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."

George Madden

He was named GM of CJJR/Vancouver after doing a masterful job managing Canada's Expo '86.  He hired me as the first consultant to the fledgling country station.

George was the consummate gentleman, brilliant and an excellent communicator.

In fact, he was so intelligent that he knew after several years that the Lower Mainland Jim Pattison Broadcast Group stations needed a more broadcast savvy individual to do the job.

He went to work for an executive search firm and the first executive he found was today's GM at JRfm, Gerry Siemens, whose approach launched a quarter century of consistent growth.

George Madden was very wise.

He knew what he didn't know.

So, he got to know people who did.

Becky Brenner

She had already done traffic, middays, production director and promotion director duties by the time I arrived at KMPS and I subsequently worked, first as her boss and then later as her consultant, with her for most of the 25 years she was there, spending 16 winning literally every radio programming accolade possible.

So, there are innumerable things I have learned from her.

Let me highlight one that just happened today.

Some of us, after numerous years of listening to new music and being pushed to add things that don't sound bad on the air by aggressive promotion, many of us become somewhat jaded and adopt the point of view that since almost anyone can be auto-tuned, Pro-Tooled, reverbed with those great Nashville backup musicians and singers to the point that even a mediocre song can "test" well enough and a vocalist can sound good enough that you develop a "heck, it won't hurt me that much" attitude.

Maybe they'll beg and plead, catching you on a good day.

Maybe the artist will do a free show for your listeners.

Maybe you overlook on "just this one" that performance and star power matter.  What rings the bell for all elements of the business is to reserve radio airplay for potential stars who understand "performance," who release only amazing songs that resonate to the point that in a year or two the artist has four or five songs plus a reputation for delighting in-person audiences so that they can pack a large arena.

Keeping your standards that high requires a passion for and understanding of all aspects of the music business.

It means recognizing that you go to showcases and live shows not to get your ego stroked, but to see how an act commands the stage, moves the listener.

That takes time and effort.

This morning Becky was a four hour drive from our Seattle offices in Central Washington where A&O&B clients and listeners had attended Watershed Music Festival. 

The event's three day passes had been long-since sold out.  No one day tickets were ever available, due to the three-day-pass sell out.  Becky felt that it was her duty to spend at least one day at the event and yet wasn't able to spend more time than that due to other professional commitments.

I told her to skip it.  Our clients could fill us in on how it all went on the phone, but that's not Becky  Brenner.  She wanted to experience as much of it as possible.  A music FAN, she sees it as part of her duties.  She paid for a three day pass so that she could go for at least the final day.

I've learned how to be a passionate country music fan, even after four decades in the business, thanks to the example of Becky Brenner.

Michael O'Malley

Mike and I have known each other for more than three decades and have been business partners for coming up on twenty years.

When a friend and I planned a month-long trip to Italy a few years ago, I invited Mike and his wife Wanda along.

I've never invited a coworker on even a week's vacation, so I wasn't sure if it was even "proper," but I was so delighted when they agreed to meet us in Rome and go with us for three of the four weeks.

The four of us traversed Italy in a rented car from the capitol, through Tuscany, Umbria, up to Venice, all the way down to Sicily and then Sardinia, followed by Corsica in a whirlwind adventure.

During those three weeks we got to know things about one another that we had never known, even after many years of working very closely together.

For example, we had a chance to visit the small city near Naples where Mike's grandfather was born before his family emigrated to the USA.

Amazing!

What I learned from Michael O'Malley:  deepen the relationships with your coworkers.  There is a lot more to all of us than what we share in even a large number of busy workdays.

Jim McGovern

The names I am going to drop in this post need no introduction from me.  Both of them are better known and have done more big things in their radio careers than I could ever hope to do.

Jim McGovern was the GM at KMPS who made me a Seattle PD.

Pat O'Day told a very revealing story at Jim's wake:

When Les Smith and Danny Kaye owned WUBE/Cincinnati, Jim was the manager and Pat went to visit his old Seattle friend over a long Memorial Day weekend they decided to drive up to see the Indianapolis 500.

The instant the idea came up, O'Day got on the phone and started calling in favors.  Eventually, he was able to pull strings and get a pair of passes to both the pits and the press box.

As they were walking from the car to the track, McGovern asked O'Day to wait a moment so that he could try to sell the pair of tickets he had in his pocket all along.

Pat exclaimed, "you let me go through all that and you had tickets????"

McGovern replied, "sure, because what you were getting was much better than what I had."

The lesson I learned from Jim McGovern:  don't micromanage.  Your team will often exceed expectations.

Jim always had a "plan B" -- which the people who worked for him seldom found out about (as long as their "plan A" was superior to it).

Larry Daniels

It is quite ironic that his last few years before retirement were spent successfully consulting country radio stations because my 32 year consulting career would never have started if Larry wanted to do it in 1981.

A little history:  when I first heard KNIX/Phoenix in the early 1970's I knew I simply had to meet its obviously brilliant programmer.

