Radio: Great minds never depart forever: they TRAVEL.

Anyone who has known me for 14 days, sometimes for 14 minutes, knows I have worked in RADIO BROADCASTING since I was 18 years of age.

Honest, Abe, I truly know my limitations when it comes to what I do and don't know. I know more than most managers believe I do (I can make them think I'm the lowliest first-year intern/board op, even if I am the staff member with the most experience) largely because I am a student of the industry more than a mere "grunt" with a bit of experience.


I read trades, but that only gets you so far.


I am friends with broadcast engineers and read engineering trades, as well, but that's only a piece of the "Big Picture" (with props to Skip Pizzi of RADIO WORLD).


So, what's the smart thing to do these days? READ RADIO BLOGS. There are so many of them worth reading! I've even put links to some of them on the side column here. And, even though I don't always agree with the viewpoints of those "mentors" in the field, they are very telling. But - and this is important- if you don't read the comments from those who work in radio, or used to work in radio but keep in touch with their friends who are still employed in the industry, you're missing a key component. In fact, you'll often miss the telltale signs of what will happen months, even years down the road without realizing the signs had been there just waiting for you to pay attention.

For many years, there's been this groundswell all about the deregulation of broadcasting caused by the Telecommunications (cowardly) Act of 1996. Now, it's the industry lobbying groups who are being stubborn and simultaneously stupid. As the FCC considers something that is long overdue - RE-REGULATION - the NAB, local and state associations, and lobbyists are trying hard to stop this VITALLY IMPORTANT piece of the puzzle. It was the deregulation (and some prior moves before 1996) which aided non-radio-people "owners" in their quest for the "best bottom line performance ever in the history of broadcasting"...and subsequently led to operations which have gone FLAT, even BELLY-UP. Revenues are largely flat to down, with the exceptions being those broadcasting companies who didn't mortgage the future on the idea that cost-cutting would result in a better bottom line. It's not a manufacturing plant. It's not an overstaffed retail operation. It's an industry that relies upon several key components to work in tandem/cooperation with one another. And until the companies with "bottomlineitis" cease to exist, they will be the FIRST ONES to suffer the ill-fates.

But, please don't take my word for it. I've only been doing this for 23 years. I suggest reading John Rook: http://www.johnrook.com


or Jerry Del Colliano: http://insidemusicmedia.blogspot.com/

These men are two of the brightest to ever have programmed in radio. I'm sure that they're not the only ones to have seen things from a bigger perspective, but they are two of the more prominent names in radio. WELL-TRAVELED names - they're two men whose names have appeared on the pages of thousands of websites from all over. And they've lived the "radio wars of the old days". I trust their intuitions and read their columns/sites regularly.

I am going to suggest reading Jerry Del Colliano's column of December 19th: http://insidemusicmedia.blogspot.com/2007/12/fcc-unscrewing-pooch.html

This perspective is as fair and just as I have seen in the past several years. No sugar-coat. It's a take-no-prisoners attitude (hmmn...I'm apparently into great cliche writing today). Enjoy a bit of knowledge on a platter with that article.

Opinions may differ, like ways to prepare eggs. But, the COLDEST HARDEST FACTS seem to show up in the business section of the newspaper and magazine columns, showing what so many who posted on message-boards such as those on "Radio-Info.com" already told me years ago: Clear Channel, and the rest of those who pay the NAB to lobby for "bottom line" companies, are suffering the fates they deserve - failure at EVERY level, including the shareholder level.

Although the Mays (and many others) can buy and sell me 20 BILLION times over - I'll be laughing when they go to the bank and THEY find they no longer have the assets they believed they owned. Stockholders are already balking at the presidents of these major groups, and only a few changes have taken place, compared to what is to come. When the industry as a whole starts being OPERATED BY "REAL" RADIO PEOPLE again (and not someone who bought into the bottom line thinking), the listeners will be back (okay - maybe they won't ALL be back due to Ipod's and the internet feeds...but a large majority will realize that creative forces returned to many of the stations), and the revenues will be better than they've been in a long time. Then, the shareholders will have something for which to cheer.

Someone (a prospective employer) asked me the other day if I thought I'd leave radio. I explained to her that even though I've worked in radio since I was 18, I don't HAVE to do it forever. I just know that I have a passion for radio, have some talent that can be useful, and will keep my foot in the door of a station somewhere until my death.

I've told many people in my life that I'll never retire.

***Good radio people eventually die - but, they never (truly) retire.

***In memory of J.C. Hall

Pujols is NOT on the list

It's been an interesting afternoon in St. Louis. Being a baseball fan, I, like millions of others , awaited Sen. George Mitchell's report on steroid use in major league (& minor league) baseball.

As I was going through my morning routine, getting set to leave my residence for work, I took it upon myself to listen to KMOX Radio at 11:00 am, for CBS radio News and local news headlines. Being busy, I kept the radio on. Rush Limbaugh enters the airwaves. He immediately begins reciting names of players who, he alleged, were on the list that Senator Mitchell was to release three hours later. He cited the name Albert Pujols. Of course, most of the names he mentioned were in the Mitchell Report. However, King Albert has not been found in that report. I read an online .pdf file - twice. I see former Cardinals' Fernando Vina, David Bell, Jason Christiansen, Kent Mercker, Gary Bennett, Cody McKay, and Larry Bigbie, as well as lengthy references to Mark McGwire and (unindicted due to lack of evidence) current outfielder Rick Ankiel (remember the New York Times story out in time for the 2007 playoffs?...) --- but NO ALBERT PUJOLS.

It seems to me that numerous "officials" get called to the carpet for plagiarism. Should, perhaps, Rush Limbaugh be called out for his ON-AIR USE of materials which were likely posted online on this Thursday morning by a source OTHER than Limbaugh's staff? He went on national radio and didn't cite a source. Just blabbed about the list, the players, and pointed out Albert Pujols as being named in the report which was to come out later in the day.

What are YOUR thoughts on this?

In this instance, would YOU BELIEVE Limbaugh had "sources close to Mitchell" who had told - in confidence - this information? If that is the case, does Mitchell now know of a "leak" in his office? Or, did Rush Limbaugh's group of researchers simply decide an online posting or blog was a credible enough source...without proper attribution...and "GET IT WRONG"???

I may listen to Rush tomorrow to see IF he apologizes. It's possible - even for Rush Limbaugh (known past drug-abuser) - to apologize. Somehow, I think he won't apologize to Albert Pujols, or Johnny Damon (he went on about him, too), or even Sammy Sosa (not named in the report).

Not surprisingly, I have a position on what has been released (I've read - well, skimmed very thoroughly - it twice this afternoon): Senator Mitchell's report could have been more revealing. The investigation could have continued. It's interesting to note what was NOT said versus what HAS been revealed. If you're the senator, what would you recommend happen to the players, the players' association, the doctors and trainers and coaches and others who covered up players who abused and suppliers of the banned substances?

At this point, the names are out in the open. Or are they?

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THE TRAVEL-RELATED QUESTION:
So, will you travel to see a baseball game featuring Andy Pettite, Roger "Hall of Fame" Clemens (if he plays yet again), Gary Sheffield, "home run king" Barry Bonds (if he plays after all the Mr. Anderson was saying to the investigators about his use of the "clear" and the "cream"), even Gary Bennett in 2008?