How was your day yesterday?
OK, I’ll go first.
A couple of bright spots, a piece of bad news, and another day in a large, mostly vacant office. I have it a lot better than many people out there. And I’m thankful for that.
But my day wasn’t as good as what Charlemagne tha God and Howard Stern were celebrating. Within seconds, the push notifications flashed on my phone. First, the news that Howard re-signed with SiriusXM for five years – an agreement that surprised absolutely no one. The “drama” between Stern and his employer was mostly publicity jousting. Howard seems to be as happy with SiriusXM as he’s ever been since getting into radio. He’s now been with the satellite radio network since 2006, leaving a void in terrestrial morning radio that has remained unfilled.
And then it was the announcement from iHeart they’ve re-inked Charlamagne Tha God for – yes, five years. This is on the heels of an amazing decade for “The Breakfast Club” on New York’s Power 105, also heard on radio stations all over the U.S.
There will be a lot of justifiable celebrating in both their homes this holiday season. Each is at the top of their respective games, continuing to do great radio during these crazy times.
For Stern, yesterday’s show is a great example. He didn’t just play John Lennon and Beatles songs. He and his partner, Robin Quivers, shared stories and talked about Lennon‘s outsized impact on all of us. Here’s a quote from Howard:
“In my lifetime, there has been no more important figure in our culture, in our world, than John Lennon.”
The show also replayed archived audio from Gary Dell’Abate’s coverage of Lennon’s assassination while an intern at WLIR on Long Island.
And then there’s Charlamagne Tha God. I got to see him and his co-hosts, Angela Yee and DJ Envy at “Morning Show Boot Camp” last year. This 
show has become a must-stop for key players in the political world. In recent months, “The Breakfast Club” has interviewed key Democratic candidates, along with guests that include Dr. Fauci and President Obama.
But it was Charlamagne interviewing then-candidate Joe Biden last May that stood out. If there’s a sizzle reel of radio’s greatest hits from 2020, this was the moment. Biden famously (and arrogantly) declared,
“Well I tell you what, if you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black.”
Charlamagne called him out, and the interview became the lead story across America – and the world. And in many ways, the gaffe seemed to temper Biden moving forward, forcing him to be more thoughtful and aware.
As we know, his choice for Veep turned out to be a Black woman. And I’m sure that every time the President-Elect names a new Black cabinet member – an almost daily occurrence – Charlamagne is nodding his head.
The “Breakfast Club” is compelling, contemporary, relevant, and cool (yes, there’s a word we don’t often hear when most people are talking about broadcast radio personalities).
So, there was deservedly much joy for both of these shows yesterday. Not surprisingly, Stern and Charlamange paid tribute to their teams and their ownership.
But in other corners of “Radioville” – especially on the broadcast side of the spectrum – there’s not a whole lot of happiness, wealth, and accolades.
Or joy.
That may have been crystalized last month when Mancow Mueller hung up his headphones and left the airwaves at WLS-AM in Chicago. Here was his killer quote to Windy City media maven, Robert Feder:
“Much of the enjoyment I had left doing radio has been sucked out of it. Alone in an office building with no guests and endless rules is not my idea of a creative process. . . . For me, no interaction has been the radio kiss of death. Talking during this political season and hearing endless tales of woe from my listeners has been radio without joy.”
That’s a pretty sharp contrast to what Charlamagne and Howard effusively said about their line of work.
Mancow’s “radio without joy” statement has resonated throughout the industry. Since declaring his retirement (at least for now), I’ve heard this quote many times in radio circles.
Sometimes it’s been in the context of “Can you believe this guy?” Compared to many plying their craft in radio these days, Mancow’s W2 will be bigger this year than most of theirs. Since coming to Chicago to take over mornings at Rock 103.5 in 1994, ‘Cow has had a great run.
But a lack of joy?
Obviously, COVID has played a role in Mancow’s growing disaffection. The politics of 2020 has factored in as well.
But for many in radio, love Mancow or abhor him (and it’s usually one or the other), his words hit home.
It may be true that Mancow’s last pay stub was a shadow of what he was earning a couple decades ago. But in thinking about his words of frustration to Feder, it sounds like much more than money. I could hear him making that heartfelt statement with a total ring of truth. This is a guy who wears his emotions – you know what he’s thinking.
It has been an excruciatingly difficult year in which to be on the air, whether you’re in Chicago, Cleveland, or Chattanooga.
And while emotions in America continue to run hot, and radio has been an essential player throughout the pandemic, the rigors of broadcasting from home, occupying a virtually vacant radio studio, seeing sparse commercial logs, or participating in seemingly endless Zoom meetings has taken its toll.
