[BC] Mom & Pop Stations endangered?

[Jay Braswell]

Excellent point.

What "it" is, is this...there is an incredibly thin line between 
being a passionate, community-oriented broadcaster, who also is a 
good business person. I know of very few, these days.

What you mostly have, are the "show me the money" operators, who 
could care less if they're selling cars, shoes, pork belly futures or 
advertising. The concept of running a news department at a loss (like 
Bill Paley at CBS did) because it's the "right" thing to do, while 
making the dollars to support everything from spots in "Dallas" and 
"All In The Family", is totally and completely foreign concept to the 
money guys. Sure, make money from the avails, but also make money 
from EVERYTHING else, or...quit doing it...that's how they all look at it.

On the other hand, you have those folks who have what I call a 
"public radio" mentality. It's ALL about service to the community, 
with quality programming and top-notch news and public affairs. These 
are the people who believe that "the community" is required to 
support the radio station. These are the folks who are always running 
around praising the concept of LPFM, LPAM, and the "I have a right to 
access the "public" airwaves" horse hockey.

These diametrically opposed ways of thinking, both lead to eventual 
failure. All the griping about how the mega-groups are running 
listeners to satellite, internet and I-Pods, have a great deal of 
truth to them. What these folks are doing, is akin to picking every 
ear of corn from the stalk, but never irrigating, fertilizing or 
replanting next year. Sooner, rather than later, all that sweet corn 
is gonna be gone, and there won't be nothin' in the field but rotting 
and dead stalks.

The second group also fails, because of that "the world owes me a 
living" mentality.

At the top, I mentioned that the combination good 
broadcaster/business person are few, and they are. They stick to 
workable ideals...their stations do local news, and are as heavily 
involved in their communities, as much as is financially prudent. 
They utilize the available tools to be able to afford to keep the 
stations operating, and they fully understand that they must EARN 
their income from the businesses, by giving a return on the 
advertisers' investment. If you get the customers to the door, and 
prove that you did it, money is really no object...in most cases.

You must prioritize running the business first, then go about serving 
the community. Of course, the really good operators figure a way to 
do both, simultaneously

Like I said...it's a very thin line.



>>the costs involved in starting and running a radio station.

>>the GM told me how you just could
>>not make them understand that it cost 10 times more to start and run a radio
>>station than it did to put out a small town weekly and we reached people who
>>probably never read newspapers.

>As an advertiser, I care about two things :
>1. My ego.

>2. How many potential members of my target market will I reach
>     per my advertising dollar ?

>I don't give a rip what it costs to run a radio station.
>Just show me value for *my* dollar.