You haven’t really had a full radio career unless you’ve been a part of an unmitigated disaster, a dumpster fire, an implosion. Or two.
Do this long enough, and they’re unavoidable. Talk to some of the biggest names in the business – the “most powerful” broadcasters, Marconi and Crystal winners, Hall of Famers. If they’re being honest, they have (at least) one true crash they were involved with.
A successful morning show that got a divorce, a promising station debut that turned out to be a lemon, a ratings winner that somehow lost it. These debacles are all part of our collective history in the business. And as the wizened philosopher Kelly Clarkson reminds us, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” (Actually, it was Friedrich Nietzsche, but he wasn’t much of a singer.)
Believe it.
Because after the total wipeout that was 2020, if you’re still standing and still in the game, you’ve just overcome the worst of all time in the world of business, life, and of course radio. Hands down.
So, congratulate yourself on getting through this ordeal, take a short victory lap, pick up the pieces, and then let’s meet up and talk about what’s next.
What did you learn from COVID – about your show, your station, your company, yourself?
How can you build on what you accomplished, what you cobbled together, and what you innovated to not only survive but hopefully to also thrive.
Chances are, you gained insight about yourself – your resilience, your problem-solving, your agility, your creativity.
And you also probably learned a great deal about others in your orbit – your co-workers, friends, family, your bosses.
Especially that last category. Did they support you? Were they honest with you? Did they have your back? Did they believe in you?
It’s hard not to feel fatigued by this ordeal – the disruption, the disappointment, the feeling of hopelessness and uncertainty that has pervaded lives, families, and careers.
Not surprisingly, many people have a sense of feeling burned out by COVID and its ripple effects. Who can blame them? Business Insider published the results of a recent survey they conducted to measure just that. On April 30, they interviewed 1,093 employed Americans about their mindsets at this moment in time. Here’s the chart that jumped out at me:
These are sobering statistics that might shed some light about how your co-workers, bosses, and direct reports are feeling. The BI survey shows that six in ten American workers are feeling some burnout. And more than one-third are very or extremely fried.
A couple of highlights…
Women are quite a bit more likely to feel very burned out than are men. Based on many of their family and career workloads during COVID, this isn’t a surprising finding.
And some encouraging news: more than half the sample say they felt very or somewhat motivated during the pandemic – in spite of the mental, career, familial, and health pressures they faced. That speaks highly for their resilience and spirit. We are capable of more than we could have possibly imagined.
These are still sobering statistics, suggesting there will be more to our collective recovery than the lifting of mask mandates and the return of concerts. The
pandemic has taken its toll, and many will struggle from COVID’s unique brand of PTSD to regain their equilibrium and their effectiveness.
How can we use this information as the country (and hopefully, the world) looks to bounce back this summer? How can we solidify our career and life choices?
When it comes to our jobs, are we ready for a few more rounds, is it time to look elsewhere, or is it perhaps a good idea to grab whatever marbles you can and call it a career? We’ve watched many grapple with these decisions throughout 2020. Now that the smoke is clearing, this may be an opportune time to reassess. And then either commit to what you’ve been doing or seek out another path.
And if you’re still working in broadcast radio, what have you learned about your station, your brand, and your community? Are you equipped to do battle in an arena that has gotten infinitely more crowded and competitive? Do you have confidence your company has the knowledge, the commitment, and the strategy necessary to adapt and grow?
What have you learned about yourself? Your work/life balance, and your family? What about your commitment to the industry and your company? Your willingness to do what it takes – including what you earn and where you live – to enjoy a career you love and to make a living at it?
Did the industry learn from this existential moment in time – about serving the listener, the advertiser, and the community?
Did radio use the pandemic as a conduit to get its commercial load problem under control – or is it business as usual?
Did stations learn how to integrate virtual experiences into their content and their promotional strategies? Did they learn how to entertain and inform, despite not being able to physically work next to other staffers or clients?
Under the shroud of COVID, it’s easy to forget that broadcast radio had been dealing with large-scale problems long before there was a pandemic. Many companies downsized in the weeks and months before the coronavirus reached American shores.
