The news of Kevin Metheny’s passing last weekend gave us all a chance to review the trajectory of his illustrious career. As I looked over Kevin’s impressive call letter trail, it occurred to me that this guy received a lot of ratings books, Arbitrends, and Nielsen weeklies in his long history in radio.
And dealing with the stress of constantly being evaluated is something that program directors all over the world have to learn how to handle. For me as a PD, getting the ratings was an especially stressful time. When I caught a good one, the elation was momentary. And when the inevitable bad ones came in, I felt like Hester Prynne and her scarlet “A,” walking around with my most recent share emblazoned on my shirt for all the world to see.
If you’re programming in a diary market and the bounce factor between books is eating at you, it’s not much better in the PPM world. If you ask PDs in larger markets, they’ll tell you that the weekly – and even monthly – variations can be unsettling. Panel changes, seasonal shifts, and variables from sports to weather to elections seem to create even variations in shares and ranks – even from week to week.
So in order to cope with these rises and falls, what is a PD supposed to do?
Well, it turns out that in any performance business where there are ratings involved, the best approach is to not get too high – and not get too low.
I was reminded of this recently while reading a piece about Showtime’s Homeland in The New York Times this past weekend.
That show got off to an amazing start – just like how a new format takes off in the first book or two – accompanied by Emmy awards and much critical honors.
But three seasons in and Homeland has been roundly criticized even by some of the show’s original supporters. The lack of an Emmy nomination last year was a slap, too, and an indication that the bloom is very much off the rose.
So how does Homeland’s creator, Alex Gansa, cope with the ups and downs of ratings and media pundits?
“I didn’t take the hype of the first season all that seriously. I don’t take criticism all that seriously. We’re making the best show we can each week. It’s up to us to work our tails off to make the show great.”
If that sounds like Bill Belichick and just about every post game coach’s quote…well, there’s a reason for that.
So don’t overreact to the highs, don’t go into a trough with the lows, and make the best radio you can. That may not keep your job, but it can help stabilize your brand, as well as the emotional well-being of your staff, most of whom don’t have the insights and information that you do. And you might feel better, too.
And good luck with that fall book.
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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Fred,
the following is how a mentor of mine, coach John Wooden, judged success:
Success is peace of mind, attained only through self-satisfaction and knowing you made the effort to do the best that you are capable. If you make the effort to do the best of what you’re capable and improve the situation that exists for you, I think that’s success and I don’t think others can judge that.”
the key of course is making sure the bar is high enough as to how you define your “best”
Great John Wooden quote, Bob. Thanks for sharing it.