Welcome to #TBT on JacoBLOG, my excuse to burrow through the vast archives of radio-esque writing. And today’s blast from the past – from March 2017 – is one of my favorite posts ever. That’s because it is about an eerily universal phenomenon of seemingly everyone who’s been on the air in radio – whether you stared at VU meters or computer screens.
Originally titled “Do You Have The Radio Dream?” I have changed the post’s name to “Dead Air Dream” based on scores of comments. And to quantify these dreams – or for some of us, nightmares – we included a question in our new AQ3 study of radio air talent about this cerebral phenomenon. And at the end of this #TBT post, I’ll share those findings with you, along with info about how you can register for our AQ3 webinar next week.
In the meantime, fire up that REM sleep, and let’s see what happens. – FJ
Strange, isn’t it? If you’ve worked on the air in radio for apparently any length of time, you have experienced something that can only be described as a surreal, communal, shared experience.
Like the school dream. Most of us have probably had that dream – or nightmare. It is somehow finals week or the day of a big test, and in our dream, we don’t remember having ever gone to class. I’ve talked to many people who’ve had this dream, or a variant, so it seems to affect pretty much anyone who’s ever gone to school. (Do kids who are home schooled have it, too?)
As a former smoker, I’ve also had “the cigarette dream.” That one’s crazy because even if you haven’t smoked in decades, it can sneak up on you. In the dream, you think you’ve started smoking again. Crazy, right?
But then there’s “the dead air dream,” something I was reminded of yesterday after reading this Kelly Hammer post on Facebook:
So, in Kelly’s case, it’s an on-air CD or a cart that’s running down, and you can’t find the elusive one you’re supposed to play next. There’s a rack or shelves of CDs nearby, but you somehow can’t get your gears moving to retrieve it. And all the while, the dream clock is ticking, and you’re fighting against the perils of DEAD AIR.
In my version of this dream, there’s floor to ceiling albums against the back wall of the studio, the record is running down, and I somehow can’t put my hands on the album I want to play next.
I wonder if today’s version of the nightmare is a blue screen on the main computer in the studio. Or is it a mouse that somehow won’t work? Or some kind of software glitch?
The weird thing is that my time as a DJ was limited to campus radio and a few odd shifts here and there, filling in for my airstaff. And yet, I have “the dream” every couple of years or so.
Based on Kelly’s post and anecdotal conversations with radio people, I’m betting that many of you do, too. And if that’s the case, can we surmise that anyone who’s been on the air at a music station for any length of time has had “the dream?” And maybe it keeps recurring for all of us in some form of weird dream rotation (hopefully, it’s not a “power”).
And that would also mean that Bob Pittman has “the dream.” And Scott Shannon. And Jarl Mohn. Whether you’re a corporate exec in New York or a weekender in Anchorage, chances are the one thing we all have in common in radio is “the dream.” It’s a strange and unusual bond to be sure, but I’m thinking it’s shared by thousands of former and current radio people.
They say that radio isn’t brain surgery. But it would probably require the expertise of a neurologist to explain this phenomenon – how an entire group of people in the same industry can have virtually the same nocturnal dream experience. Then again, I wonder what dream brain surgeons share. It’s very likely a lot scarier than that Bob Seger record running out.
Pleasant dreams.
Now onto AQ3, where we actually quantified how many air personalities actually have “the dream” – and how often it occurs:
A slim majority (52%) has “the dream” at least occasionally; one in ten poor souls has it regularly. And then there are the nearly one in four (24%) who never experience this radio oddity or have no idea what we were talking about.
Check out the inset at right that breaks down those who at least occasionally experience “the dream.” The data show that the older you are, the greater chance you know all about this nocturnal phenomenon. But fewer than four in ten of radio’s on-air Millennials at least occasionally wake up with those control room sweats. That suggests that in time, “the dream” may in fact become a quaint memory of old DJs.
In the meantime, please join our free webinar on Wednesday, August 25 at 2pm ET. I’ll walk you through the key findings of AQ3, an exclusive look at the hearts and souls of commercial radio air talent here in the U.S. You can register for it here. – FJ
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.
- When Did Radio Stop Advertising? - December 27, 2024
- Radio Listeners Don’t Get Tired Of Music, Only PDs And Music Directors Do - December 26, 2024
- It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year - December 25, 2024
I’ve awoken from that dream or a variation of it for years. From my first time in a radio studio to over a decade out of the industry, this dream continues to be a part of my life.
Crazy, right? So, is it comforting that you’re not alone?
One radio friend said he was giving the Emergency Alert message he had memorized but could not find the tone cartridge. He whistled it for the full time required,then collapsed.
Now that’s original!
I love when this topic comes up every now and again.
Back when I wrote “From the Trenches” for Radio World Newspaper, I penned a two-part article on Dead Air Dreams (or DADs) … I guess that had to be 1989 or ’90 when I did. The second installment came about after jocks everywhere wrote me about theirs.
Even today, records figure prominently in my DADs as well: the disc is running out, every sleeve on the shelves is empty or contains some horrible canned Sunday morning PA program, and the only other place the GM keeps vinyl is behind a locked door on another floor of the building. To get there, I have to run through sand in lead swim fins. And the studio is always the first station I worked at in upstate NY, never anywhere else.
“Pleasant dreams”? I’ll let you know when I have one.
Alan, thanks for this. It was fun for me to present AQ3 at Boot Camp last week – especially this finding. Lots of nods in the Zurich Ballroom.
LOL–much the same experience for me, Alan. It’s ONLY at ONE station I worked at long ago! Go figure!
