[BC] Program Directors

[Barry Mishkind]

At 11:13 PM 11/28/05, Steve wrote

>But I digress....sort of. If anything dies it's going to be the fault of the
>broadcasters. Seems we don't have any good program directors anymore. Am I
>off on this one?

         Well, OK I'll stoke this one a little bit.

         In conversations with programmers, it does
         appear that there may be several things
         going on.

         1. A younger generation of PDs (yes, I
                 know, *we* were the younger
                 generation in the 70s and 80s)
                 has taken over - a generation that
                 has a much smaller knowledge of
                 the world. They read less. They
                 revel in their "isolation" from
                 much of what we were taught
                 about the diversity of the world.

         2. There is, just as with the tech issue of
                 owners trying to squeeze more
                 out of an old medium without
                 investing anything (read: excessive
                 devotion to VT, delete all prep time).

         3. With stations and markets so fragmented,
                 few are willing to do anything more
                 than a "morning zoo" with as
                 outrageous behavior as possible, and
                 then VT the rest of the day.

         4. The listeners have changed, like the PDs
                 that reflect their generator. The
                 prefer the "frothy" stuff to "solid"
                 material that makes people think.
                 And, their parents have failed
                 miserably in that they think rap
                 and hip-hop attitudes are acceptable
                 conduct in the word. (Ever call
                 a government office and have to ask
                 for someone who speaks English?)

         5. With jobs so scarce, few will do anything
                 to "rock the boat."

how's that?