malley on his 25th anniversary at the station. It so happens that I was the consultant there a quarter century ago and thus I could not resist calling him to express my admiration for his staying power and passion.

What I got from Jack was this amazing email message:

May I say that it was something you told me 25 years ago that I have quoted many times and I believe is the cornerstone that the last 25 years have been based on. Once while you were here I asked you if you thought that WTCM could compete with a Detroit or Chicago country station. You looked at me and said "no, but you don't want to be too hip for the room". That has stuck with me and has become my credo! I tell the staff all the time...RELATE to your audience, give them what they want...not just what you think is good. I listen to the stations around town and so many are doing what they think is good and not necessarily what people in these parts want. So you impressed a young mind of mush with the compass point and I thank you. Please know that a part of my 25 belongs to you. I mean that sincerely! Thanks for all you do for radio and the people who listen to it! It's a great medium and I am hoping that I can keep it alive for the next generation of young mushed minds to come along!

So, a bit of my advice for you too: be encouraging as you coach and train the people around you. Every now and then, guidance you even forgot giving floats back to you like a lovely bouquet of flowers.

Thanks, Jack, for taking time to tell me that as well as for 25 years for great local radio, making a positive difference in your lovely community!

And, Now We Know The Rest Of The Story

Please take two minutes and watch this wonderful ABC News obit from Eric Horng in Chicago. Even in death, Paul Harvey remains an inspiration, leaving so many memorable quotes.

"As long as you're trying to be somebody else, the best you can ever hope for is to be second best." - Paul Harvey