This past week was another tough one for the wonderful people who work in radio. Most people who get into radio do it because they’ve caught the “radio bug” and the work becomes their life’s passion. I know that’s how it is for me.
When I caught the “Radio Bug”
From my earliest years, I knew what I wanted my life’s work to be. I built a radio station in my parent’s basement and broadcast to the neighborhood (about a 3-block radius) on both the AM and FM bands using transmitters I bought from Radio Shack.
When I started high school, I earned my 3rd Class Radio/Telephone Operator’s License, Broadcast Endorsed from the Federal Communications Commission in Boston. I wasn’t old enough to work, so I had to get a Massachusetts Work Permit. They didn’t have a category for disc jockey, so they branded me as “talent.” (I never told them I had to take meter readings every half hour in front of a transmitter that put out 1,000-watts of electromagnetic power. If I had, they would never have given me my work permit.)
College Radio
In college, it was radio that paid for my bachelors and masters degrees. I took my college’s carrier current radio station, got an FM broadcast license and was the first general manager.
Radio was in my blood.
RIF’s
After the Telcom Act of 1996, radio began its road down the consolidation path funded by Wall Street. It was during this period of time a new acronym would come into radio’s every day lexicon, RIF’s, or Reduction In Force. In other words, people were being terminated in huge numbers.
This past week, I sadly read about another round of RIF’s taking place among our country’s biggest owners/operators of radio stations. It breaks my heart.
RIF’s from the Manager’s Perspective
We all feel sorry for those that have unexpectedly lost their job. What we often don’t read about is the perspective from the other side of the desk, what the management is going through when these decisions are made at corporate.
I lived through it in 2009 as a Clear Channel Market Manager.
It’s NOT FUN.
With each corporate meeting, I would come home with a flash drive that could not be opened until a specific date/time with who I would have to RIF next.
I RIF’d my entire news and promotions departments.
I RIF’d DJ’s and PD’s.
I RIF’d my national sales manager, my director of sales and local sales managers. With each round of RIF’s I got more hats to wear. The work still needed to be done, it didn’t go away with each round of RIF’s.
I hated my job.
Then my regional manager showed up unannounced and RIF’d me.
His manager showed up after he had RIF’d all of his designated market managers and RIF’d him.
The company president RIF’d the senior regional managers.
Then the CEO RIF’d the president.
It was not a happy time, but believe it or not, being RIF’d to me was better than being one of those that found themselves with more and more hats to wear, with more and more responsibility, without a penny more in pay.
There were many folks who told me to find another line of work, but they didn’t know that broadcasting was the only thing I ever wanted to do.
Except for one other thing, teaching and mentoring the next generation.
My education was in teaching. Both my bachelors and masters degrees were in teaching. My best teachers were those who worked in the field first and then came into the classroom to teach.
Paying It Forward
My long term goal was always to one day teach at a college or university the very things I had done all of my professional life.
My big opportunity presented itself at Western Kentucky University’s School of Journalism & Broadcasting in 2010.
When I was RIF’d by my regional manager, I had met or exceeded every goal I had been given and was paid bonuses for my accomplishments. I was even named one of radio’s Best Managers by RADIO INK magazine. The issue of the magazine with me in it came out almost the day after I was RIF’d. Funny how life is: good things happening at the same moment as bad.
One Door Closed, Another Door Opened
When my last management job came to an abrupt end with Clear Channel, my broadcast professorship door opened at WKU.
Let me tell you, going from being a radio market manager to broadcast professor is a steep learning curve. But with the help of Charles H. Warner at NYU, John Parikhal of Joint Communications and others, I successfully made the transition and became successful at teaching. In fact, my new broadcasting educational work branch opened my eyes to all kinds of new and exciting learning opportunities.
I started this BLOG and a column for RADIO WORLD magazine during this time.
Those have lead to numerous invitations to appear on podcasts, Vlogs, articles, and broadcast interviews with others sharing stories of my work and experiences.
I’ve done research on the radio industry and their employment needs in the 21st Century. I’ve presented panels every year at the national conference in Las Vegas as well as been an invited broadcast expert on many panels at both BEA and NAB.
I’ve presented seminars at state broadcast associations and done training sessions for broadcast companies.
In short, I’ve been more active in broadcasting on so many levels than I ever was as a radio manager. And I’ve loved every minute of it.
But I’m not going to candy coat what’s happening, not only in radio but in all ad supported media. It’s a revolution. Not an evolution.
In revolutions the first thing that happens is destruction of the old. We’re still living through that period right now and it’s not fun. I get it.
Our Iceberg Is Melting
Back in 2008, many people picked up a copy of Ken Blanchard’s book “Who Moved My Cheese?” I know I did. It’s a great read.
But maybe the book everyone in broadcasting should be reading today is “Our Iceberg Is Melting” by John Kotter. Kotter is an award winning author from the Harvard Business School.
Like Blanchard and Johnson’s Cheese book, Kotter writes a simple fable about doing well in an ever-changing world.
The fable is about penguins in Antarctica that discover a potentially devastating problem to their home – an iceberg – and it’s melting away.
It’s a story that will resonate with anyone in broadcasting today.
Read about how the penguins handle their challenge a great deal better than many broadcasters are doing today. Kotter’s book walks you through the eight steps needed to produce positive change in any group. You will not only enjoy the read, but will be guided with valuable insights to deal with our 21st Century world that is moving faster and faster every day.
The Big Take Away
When corporate, middle management and all employees are on the same page with regards to change, it is amazing what can happen, despite adverse conditions.
These are lessons for people who already are in broadcasting, for broadcast students, enlightened colleges are already teaching the concepts, skills and providing the tools that will be needed going forward. My students know that the future is not bleak. They understand the history of broadcasting that brought us to where things are today and they are as pumped as you and I were when we were their age to craft the future of broadcasting in the new century.
I’m excited.
They’re excited.
The best is yet to be.
DickTaylorBlog 