Darren, a Creative Identity Group associate, shares this piece of writing for our listeners… I had just given Nikki the intern forms to fill out, I had made a copy of her driver’s license and social security card, and I had begun training her on what would eventually be her shift on the board. Nikki was still in college and majoring in communications at the local university. She seemed very intelligent and she even impressed me a couple of times with how easily she was able to count by 60 rather than 100 (a very useful technique for us radio people, despite the fact that it really screws up our checkbooks).

“It�s amazing how quickly she’s learning,” I thought to myself. “I must be an awesome radio manager!” I was soon to discover that my lack of humility was unwarranted. We were four hours into her training when Nikki asked me, “You’ve mentioned several times that I should cue up my next program. What exactly do you mean by cue?”

“What do I mean by cue?” I asked. “What do I MEAN by cue?!?!? I MEAN you should CUE up your PROGRAM!”

Actually, I only asked “What do I mean by cue?” only once, and I said it very politely and with patience, as I thought a good little radio manager should do. The rest of it was only in my head. But according to the look on Nikki’s face, I felt sure she had heard me thinking how stupid the question was. My wife tells me she can hear what I’m thinking because of the “giant cavern between my ears that amplifies the sound,” but up until this moment I had always thought she was joking. Never before had I been asked a question where, to me, the answer was so blatantly obvious. What else could “cue up the program” mean other than to CUE UP THE PROGRAM?

I then began to realize that for the past four hours I had been speaking a language that my new intern had never been exposed to. It would be, to me, like sitting in a seminar on how to build and program my own computer. Some of the words I would hear might sound slightly familiar, but I would have no clue as to what they meant and even less how to use them in a practical sense.

We radio people have a vocabulary that is unique to our surroundings, and although we all know this on an intellectual level, to try and leave those industry terms out of our conversations is like trying to separate the red Play-Dough from the blue Play-Dough after a three-year-olds birthday party.

For the past four hours I had been using terms like “cue” and “pot” and “VU meter” and “monitor” and “back-timing” and “cart” as if I were describing items from a Denny�s breakfast menu. Not once did it ever occur to me that these terms (as familiar as they are to me) had absolutely no substance or meaning to my new intern.

For the rest of the afternoon I attempted to censor my language to only words that I knew Nikki would understand, and I continually failed. It was embarrassing. I was in the communications business and I was used to talking to thousands of people at a time over the air, but I couldn’t relay a simple thought as to how to do something in terms that a layman could understand.

The entire afternoon the conversation was filled with “er” and “uh” and “I mean” and “let me put it this way” and “in other words.” I was suddenly aware of how often I used radio jargon with new recruits who had likely never been exposed to it before coming to me. Do these students not take broadcasting courses in college? Is there not a part of these course curriculums that explain radio terminology? Guess not!

In my handful of years in radio management, I oversaw production departments, air staffs, operations departments, and communicated with traffic departments on a daily basis. In looking back at every memo that I’ve sent out during my radio management career (yes, I’ve kept them all, sad, huh?), I noticed that they all had been filled with language that an outsider wouldn�t have been able to decipher even with the help of a Dick Tracy decoder ring.

In the act of training my intern, the intern had taught me that not everyone who comes through the radio station’s doors is accustomed to the world in which I live. And if I was going to become the best radio manager that I could be, I’d have to begin seeing things from someone else’s perspective other than my own.

In the course of only a few short hours, I began to see my position in a different light. I was suddenly a mentor as well as a manager. I was a teacher as well as a disciplinarian, an encourager as well as a source of information. I may be annoyed today at someone for not knowing what a “pot” is (it’s that knob you turn to make the volume get louder, Nikki). But I will get past my stupid little pet peeves and do, to the best of my ability, the job that this sad-eyed, naive intern expects and needs of me. I will strive to be a great manager, training her with patience and understanding, and encouraging her when she fails. I’ll act with professionalism when needed and with light-heartedness when the moment calls for it. I’ll let her know that to err is human, to have an error free shift is next to impossible, but to strive for one anyway is the sign of a true radio professional.

I will be the manager that I met almost nine years ago who took in a kid who’s only knowledge of radio came from a late 70’s TV show and what he heard every morning on the local Top 40 station. I will strive to be the manager that smiled and patiently answered the question I myself asked that very first day on the job, “Why do you use 8-track tapes to play commercials?”

That’s in terms of numbers of stations, from the latest Inside Radio/M Street Database research. 460 stations are doing classic rock - while the fast-growing classic hits category is up to 456. It was at just 262 stations in mid-2005.

Classic hits is a popular music radio format, a variation on the classic rock theme that provides most of the playlist of classic rock with an addition of contemporaneous R&B and pop hits as well, striking a balance between the mostly ’70s-focused classic rock genre and the more broad-based oldies format. The first station to be called “Classic Hits” was First Media Corporation’s WZLX/Boston MA, in October, 1985, under the programming eye of consultant Gary Guthrie and First Media VP, Dan Mason. In its original form, it drew from two pools of music: The hipper artists from the “Oldies” format (Creedence Clearwater Revival, for example) and the broader appeal artists from Album Rock radio (AOR) such as Led Zeppelin. Over the years, stations morphed into variants such as “Classic Rock” or “Oldies” and, more recently, the emergence of “Jack FM” (or its relatives) has regerminated the format’s original model. The term is also sometimes used to describe the format known within the radio industry as adult hits (or variety hits), though variety hits stations generally add contemporary music heard on hot adult contemporary (Hot AC) stations.

