Re: Corperate radio/Clear Channel

[Jeremy Mixer <mixer@zoso.net>]

On Sun, 6 May 2001, Joseph Pappalardo wrote:

> Radio always sounded better when we were younger.  After all radio/music
> target the young...as we get older we find that programmers have less and
> less interest in us...

I just look at it from the perspective of all radio stations seem to sound
the same nowadays. Of the same format anyway. THere are very few stations
that seem to do their own thing, and I hear everyone talk about how great
they used to be. I understand the need for some tightening of formats,
etc, but there aren't a lot of stations anymore that will play Led
Zeppelin's "In My Time of Dying", when's the last time you heard Hot Tuna
on the radio? In the 70's you might have heard them on some stations, but
not too many any more. Jefferson Airplane had more songs then "White
Rabbit" and "Somebody to Love" and "Volunteers." but with modern radio
you'd never know.

> Did they EVER care about their employees?  Or was that just some wishful
> thinking about the past?

Maybe not, I wasn't around then, I've heard from people that they were a
lot more caring. At my first job in radio I felt like my direct
supervisors cared a lot about those who were working for them, but the
parent company didn't at all. All I got for Christmas was a lousy pin.
Since I've worked at where I am now I have been treated really well by
everyone who works here and really feel like part ofthe team....and I'm
just the weekend overnight guy.....

> Weren't they always interested in turning their stations into 'big money
> making ventures'?
>
Maybe so, but in a way, the whole reason you own a business is to make as
much  money as possible. Of course when you let that get in the way of how
you treat your employees and customers that is a problem.

> Listeners always came second to making a dollar in the smaller markets...and
> they did in the larger markets as well.  The only difference was the larger
> operators knew that it was the proverbial dog that wagged the tail....and
> knew not to kill the goose laying the golden eggs.

Yeah but you can't say that for every radio station owner that ever owned
a station. While, like any business, there were owners who were like that
there were just as many who weren't, I've talked to a lot of people who
have told me this.

> But let's face it....the public does not respond to "localness" as they once
> did.  It's very low on the list of "what makes you choose a radio station".
> To wit....Howard Stern, etc.  They once said that radio HAD TO BE LOCAL in
> AM Drive....but that bubbles been burst as well...and people listen and like
> non-local radio...and therefor stations make money on non-local radio.

That's true to an extent, some radio stations such as a sports station
need to have a lot of national programming to survive. However, the
general public doesn't even realize that most of the jocks they hear
nowadays are pre-recorded, or that some of them are beamed into their
radio from a satelite dish 3,000 miles away. That would insult some people
and it does insult some people. Many people I've talked to are suprised
when they find out I am the only live person on the weekend overnights.

> Hmmmm, having a live body is a classy thing...but the overnights are a
> frill...very few listeners...and even less revenue.  Does it matter....and
> how much does it matter?

I know of a lot of poeple who listen to WKIT on the overnights (and WBLM
in Portland) for the main reason that there are live people on the
overnights. And I am sure to brag about that a couple of times per night,
I am proud that I am working overnights. People say to me that I ahve
crappy shifts......I'm glad to have a job in radio period, it's a bonus
that I get to be on the air live.

> LISTENERS have to do something.  If they continue to listen, stations will
> continue to cut budgets and make money.  If listeners start going away....to
> say, streaming media or sattelite radio, or digital cable music
> channels...then radio will sit up and notice.

It's out job as radio people to get the knowledge out to the public of
what the radio industry has become these days. As I stated above, it is
not as well known to them as it is to us. This means it is our job as
members of the industry, and people who are interested in the good of the
radio industry and it's well-being, to get the word out.

> OR...It will take a competitor coming in and doing things the way you
> mentioned...and showing that it DOES make a difference to listeners.  Right
> now, no one has proven that making the changes you suggest will result in
> more satisfield listeners, bigger audience, more responsive sales and thus
> more revenue.

As I said, because the general public isn't aware of the current state of
radio. I'm sure if the information was exposed to people, and people
realized that some jocks that they heard weren't even someone they might
run into at the local supermarket, and that these companies are running
without even hiring many bodies from the community, they -might- feel
differently.

> Some markets are starting to sound like a monopoly to me.  We definitely
> need to go back to some sort of ownership caps within a market...just for
> the sake of competition.

I think that it wouldn't be a bad idea to limit it to 20-30 markets per
company, and no more than 35% of the market it would still allow stations
to be profitable, and have at least three companies running the stations
in any one market. Maybe 30% would be better. I just don't think any
company should be able to have stations in all of the, what was it, 200
top markets minus three?

> "Corperate" is not necesarily a bad thing.  You speak the word  like it's a
> curse.  Corperate radio gave us Westinghouse, CBS, NBC, ABC, etc.  Places we
> ALL wanted to work at one time.

Well I never worked for any of those. And I will say that at one time, of
course you would have wanted to work at one of those. But the fact that
the majority of radio jobs is corperate management nowadays is kinda
scary. Yeah if I had an oppertunity to make decent money and be some big
boss for some region of stations then hell....give me the job. Doesn't
mean I'd change my opinion......how many people are in a decent position
with a corperate company, on this list, that won't offer their take on the
subject because.... who's gonna jump up and criticsize their employer in a
public forum? I wasn't slamming Cumulus when I worked for them. And I am
sure there are people here who would disagree with my viewpoint that work
in corperate radio, and that is their right. That's why we are all
subscribed to this list in the first place, for good discussion. :)

> Westinghouse was always known to be cheap..The big three were always know to
> be top-heavy and over controlling their stations from NYC.  (I remember that
> NBC HQ in NYC demanded that WKYS,  then an NBC O&O Disco FM station in DC,
> carry NBC hourly news every hour on the hour.  Imagine how that broke the
> mood doing an evening disco show with lots of mixes....and stopping for
> BING-BANG-BONG...N-B-C RADIO NEWS....I'm CAMERON SWAZEY".  All audience that
> enjoyed the music was then....GONE.

That's probably true, but the fact was people would go back to those
stations if they didn;t want to hear the news....there wasn't a complete
burrage of corperate stations in those days either, any given market had
an alternative.

> While I appreciate what you said.....I just wanted to post a few things to
> think about.

Hey, it's all good....as I said above, we are here to discuss and
sometimes even have friendly debates. As long as you're not calling me an
idiot for my opinion everything's cool! :)

Jeremy