I had never heard a country station so upbeat, well-produced, populated with compelling personalities and totally in synch with the crossover success of Arizona's Glen Campbell among many others.

It was incredibly contemporary in its appeal, clearly "Phoenix, Arizona, country."

Fortunately, a mid-70's joint promotion between KHOS/Tucson and KNIX offered ample opportunity as four of us spent several days together peddling 128 miles from the Pima County Fair to The Phoenix Zoo in what we dubbed "The Great Arizona Bike Race" as a kickoff for the state's Cancer Society annual fund drive.

Later, Larry helped me land one of the best radio jobs of my career at KUZZ/Bakersfield, where he served as my group PD.

Then, in 1981, when Drake Chenault attempted to recruit him as a consultant, he turned the job offer down, recommending me instead.

I was enjoying selling for KEEN/San Jose after having been morning personality/program director and the phone call from Southern California came completely out of the blue, but - knowing that Daniels was convinced I could do it - I jumped at it, falling in love with consulting before very long.

Larry Daniels' personal modesty in spite of incredible long term career success is an inspiration.

He always let his deeds speak for his accomplishments and demonstrated to me (and many, many others) how to mentor.

PS:  I confess that Larry and W. Steven (the two bikers on the right) won that bike race because, as usual for Larry, they were simply much better prepared for it than Dan Gates and I (the pair on the left). 

That was another lesson.  We all had fun working together for a great cause, of course, but Larry Daniels went into battle quietly fully mentally and physically equipped to win.

Mentoring & Inspiring Women (MIW) In Radio's 2011 Mildred Carter Mentoring Program

Officially launched in 2002, this outstanding program matches up-and-coming women in the radio industry with female professionals who are leaders in all aspects of radio.

A total of three candidates from the radio broadcasting industry will be selected for the 2011 program. Candidates from sales, programming, marketing and other related fields in radio broadcasting are encouraged to apply.

The current job level of the applicants should be no less than director or manager level, but can encompass all areas and departments of radio station operations or related fields.

Interested applicants must:

· have been in the radio industry for five years or more;
· agree to actively participate in the mentoring process;
· agree to total confidentiality during the mentoring program.

All candidates are required to submit a letter which addresses the question: “Why would I be a good mentee?” Please send it to Heidi Raphael no later than Friday, November 5th, 2010.

The three chosen mentees will be announced and begin the program in January 2011.

The program is named in the memory of Mildred Carter, who, along with her husband, Andrew "Skip" Carter, founded the first African American owned radio station in the U.S. in 1950, when they turned on KPRS Kansas City, Missouri. Mrs. Carter ran the Carter Broadcast Group for many years after the death of Skip Carter, before turning over control of the company to her grandson, Michael Carter in 1987.

The Mentoring and Inspiring Women in Radio group consists of top-level radio women across the country who are dedicated to using their influence and resources to help women in radio develop strong management and leadership skills. The MIWs are equally committed to advocating the advancement of women to senior positions in broadcasting.

Women Programmers To Get Recognition

The "MIW" Group just announced the nomination process is open for the first annual MIW Achievement in Programming Award.

The winner will be recognized during the Group PD Super Session on Thursday, September 24th from 10:30-11:45am at the 2009 NAB Fall Radio Show in Philadelphia, PA.

The MIW Achievement in Programming Award is designed to encourage the advancement of women in programming and to reward and recognize those who have achieved success in the field.

Criteria for Nomination:
1. Women who are at the Program Director level or higher (for example, Regional Program Director, Vice President of Programming) will be considered.
2. Candidates must be currently active in the field, and primarily responsible for programming a radio station, group, or individual or group of programs.
3. Candidates should have at least five years' experience in programming.
4. Candidates or those nominating candidates for the award must complete and submit the entry form available at www.radiomiw.com.

Anyone who would like to submit a recommendation of a potential candidate is encouraged to do so. All entries must be submitted to www.radiomiw.com by ­Friday, August 7th, 2009.

All submissions meeting the qualifying criteria will be reviewed and the winner will be determined by the Executive Committee of the MIW Radio Group. The decision of the judges will be final.

Special thanks to MIWs Corinne Baldassano, Denise Oliver and Ruth Presslaff for all of their hard work in making the award possible and also to MIW Susan Platt and the NAB for allowing the group to unveil the award at the 2009 NAB Fall Radio Show.

Another First For Erica Farber

“Erica Farber epitomizes the true essence of what a trailblazer is in our industry. She leads by example. It is a privilege to recognize her and the many contributions she has made.” - Heidi Raphael, Greater Media’s VP of Corporate Communications and the MIW Radio Group spokesperson

Today is her last day in the office at Radio & Records, a fact which is inconceivable to me. But, thanks to MIW and RAB, she will be first recipient of the newly created Trailblazers Award, which will be presented each year to a woman who has “blazed new trails” for women in the radio industry.

That certainly describes Erica perfectly. She has set an example which any woman who wants to achieve success in the media business would do well to study and emulate.