A vaxxed population and herd immunity aren’t going to rescue an industry that was already being buffeted by competitive headwinds. Band-aids like political, gambling, and cannabis advertising may keep things buoyed up for a while. So may investing in podcasting and other digital platforms.
But the existential challenges are only more pronounced now. Does radio broadcasting have the research, the resources, and the resilience necessary to fight the good fight in this ever-competitive media landscape? Does ownership have the commitment to do battle in a redefined world of new media, content creation, and audience engagement?
As an industry, do we have what it takes to finally make a successful transition to digital? That means embracing the other channels, distribution paths, and connections
that enable radio brands to thrive along with everyone else – rather than being all alone on the Radio Island.
Radio broadcasters must do more than ride the rebound, hoping that listening levels and business return to “2019 levels.” COVID has been more than just another global catastrophe – it is a game-changing moment. And that signals an opportunity for every company and every brand to cast themselves differently – one that was not there prior to the pandemic.
The industry finds itself at a crossroads – between a storied past and a challenging future. How will radio pass the next round of tests required to retain its position in the media hierarchy here in the U.S. and around the world?
It will require hard work, whether you’re a commercial, public, or Christian enterprise; a big company or a mom & pop. It will require more than having a good team. It will require vision, leadership, courage, and focused persistence.
If I may be so bold, it will also require outside input and expertise. The truly best companies depend on carefully distilled mashups of their own team members, along with savvy, strategic, and visionary outsiders.
Yes, I’m biased. I believe our company belongs in the latter category. Over the past 2+ decades, we have put in the necessary work, commitment, and time to provide that all-important external perspective. We have walked the walk. And it has never been as paramount to seek out an outside perspective as it is for radio today.
That means having the stones to tell any CEO in radio broadcasting her baby’s ugly. Or why his company’s strategic plan needs to go back to the drawing board because it’s not bold or adequate enough to win. Or whether the existing corporate team is made up of capable players who can truly take on aggressive goals and accomplish epic things – without the politics, the platitudes, and the posturing.
If you’d have talked to me a year ago about where we’d be at this point, I would have expressed doubts about the radio broadcasting world’s ability to crawl from the wreckage, and recast itself for the next 100 years.
Today, I think we’re sitting on an opportunity that simply didn’t seem possible even a handful of months ago. “Life disrupted” means all bets are indeed off. The right idea at the opportune time can crack through and scale. But radio broadcasters must choose the best path.
It is one of those fork-in-the-road, red pill or blue pill moments. Do we opt to stay in the familiar, comfortable world of the past (even as it is disappearing) or do we accept the
challenges, the discomfort, and the mystery of the unknown to see what is around the corner?
It is a scary choice, but one that everyone from owners to hosts to sales reps will confront at one point or another as this drama unfolds. The red pill – to confront what’s next – is our fate. The question is, when do we look it right in the eye?
While it may still be a shock to the system, crawling from the wreckage can be an uplifting and rejuvenating experience.
Let’s dust ourselves off, make sure nothing is broken, and do this.
And if you’re looking for a soundtrack for your company’s next initiative, might I suggest a little Dave Edmunds?
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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Thanks for the Dave Edmunds reference!
A really apt one, don’t you think? Thanks, Kurt.
Radio: Connected, Creative & Positive Wins!
Thanks for the June Inspiration. Here Comes the Sun.
My pleasure, Clark. Thanks for reading the blog.
Radio that is still local, that reflects it’s community and listeners will still win. Now, as everything begins to lift, slowly, the masks come off and life goes on, we need to go back to where it was in 2019 and do what we’ve always done. Inform and entertain. I so terribly disagree when people say “there are no personalities anymore.” Bull hockey! They are out there, young and old, and there are young people in the mix slowly, but surely coming up to speed. Air personalities are still out there. Long time veterans, such as myself, are still there. Mentoring. Teaching. Yes, we all lost money in the past year. Some more than others. But, we’re still here. As I am writing this, I am 800 miles from home unplugging and watching a beautiful sunrise in Cocoa Beach, Florida. The ocean looks wonderful. I won’t be back in the office for about 2 weeks yet. I know not everyone can do something like this. But going on 48 years in broadcasting has allowed me to do this. There’s thousands more stories for radio to tell. God willing, we’ll tell them all.
