Re: What's JJ up to?

["Dan Billings" <dib9@gwi.net>]

Chuck:

I am responding to your spirited defense of former Maine operators, which I
have deleted so Garrett won't yell at me.

I think our difference of opinion has a lot to do with when we started in
radio.  I first began working in radio in 1983.  At that time, the legendary
operators that you mentioned, like the Thompsons and Guy Gannett, were
either out of the business or about to get out of the business.  Also, at
about that time, the FCC authorized a bunch of new stations which made an
already crowded market more crowded and resulted in many marginally
profitable stations going into the red.  I think by the time I got into the
business, the good times were over for good.

My experience with a handful of different operators at the time was people
trying to suck as much money out of a station as possible, with little
concern about employees, the community, or programming.  Radio station
values were skyrocketing at the time so a lot of people bought stations with
the idea of holding on for 2 years and then selling at a profit.  I could
name names, but I think it is best to avoid libeling anyone here.  As a
result, when I look back on the old days, I don't see it as something to go
back to.  I'll readily admit that things might have been better at places
where I didn't work, but I heard lots of horror stories from friends at
other stations, including some of the places that you mentioned.

In an earlier post, you mentioned that what was needed were operators that
could combine the best of both worlds: profitable operations that provided
good radio and a good place to work for employees.  From my discussions with
people who worked there, I think a few of the places you mentioned fell well
short of that standard.  They may have made money doing fun radio, but they
did while paying poor wages and/ or treating employees poorly.  The
Thompsons, the Gannetts, and a few others were exceptions to the rule of how
small market operators dealt with employees.

We will have to agree to disagree about Biddeford.  I was certainly not a
model employee, but I have a hard time looking fondly on a place where the
on-air person had to answer the business phone during business hours because
the station couldn't seem to keep a receptionist on staff.  The place was
also a dump, with antiquated equipment.  I also found one member of the
management team to be a not very nice person.  (Not you Chuck, but you know
who I mean.)

Are things better today?  Yes and no.  One of the good things about the old
days is a jock could tell the General Manager to pound sand and have a job
at another station by the end of the week.  Today, there are so few
operators and so many fewer jobs, that employees who do not want to relocate
have little leverage over management, unless the employee is a member of a
top rated morning team.

The positive aspects of the current arrangement is the few people that do
have full-time jobs in radio have jobs that are more stable and come with
full benefits, including healthcare and 401k plans.  The problem is that
there are a lot fewer full-time jobs.

Another positive aspect is the corporate operators, at least in Portland,
have very nice facilities and equipment that usually works.  That was not
always the case in the old days.

I also think radio management today, while heartless in some cases, is more
professional.   In my early years in the business, I saw lots of illegal
employment practices (discrimination, sexual harassment, etc.) and lots of
managers who were arbitrary and dictatorial.  With the possible exception of
one large corporate operator, I think those kind of things happen a lot less
today.

We will never go back to small owner/operators controlling most radio
stations.  What would be an improvement would be corporations with a more
long-term view that looked at employees as an asset, not a cost.  There are
large corporations in other industries that take such an approach, maybe
we'll see it in radio at some point.  I don't think it is the ownership form
that is the problem.  It's the people in control of those corporations.

-- Dan Billings, Bowdoinham, Maine