Days #117 - 2/8/98

Sorry it's been a couple of days since I spoke with you. Got a nice email from Kidd Kraddick who wrote:

"Hey Corey, it's Kidd Kraddick in Dallas. As you know, I've "been there, done that" as most of us have. Mine was six dreadful months in 1993 that preceded the best job I ever had. All the "hang in there"s in the world do no good at all. I'm aware of that."

He's absolutely right. After a while, you get numb to folks wishing you well. It's a dichotomy: On one hand, you want someone to remember what you're going through but, everytime they bring it up, it just reminds you how demoralizing this whole unemployment thing is.

Ric Howe, President of Ric Howe & Associates, the consulting firm, emailed me an article he wrote last year. I asked him if I could reprint it and he said sure. It's not too disimilar to an entry I wrote a few weeks back.

A Simple Question

So it finally all comes down to this - one simple question. After all the hype about the New Age of Radio, the Renaissance of Radio, the Era of Consolidation, the promise of better format choices, the move to "virtual radio"; after all the mind-numbing articles written about downsizing, automation, and the death of the disc jockey; after all the "how-to" books written on getting your "unfair share" of dollars vs. ratings; after the countless motivational seminars, weekend retreats, impassioned convention speeches - it all comes down to this. In truth, it has always come down to this! One simple question.

Do you love Radio?

I hope that question fills your mind with all the thoughts and feelings that the word "love" represents. In essence, the truly successful people, who have chosen Radio as their career and not just another business venture, pause when faced with that question. Not out of fear or self-doubt, but because it reminds us why we got into Radio in the first place. The truly successful Radio operator knows that Radio's strength has always been the ability to communicate one-on-one with the listener - and to forget or ignore that fact, undermines the beauty and simplicity of the medium: real people interacting - motivating and challenging - real people to action. It seems as if we have forgotten that in the Age of Acquisition.

Do you love Radio?

It isn't a question that you'll likely find in the business plans submitted to banks or posed in the boardrooms of the most powerful Radio conglomerates today. That is a tragedy. But don't get me wrong. I fully support the advances in technology (and all the changes that they bring), and the level of sophistication that Radio has achieved in the last decade. Certainly Wall Street has taken on a new interest in the medium. Radio portfolios continue to grow to the delight of savvy investors. However, after all the money has changed hands, dividends paid, financials tallied up, and the aftermath of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 has played out, who among us is willing to continue to see that Radio has a future in the new millenium? Who will care that the programming end of the building matters as much as the sales end? Will those entrusted with carrying the torch today extinguish it's flame long before it's passed to the next generation?

Do you love Radio?

It seems Radio owners are really just playing a modified game of Risk® - acquiring stations and personnel in an attempt to dominate the Radio world. Fine. What happens when a winner finally emerges? What happens when there are no more worlds to conquer? Will Radio cease to be a vibrant and challenging medium because more attention has been placed on what is in the financial statement then what is on the air? Today the word broadcaster has at best become meaningless, at worst a mockery of someone who's out of touch with the New World Order of Radio. The result? The exodus of valuable talent - sales, programming, and management - has begun because people are tired of seeing dollars spent changing the logo on the company letterhead when the station van needs new tires.

Do you love Radio?

The question really prompts us to take a balanced approach to the way we operate. Sure, Radio needs to keep pace with changing technology - even if that means automation or "virtual radio" in certain areas. Radio will always be a business - the dollars one can make owning a well-run station are significant. But Radio has been, is, and will always remain real people interacting - motivating and challenging - real people to action. It will never change. What the industry desperately needs right now are more broadcasters and fewer bankers guiding us into the new millenium. Is it too late? Has the fire of greed already consumed the landscape of Radio? Can we stop the flood of valuable talent from leaving the industry? Will we now employ 900-number request lines and charge our listeners to interact with us? Will the winners of "Radio Risk" finally look up from their P&L spreadsheets to discover profit margins falling because they own only the shell of what Radio once was? I'm not so sure that at our frenetic pace, Radio won't become an archaic term in the dictionary toward the end of the next century. Those who truly love Radio must protect it from becoming judged based only on stock market performance. Radio exists as a dynamic medium because it continues to impact communities, cultures, and lives.

Do you love Radio?

Is there anyone left who feels the same way?