I was lucky to be a part of the Rock 103.5 team with Jimmy de Castro, David Richards, Lou Brutus, Jo Robinson, and yes, Mancow, when the station 
took Chicago by storm in the mid-’90s.
Mancow was a huge part of Rock 103.5’s success, facing up and brazenly taking on Stern – something that just wasn’t done back then.
I can tell you that every time I visited the station, my visits were punctuated by Mancow enthusiastically bursting in the room, welcoming me (sort of), and then “the grilling.”
Who had I heard on the airwaves that was killing it?
What trends were going on out there he needed to know about?
What other radio personalities were having an impact and what were they doing?
It was a whirling dervish of questions, statements, and humor – all reminders this was an engaged, pumped up entertainer trying to get better at his game.
Joy?
Yes, there was plenty of it back then, even though Mancow’s rotation of teammates and others in Chicago radio might have a slightly different story to tell.
So that brings us to the bitter end of 2020. And in the midst of these truly joyous announcements from SiriusXM and iHeart about the next five years of projects and profits from Stern and Charlamange, what about everyone else?
I suspect that as we get even closer to 2020’s brutal finish line, there will be more retirement announcements – some forced by companies, but others by choice. For personalities with long runs, the decision to call it a career in the next there weeks becomes an easier one to make.
I’m thinking there won’t be any holiday parties this year. Cash bonuses will be scarce, or perhaps even non-existent. Most radio employees will be lucky to receive that traditional Christmas ham.
And that’s a shame. Because in a year with precious little joy, those who have been on radio’s front lines – its talent – have faced hardships, layoffs, and other pitfalls that have made it exceedingly more difficult to squeeze the joy out of their jobs.
This, in spite of the fact that so many have brought so much joy to their listeners, their advertisers, and their communities.
Supporting local businesses, pulling off amazing radiothons and fundraisers, and simply being a friendly voice during difficult times – that’s been quite an accomplishment this year.
A virtual hug and a sincere thank-you at the end of this year might not help anyone’s bank account or job security, but it will be meaningful.
So to all of you on the airwaves, thank you for all you’ve done for radio this year – on and off the air. We may look back at these times, and come to realize just how much of a difference you made.
Joy to the world.
Joy to you and me.
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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Excellent Fred ~ no further comments from me needed.
Joy to the world!
Appreciate it, Bruce.
Even worse, those of us joyless who were ‘laid off’ from this mess. I’m starting to really enjoy being a stay-at-home dad, and my 20 year radio career seems a far ways off.
Next chapters after long runs are always interesting. Glad you’re enjoying your time. Thanks for chiming in.
Right on the mark, Fred. For the many talents struggling – but not ready to hang up the headphones, we salute you. For the many considering “retirement” (whether just a break or actually stepping into another career), we salute you, too.
As a “retired” broadcaster (my career since is voiceover), this was a great article to acknowledge through all this even the wise Big Kahuna, Fred, is feeling not just sad for radio, but sad for what ends up missing in radio – you.
But, fear not, your skills are still valuable. Two symphony orchestras and three hospitals are still trying to get me on board for my insight and communication skills. I am amazed at the offers, but like being my own boss a little better than the extra money I’d make. Make no mistake, I still get offers to be on air, but like Mancow, I don’t find any joy in working in an empty office with too many restrictions on creativity.
Maybe you’ll find your niche, too. Whether you start as a lab technician, launch a voiceover career, or become the director of communications for a hospital, you’re still doing something that works for you and your desire to inform and help others. If you look, it’s out there.
Make no mistake, we’ll all miss you when you go. But we do know why.
Rock on.
Bryan, there’s lots of truth here. Sometimes we get so caught up in the day-to-day, task of the moment that we don’t take stock of our skills and value. I appreciate you taking the time to share your experience.
You always come up with an amazing way of articulating how things are in our industry. One I will definitely save and share!!
Very much appreciate that compliment, John. Thanks for reading the post.
Charlamagne’s great. He road the Wendy Williams train for awhile which elevated him as a personality and also served as a master class in the craft. Wendy, much like Howard, was able to expand a PM drive show on a music station in NYC into a remarkable personality driven show and eventually television, book deals, etc. There have been few opportunities for talent to do that who joined the radio game in the ’80s and ’90s. We always built fortresses around radio to protect from the perceived threat of iPods, satellite, Pandora/Spotify, when the “music provider” aspect was something we could never hope to dominate longterm. Companionship was/is radio’s greatest strength in my opinion, but those are the people hanging out enjoying your music with you, making you laugh, maybe telling you something you didn’t know… the same people largely populating the RIF lists in the trades. The next generation of Howards and Charlamagnes are finding their audiences on social media platforms and most have no radio aspirations. The big ones are making serious dollars and while it’s a long shot to get wealthy as an internet personality, it’s probably an easier path to wealth and notoriety than getting on the radio somewhere and hoping to crack the mic from more than 10 seconds at a time.