Alan’s articles in Radio World blew my mind, as I’d had many dreams of this type. This really needs to be the subject of a doctoral dissertation in psychology.
It does recur back to the days of vinyl, carts, reel to reel ads and replays and live copy. But wait! There’s more..for 50 years I’ve been a stock car short track announcer (with a little MRN thrown in) and the “dream” is always trying to find the announce booth and I can never seen the track..it moved, there’s stuff in front of the booth, there’s no mike..
Dave, it’s amazing how that theme permeates so much of what we do. Thanks for sharing your nightmare.
So nice to hear I’m not alone!! Have you seen Manifest on Netflix? Looks like we’ll all be gathering somewhere soon!
I haven’t but I know the gist. Our subconscious is more powerful than we often think it is. And we’re more aligned than we could ever imagine.
I haven’t been on the air since 1989. Yet, I still have the Dead Air Dream. In my version, the song runs out but my voice doesn’t work. And neither do any of the buttons to play more music. I also have the getting fired dream. And the dream where I arrive at high school, sit down in home room, and look down to see I forgot to wear pants. Fred, great blog post, I’m living the dream!
Wow, Rich, a menu of nightmares! You might want to try some Melatonin.
Had my latest a night or two ago. Song runs out. There’s nothing in the control room to replace it. Mic switch is unlabeled on a complicated board. Try several toggles. Nothing opens a mic. Then it’s a trip to the record library (usually vinyl for me and NOT nearby the CR) and someone’s taken most of the good records. Dead air length is increasing of course with each set back. Looking for any serviceable record then. Trying to pick something in format and playlist. Then giving up on that. Dead air length piling up. Return to CR with whatever I have. Tone arm won’t drop right. Supervisor comes in to inquire. Try to sell him on how dead air makes listeners tune in more closely. Eventually, with dead air still hanging heavy, I force myself awake as in, “this can’t really be happening….” and wake up glad I’m not liable to have a live air-shift again. (Insert I HAD TOO MUCH TO DREAM LAST NIGHT by the Electric Prunes here)
I could volunteer for a live music shift at my public station, but I am disinclined because of “The Dream” and about a half dozen other reasons. HOWEVER, I wouldn’t have missed those years at the controls for anything. What power to entertain and inform for about 4 decades!
I bet other reading this nightmarish play-by-play can relate to the detail. The “dead air dream” tends to be vivid for most people. Sleep tight!
Fred, you gave me a true LOL moment to imagine these poor, desperate neurosurgeons who somehow “can’t reach the scalpel”! What a truly frightening dream THAT must be!
Otherwise, all I can say to the article and comments is I’ve experienced “all of the above.” I’d say I have mine weekly. No wonder I’m so tired.
Weekly? OMG. And yes, I never thought about neurosurgeons.
M*A*S*H covered that in an episode, where the surgeons and main cast take brief naps during a marathon session in the OR and have strange and frightening dreams.
Wow, I forgot about that show. Thanks, Brad.
I actually thought Ken Levine (who we know from radio, television and everything else) may have written that episode with radio dreams in mind, but he did not.
That would have made sense. No doubt he’s had “the dream.”
Last time I had this dream, it was incredibly convoluted.
Music runs out. When I go to the library, all the records on the shelves have been replaced by books. I go back to the console and now even the record I just played has disappeared. I finally find a stash of 45s but they are all stiffs by unknown artists. But that doesn’t matter because the turntables disappeared too.
It ends with me not being able to turn the mic OFF because all the toggles are missing from the board and the knobs are missing from the pots as well.
Everyone I’ve ever worked with in radio tells me they have had a nightmare like these at some point. By now, I’m convinced everyone has them, based on their profession, but I’m afraid to ask anyone to describe theirs because of the potential horrors.
K.M., this is profoundly horrifying. And like most of these dreams, quite vivid. Maybe you shouldn’t be snacking around bedtime.
I’ll not have what K.M. is having for dinner.
I could tell you some of my wife’s school bus driver dreams, usually being lost, on an unfamiliar road or losing a kid.
As several have already noted, it apparently happens in all fields.
The annoying thing for me in my ongoing “Dead Air” dreams is that they always involve playing vinyl, cartridges and reel to reel tape. None of which I’ve done, like all of us, for many years. I guess if the dreams involved simply using a play-out system they just wouldn’t have the same stressful impact and my dream factory knows this.
Ian, your fellow dreamers have told me the “dead air dream” usually is set in a studio much like the one where you first went on the air. Ergo, turntables and open reel decks. Pleasant dreams.
I had one last night. Only this one was the consultant/PD dream, where you’re telling everyone how to do something the ‘right’ way and no one is listening to you. (frustrating) Station Mgmt is coming at you because the talent is back biting you and you talk till you’re blue in the face explaining succinctly and expertly your logically formulated concept, yet no one listens and just reacts like emotionally crippled children. Bet you never experienced that one Fred (wink).
My music radio dead air dream is often analog as well and involves the equipment not working, nothing works. I got over fear of dead air years ago, it’s actually a good thing once you embrace it. I believe the ‘typical’ dead air ‘panic’ dream usually only happens to the less experienced radio folk, who have yet to become comfortable with talking without the net of having a record to play once they’ve read the liner card.
Thanks for reminding us that dead air can be your friend, well used by Paul Harvey, and later, Steve Dahl. And yes, that comfort of being in the middle of the pool, forced to be entertaining and interesting.
As for the “consultant dream,” I often have trouble distinguishing it from real life. 🙂
You’re not a true broadcaster if you haven’t been fired a time or two and you’re not a true broadcaster if you haven’t had “The Dream”.
There’s probably a lot of truth to this, Vic.