A vivid look into radio in the year 2012.  I hope you have your sunglasses on.

http://www.bridgeratings.com/press_041107.Format%20Trends2012.htm

Justin Kaiser
Creative Identity Group

The National Association of Broadcasters is a trade association that advocates on behalf of more than 8,300 free, local radio and television stations and also broadcast networks before Congress, the Federal Communications Commission and the Courts.

Allowing a monopolistic merger is bad public policy

• When the FCC authorized two satellite radio operators in 1997, it specifically prohibited the nationwide systems from merging. Nothing has occurred in the 10 years since to warrant changing the rules for XM and Sirius.
• XM and Sirius are unique in their ability to provide portable radio service on a nationwide scale. Clearly a merger between these two satellite radio giants would create a monopoly.
• Companies who make bad business decisions, such as spending hundreds of millions of dollars to secure talent, should not expect a government bailout. If that’s the case, the floodgates will be open to bailout the more than 30,000 companies that filed for bankruptcy in 2006.
• The precedent is clear based on the FCC’s action in the DirecTV/Echostar proposed merger ? the FCC prohibited that merger, finding that even if they considered the merger in the context of the whole market, they could not find the merger” in the public interest.”
• The FCC has a long history of promoting competition, not monopoly, in the services it authorizes.
• XM and Sirius have a history of blatantly disregarding FCC rules. For example, the companies put devices into the marketplace that violated the FCC’s equipment power limitations, causing numerous consumers to experience interference on their car radios. These devices have never been pulled from the marketplace.
• Because of its monopolistic nature and the companies’ bad track record with FCC compliance, this merger should be rejected.

The merger will hurt consumers

• While this merger may help line the pockets of financiers and corporate executives, it certainly doesn’t benefit the public interest or subscribers’ interests.
• If the merger is approved, allowing for zero competition in the satellite radio market, can consumers expect their subscriber prices to rise as they are held hostage to a monopolistic giant?
• A merger between the only two satellite radio companies is a guaranteed headache for consumers. There are sure to be hidden costs and confusion. XM and Sirius may try to tell subscribers that a merger will mean access to more programming, but given the two different technologies ? which have never been interoperable ? that is likely to be costly.

It’s that time of year again when our weekends (and beyond) are at the mercy of the stations clients. A remote allows your station the opportunity to showcase a client’s business in your community as well as providing the station the opportunity to put its best foot forward while in the public’s eye.

Last week Joel Dearing wrote a great article about running a remote with no board-op hit. With my sparse staff, it hit me close to the heart as it is just me and whatever talent I can scavenge from the other stations in our building. This week, as we were getting ready for 4 separate broadcasts that would take up an entire Saturday I thought it would be a great time for a Wolf Remote Refresher Course. Maybe you can pass some of this info along to your air-talent so they can become better on-location.

The announcer conducting the broadcast and the client’s account executive should meet prior to the broadcast to discuss their goals, items to be stressed during the broadcast and the overall logistics involved and any special items that may be required. As scheduling allows, both persons should meet at the client1s place of business for a more complete understanding of what the broadcast will entail. This will also help alleviate potential engineering problems such as? Are there enough power outlets for the announcer? What type of equipment should be brought? How much room will be available? Will the competition also broadcast during this event? What is the approximate distance to them during the broadcast? Is it a direct Marti shot?

We make it a requirement that the announcer be at the broadcast site one hour before the broadcast is scheduled to begin, ready to test the signal one half hour before airtime, and get compensated for that time as a reward for being prepared. You should always have 2 ways to get your broadcast on-air. Having a backup is not only a good idea, but it has saved me in some of the hairiest situations. If you treat the equipment as if it were the final piece of broadcast equipment you will ever get, you won?t have to worry about that. Before you leave double and triple check to make sure you have all the equipment you need and make sure it works before you hit the road.

Here are some of the suggested pieces of equipment that should be in your arsenal?

• Marti & Multiple Antennae
• Cell Phone
• Telex/Vector/Hotline
• Power Strip
• Microphone & Cord
• Headphones
• Extension Cord
• Banners
• Prize Wheel/Boxes
• Client Notes
• Copy Of Log
• Boombox & Portable Walkman

It goes without saying that the announcer should be positive, friendly and professional at all times. In all cases the account executive should be on hand to assist with lining up interviews, helping with contests, etc.

The typical broadcast times on my station are normally at :05, :20, and :50 past the hour.

The duration of each cut-in is usually 90 seconds and should consist of the following:

1. Regular interviews with the client or his staff.
2. Interviews with listeners shopping on the premises.
3. People playing any contest that might be underway.
4. General announcements describing sale-items or events.

Recently we were the presenting station of a local concert. Our duties could have been over after announcing the act, but I felt it was important to have staff on hand for the entire show, and afterwards as well. We stuck around, and spent 15 minutes wiping down tables and moving chairs after the listeners filed out. Two days later the Sales Manager received a call saying we were welcome back for all of their events and that our station was the most prepared and over-delivered on every promise. We have been the exclusive station at that particular venue for every event that is performed within our format as well as many other events that we normally would not have had access to.

With that said, and without trying to re-state the obvious, here is a list of tasks that are required at the end of each and every broadcast.

1. Clean up after yourself at the broadcast site.
2. Always be sure to thank the sponsor and never just walk out of the business cold.
3. Make sure you bring back all the equipment and set it up in the engineering room for the next broadcast.
4.  Leave a note if there was any problem with equipment and set that piece aside for the engineer to check.

We are always in a hurry to leave when the remote has ended. It pays, however, to be considerate and meticulous when packing up. I hope you are able to work some of this information into your next staff meeting and that your broadcasts will be as successful as ours.

Justin Kaiser