I agree that it’s exponentially for difficult for fledgling radio stars (maybe “audio stars”) to spread their wings for a live audience on the airwaves. I think about Howard here on W4 in Detroit. It was a station and a situation where he could experiment, fail a little, but grow. It’s no shock he left the Motor City and his career skyrocketed.
The good news is that podcasts, TikTok videos, and other social media platforms are like small market radio stations or all-night shows. Hopefully, some of these folks will still want to be on the radio. Thanks for the thoughtful comment.
Each medium creates its own stars. There will be podcast stars, tik tok stars, digital video stars. Like with movies, tv, radio very very few of them will infuse their success from one medium to another. Think David Caruso and the failed MOVIE star Lucille Ball.
Always enjoy hearing from you, Walter.
Another excellent article and a great way to wrap up the year.
Much appreciated, Pat. Thanks or all you do.
Great article, Fred! And right on point. I feel for all the the radio people who have been laid off. And I appreciate the virtual hug for those of us who are lucky to be left on the air. We need it right now.
Consider this your hug, Mike. 🙂 Thanks for checking in.
Fred,
When I was a young morning guy, my boss/mentor told me, “Make your friends happy.” when I was a young PD, he said, “Make your target audience happy.” When I was a frustrated 30 something PD, He told me, “The best way to be a great PD is to make yourself a GM.” I followed his advice and carved out a decent career, I sent my girls to good colleges, owned several nice homes, drove nice cars, and took nice vacations. I wonder if a career like mine is possible in today’s radio.
One of my best friends is a broadcast broker, he has listed two FMs with great signals in a healthy medium market in CA, they are worth 10% of what they sold for 15 years ago. He has a medium market AM with a great signal he can’t give it away and he’s tried. He got a phone call from a guy he sold a small market AM/FM to 30 years ago, the guy wants to retire, the stations are worth about what he paid for them in 1990.
One of my granddaughters is a 28-year-old attorney, she listens to NPR. Her cousin has an MA in Urban Design from Cambridge University, I asked her what San Francisco stations she listens to, her answer, “Why?” My grandsons wouldn’t recognize a radio if you handed them one.
I’m writing this on my computer in my office, just to my left is a nice SONY AM/FM CD player, I haven’t turned on the radio since our last round of fires. (BTW KNX did a great job)
Maybe I’m just old and crabby, but I hear people on the air in LA who couldn’t have gotten an all-night job in Detroit when you were a kid.
Can’t somebody just make their friends happy?
You got some really great advice as a young broadcaster. It obviously served you well.
Aside from all the other differences between then & now is training and mentoring – or lack of both. Between heavy workloads and short staffs, there just isn’t enough education for your broadcasters on the front end.
Now as for all your relative who are listening to “other stuff,” I’m thinking that was inevitable. But there’s no doubt that a qualify product would have held them longer, and even won over their loyalty. For too many years, radio execs looked the other way when commercial load excess got out of control or when talent salaries mushroomed. The “Where else are they going to go?” mindset has not served in thee industry well.
So, let’s refocus on making our friends happy.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment.
Radio as we know is a husk of what it once was. There’s no nurturing of talent, development of personalities or passion anymore. Any passion left is a dribble-sized pool in the back corner of the jock’s locker/desk next to a station t-shirt from 20 years ago.
This industry has become the haves and have-nots. Stern and Charlamagne are the ‘1%’ anymore. The rest are doing their jobs and loving it while only occasionally recognizing that voice in the back of the head saying ‘this isn’t gonna last long.’
As someone who was let go after 17 years this past October (without even my immediate supervisor there to deliver the blow!) I would love nothing more than to find another on-air job, pay the bills and entertain people and be creative but this industry has sapped all of that out of me. I came close recently to relocating to a top 20 market radio job in a new town but aside from the main reason being that I have a special needs kid who could die from COVID, the other honest reason was I wasn’t willing to take another radio job only to have it be gone in a year. In a market I’m unfamiliar with.
There’s good companies out there who value talent and the people that work for them but anymore, I can’t count them on one hand.
The future is digital. Either Twitch, podcast or some other entity will come in and make it super easy for not only content-creators (personalities) to reach their local listeners but for the end user to find them.
Also, I’ve emailed Fred at least twice over the last 2 months but no response. Seth Ressler too. Nothing.
nothing?