Great comment, Kevin. We are all lucky, and perhaps it took something as sweeping as COVID to remind some of us. Thanks for this timely reminder. And enjoy those sunrises & sunsets.
If anyone knows about crawling this past year. So thankful for listeners who stood by my and geting hired back to my home for 24 years from a station I truly love so much. Perfect Dave Edmunds song. You can also use his song “Information” as a song to go forward. Never take anything for granted. Still have that wonderful feeling inside anytime I push that ON AIR button. All I can say to you all is , Thank you.
You are the poster boy for gutting it out AND doing it with the most giving spirit & attitude, Scott. There’s no wonder why so many in your community love you. All the best, Scott.
“You’d think by now at least a half a brain would get the message”, indeed. My take on “the message” to get…
Being local, caring, connected, civic minded for real – not as half-hearted gimmickry.
Finding humor someplace else besides divisive put-down demonizing of differing, evolving points of view as everyone, including those you think are way off-base, are just struggling to figure it all out.
Reclaiming the responsibility of nurturing and elevating real journalism in some way at every station…not because it can make you more money but because it strengthens the fabric of people’s understanding of their own place in a life and in a community…in a working democracy.
Radio still has a megaphone and a platform. Let’s inspire society by using it responsibly, creatively, empathetically, infusing every minute of air time with good humor and careful thought that consciously contributes to our collective well-being and to the existential necessity of getting along and caring for each other.
I always appreciate your wizened point of view, Paul. Your heart is most definitely in the right place.
“Does ownership have the commitment to do battle in a redefined world of new media, content creation, and audience engagement?”
My question is “assuming there were a vision, is there any appetite for the markets to finance such a risky endeavor in what’s viewed as an obsolete platform?”
My magic 8 ball says, “highly doubtful.” But I know I’d want you on my team, regardless!
Brian, thanks for this, and great to hear from you. Thanks for weighing in.
The first thing everyone in radio should do regarding climbing out of Covid is give everyone a get out of jail free card. My sense is that Covid was pretty much an elongated version of what a lot of people endured during the consolidation era that except for the folks at the very top, was pretty negative.
Not knowing if you’ll have a job at 5PM, what that job will be, who your boss will be and what you’ll be required to do – all with the required, “business as usual” demeanor can only bring out the worst in people – and not what they’re typically capable of or aspire to. IMO, hitting the “system restore” button on the Covid experience, as least the personal relationships part, would be a very productive way forward.
As for radio innovating itself out of the doldrums thanks to the pandemic, ROFL. There are a lot of people in radio who literally weren’t born yet the last time radio did any real innovating outside of cost cutting. It may or may not be too late for radio to renew itself into more prominence, but at best, each day with no beta testing of anything that doesn’t revolve around expense reduction is a day closer to when the more prominence door permanently closes.
Here’s one idea that may be a true prerequisite: Put people in charge who have spent their careers working at radio stations. When you haven’t actually experienced and grown through the nuts and bolts understanding of something as unique as radio, its (apparently) almost impossible to conceive of any transformation or innovation for it. At least try it for a region – give a real radio pro a chance to see what they can do with very few limits. Or radio can continue on its last 25-year track and end up here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brain_Center_at_Whipple%27s
Bob, thanks for these thoughts about the state of radio today. And I appreciate that Twilight Zone reference. I remember the episode well.
With all due respect “still-birth”?! CLEARLY you’ve never had one of those. Comparing a failed format to still birth is terrible. I couldn’t read another second after that. Gross.
Jan, thanks for the comment. In retrospect, it was a poor choice of words. And I’ve changed it. Apologies for any discomfort it caused.
“Did they support you? Were they honest with you? Did they have your back? Did they believe in you?”
The answer to all those questions is “no”, which is why I punched my card a year ago just as the pandemic was starting. The answer t those questions was “no” LONG before COVID-19, too.
