Re: the simplistic argument of employment at small stations ...

[Chuckigo@aol.com]

In a message dated 12/20/99 8:29:32 PM Eastern Standard Time, Dib9@aol.com 
writes:

<< I do not dispute that there are less on-air positions in radio today than 
in 
 years past. >>

Dan is correct on this one.  of the stations where he cut his teeth in radio, 
are any of them doing live, local stuff?   the smaller local stations were, 
as we even refered to WIDE, the "Main Street School of Broadcasting".  it was 
a place where a young man or woman could come and do news, sports, jock, 
tech, produce, type, write, and even sell.  (all before lunch, most days   
;-)   )
one should worry about the future of radio, and from where the on-air 
professionals of tomorrow are coming.  the ability of local stations in the 
not-so-distant past (as recently as the early 90's) to retain one or two 
quality names to be their anchors-slash-mentors went out the window with the 
ability to train and/or retain quality sales professionals.  when the 
overhead remained constant, yet the net incomes went down, the satellite 
became more than a fall-back.  it became the station, out of necessity.  
with the demise of the smaller station as a place to get one's feet wet, the 
larger stations are now the starting point.  ask any radio person with more 
than fifteen years experience if they ever thought their first job would be 
in a major market... the laughter would be followed by a "no".  yet, here we 
are in 1999, training brand new, "i did some college radio" people to be 
major market announcers.  (as George Burns once sang ...  "Oh, I wish I were 
18 again.")

- - Chuck Igo