Mancow’s lack of joy wasn’t just due to COVID. He inherited a struggling station that required him to win listeners back after a hiatus. Innovative hungry talents dig deep and find ways to entertain. Many started filming this shows and broadcast live on Facebook. Many sports talk station talents took advantage of so many athletes being at home they got more of them on air than before. Times have changed but change can mean separating yourself from everyone else and reinventing yourself.
Matt, there’s no doubt Cow had a much tougher row to hoe at WLS-AM than at a station like Rock 103.5. I also remember that back in the 90’s, the station supported his spur of the moment stunts, some of which were costly in many ways. I’m sure the kibosh was put on that in this current environment. Thanks for chiming in.
Always insightful, Fred. Kudos once again. Well penned. Live radio is my “part time”passion for now. Like you, I am grateful. Voice Acting as a side hustle was good advice from our casual friend, KC, and I’m glad I took his sage suggestion and began to build on it then. It was a natural segue and I still had the daily gig at ACN doing syndicated comedy. Then, ACN was eliminated, and ever cheaper home studios took away the big bucks for doing many agency level spots. United Stations Media taking over the dashed, then revamped version of ACN, now UCN morning prep service helped keep my head above water. But before the takeover, I was asked to work for UCN, salary free, for more than a year to help resurrect it. I agreed to it. Had to downsize my home and relocate too. Big lumps but as they say, “health is wealth.”
Technology Morphs. Morphing with it can’t hurt. Do I Voice Track? Not much but, yes. Am I paid? No. But it’s fun! Podcasting with Bob Rivers and Zip Zipfel out east is fun too. Technology, long standing relationships and good chemistry, let us.. have fun. Do I get paid for it? Nope. Not yet. Fortunately Cleanfeed is free on my end.
A PD told me early on,”Do what you love–The money will come.” Trite? Maybe. True? I only have anecdotal evidence. You were here, Fred when AM listeners went to FM; hell, you guided much of it! The same way that some terrestrial radio may be going to”pod,”if you will, and not everyone will become Rogan. But others?…. Stay tuned. Technology morphs. Adding skills helps, yes, compelling content as well, but.. relationships.. remain.. key.
One of my local co-hosts, Kevin O’Neill sets a great example. On the “back nine”of his career, he was doing traffic up in the Fisher. When that outside contract job was eliminated, as so many sadly have been, he was then offered an afternoon co-host chair in studio, full time, because he had so sincerely ingratiated himself to the team during his participation as a traffic guy on air, he became inextricable. Yes, he was an on-air veteran; tons of talent, but he was also.. just such a nice guy. Also, at an age when many of us are hanging up our headsets, and pre covid, he learned to link Luci Live, Zoom, Streamyard etc. He adapted. He’s no techie. Kev also just started doing online shows for an oldies station in Cleveland he once worked for from Detroit. He had, and kept, strong relationships with former management. Along the way, along with all of his hard work, he made, and kept, friends. He’s been very nice to all I’ve talked to that have ever worked with him. The man always vibes positive.
BTW, the young man who dubbed cassettes for ACN on the dupe machine in the hall when I was in the writer’s room out east? –The one I was nice to? He’s the guy who spent over a year saving the comedy service, and is now my boss. Who knew? I’m on the payroll again, albeit a smaller roll. Still fun.
Losing a gig, hurts. Our love/hate affair with broadcasting can devastate us. It’s the world’s worst beach. But, maybe, if we are contrite, perhaps pay forward if we can, get involved with encouraging young people who are trying to be podcasters, “What’s a clock?” is a common question, who knows what may come of it? I have seen benevolence boomerang in very nice ways. Coincidence may be the Big Guy’s way of remaining anonymous. My own anecdotal experience tells me, my mentors just seemed to draw dividends.
I called Howard Stern back when he was at W4, because he did the most abysmal Jimmy Carter impersonation I’d ever heard. I sent him a cassette of my own Jimmy impression. Howard called me back. Twice. And man, was I pumped! He was very, very nice. Radio is also his “part time”passion. Three shows a week? His dividends are well earned.
I love this, Ed. A true emotional walk through a fascinating, accomplished career. And a lot of lessons for those who still think they want to be in radio (or stay in radio). Even at full health, it was a tough business. Now for many, it is sadly unnavigable. I feel a great deal of empathy and I hurt for those who truly crave radio, and just can’t get in (or get back in).
I love the line – “broadcasting is the world’s worst beach.” I think that truly says it all. Could be the title of an upcoming blog post. As they say, watch this space.
And yet, as you point out, there are (often, but not always) opportunities for those of us who soldier on – sometimes unpaid – waiting for a great contact to happen or a door to open. More often than not, it does. But the path to success is NOT linear.
Your comment (actually, it’s a blog post unto itself) made me stop what I was doing and focus on what you’re telling us. And for that, I’m appreciative.