Radio is not at all a people business, and even less of one now. I feel terrible for young radio hopefuls who will never make great money or have listeners who really care about them or have any real passion the stations they work for. I am lucky to have had just a DROP of that during my now former career.
As an outsider, who seldom turns on radio anymore, when I do, it’s nothing but commercials and poor-quality audio. Here in Tampa Bay, you can play FM Roulette, and get stuck in a vortex of advertisements across four or five stations that takes twenty minutes to overcome because they are all trying to beat each other back to music. These long stopsets loaded with clutter are not of any premium to the average listener anymore than national contests are.
I also hear tone-deaf personalities whose content is strictly plugging their station website and Facebook pages about meaningless bullshit, while in the middle of a pandemic — and we still are in the middle of a pandemic. Radio spends all of its time telling people to check out other mediums, and that doesn’t promote loyalty or listenership anymore than these sickeningly tight playlists which offer no variety, when other streaming platforms and satellite radio do.
When iHeart severely cut thousands of jobs last year, was when I jumped off. I had just read your blog about radio burn out, and had been lucky enough to receive a bit of a cash windfall which allowed my wife and I to buy a home in Florida, and for me to adjust my sail to a new career, at middle age. The longer I’m away from radio, the less I miss anything about it.
I appreciate your blogs, Fred, and still sort of keep up with the industry, but I don’t have any passion for this old media anymore. Young people don’t listen to radio, or rely on it to obtain new music. It seems everything radio is doing to stay alive reeks of desperation. All the blogging, Tik Toks, Instastories, and annoying social media posts (which listeners have grown tired of) in the WORLD, will never stop the bleeding or the billions of dollars of debt these companies have amassed.
One more comment about regarding hiring veterans to run radio. Radio can’t afford veterans, and there are too many cooks in the kitchen placing too much emphasis on shit that doesn’t matter to the listener like digital assets, let alone some one-name-only/no-name deejay’s insipid blog or social media account. How could ANY experience veteran like myself, with any passion for GREAT radio even be successful when weighed down by all the things that are helping to sink the ship. Talk about rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
I took the red pill so much, Fred, I overdosed on it. Finally, I took the blue pill and gave it a rest. Living under such duress just to stay in a dying business for less money than I made before with less job security is not a healthy way to live.
Jack, this is a great response, and I hope it is read by a large number of people. You are/were a great radio guy, so it’s even more disturbing you walked away from the circus. Thanks for taking the time to craft this thoughtful reaction to my post.
Pardon the typos, Fred, and thank you for your words. You were always in my corner, and I was grateful for that. Sorry we never had the chance to actually work together, but the mutual admiration is strong. Stay well.
Great to hear from you, Jack.
I second this! I did morning radio since I was 22. I had a blast and had so much fun and did entertaining radio. Morning radio was my first love. I woke up everyday at 4 am. I worked with talented people, who taught me a lot. When veteran radio personalities get fired for making money, and are replaced with part timers, that sums it up. The big companies don’t care about “good radio”. They really don’t care. Because they are not in the radio business, it is just a business.
Nancy, sorry to hear this story – one that I’ve sadly heard before. Appreciate you taking the time to comment.
Running a day late and just catching up on yesterday’s blog. Wow, what a powerful commentary on the state of radio today, Jack. I think you’re saying what a lot of veterans are thinking but fear saying for not wanting to look like “cranky old-timers who are upset that radio is no longer the way we remember it or want it still to be.” The line that hit me most was, “How could ANY experience veteran like myself, with any passion for GREAT radio even be successful when weighed down by all the things that are helping to sink the ship. Talk about rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.” I was looking at some radio job openings recently and it was amazing how many I saw that I felt quite confident I could perform…but would never be hired for. Let’s face it, if those of us who loved and breathed radio are tiring of what its become, what hope is there for those who never had that passion to begin with? I can only hope I’m wrong and radio can still turn things around. But each day I feel a little closer to what Jack has expressed. I hope we’re both wrong.
Oops, above comment was supposed to be a reply to Jack. Sorry.