[BC] The Employment Issue

[Earthradio]

In response to Paul and others regarding the industry, let me share my 
story:

I'm one of those people who grew up fascinated by radio and music, 
passionate about the medium. I got into the business about three years 
ago. Started at the weekends running the religious programs, moved on 
under different managements to be assistant ops. manager, production 
guy, and fill-in on the air. Then, eventually became ops manager and PD 
for a cluster of three stations. Got released due to "budget concerns" 
but there is of course more to it. My focus has always been local, very 
local, and unique. As PD I made sure the station was focused on the 
local community in the tri-county area it served, rather than being a 
jukebox of the exact same playlist the larger market stations with 
bigger signals had. I played what the local audience wanted to hear, 
introduced new music that fit the format, and gave a sense of fun and 
energy to the station. Before my arrival, we were competing and aiming 
our programming at 100,000 watt stations in larger markets where our 
3000 watts barely reached! Audience passion for the station increased, 
the phones rang again, my daily "All Request Lunch Break" was filling up 
each day, people were listening longer and ads were selling. I loved 
every bit of my days, from selecting the new music, talking to 
listeners, remotes, on-air, or writing copy.

Then one day I was told..that my audience doesn't buy CDs. That they're 
not interested in hearing new music. That my type of programming 
wouldn't fit this market.

But I left that day, knowing otherwise, because face to face, by phone 
and email, these listeners had told me how they appreciated the new 
sound of the station.

I stayed on for a time in a technical capacity, before ultimately being 
released due to budgetary concerns. I was told my OM title was no longer 
needed, and the sales manager and morning DJ could handle it.

So now, here I am. I love local radio, and the music played. Yet, there 
are dozens of veterans of this business with longer resumes, more 
talent, and references to back it up, and they're having trouble finding 
jobs as well. Due to the nature of this business, even getting 
references is a challenge when most of your former co-workers wouldn't 
cross the street if you were being mugged. So Paul, as a "young guy" in 
this business I can completely understand how you feel about what 
happened in Florida..the question is, what do those of us who are 
passionate about this business DO to improve our situation? We're a 
large pool of talented people competing for an ever-shrinking amount of 
jobs. Especially if we want to work in small markets, where stations are 
more often than not automated or satellite-driven and operating on very 
small budgets.

Daniel L. Steele
passionate about quality local broadcasting.