YOU KNOW YOU'VE BEEN IN RADIO TOO LONG....

..If you're called to a DJ staff meeting in San Antonio, but you work in Cincinnati

..When that old stained coffee pot in the break room has been replaced by Starbucks
   coffee PODS

..When the call letters to your station ends with .com

..If the rest of the air staff is on the computer's touch screen under: "audio files"

..When you ask for splicing tape and a razor blade, and they point you to a first-aid kit

..When that Teeny Bopper who was always contest "caller #8" back in 1960, is now a 
  grandmother..and is STILL contest "caller #8"

..When the young all night jock thinks a cart machine is a mechanical device that makes
   Go Carts

..If the Program Log is NOT on 24 sheets of 8.5" by 14" paper anymore

..When there's six stations in the same building you work at..which is 5 more than the
  whole town had when you first started in Radio

..If you still think "RAP" Music is not music

..Now that request lines have become "Chat Rooms" or "Tweets"

..When they replaced the turntables with a "mouse"

..The day the General Manager was replaced with an "app

..When you find out your P.D. is younger than your favorite pair of earphones

..When the station employees think Chuck Berry is a Ben and Jerry's ice cream flavor

..The day the "drive-time" jock became a "thumb drive"

..If you believe Keith Urban is just not rural

..When your paycheck comes from a bankruptcy court

..When the sales staff outnumbers the songs on the station Playlist

..Especially when the janitorial staff outnumbers the D.J. staff

..If you remember that Emerson, Lake and Palmer was a '70's rock group and
  not a law firm

..If the Program Director thinks a "Record Hop" is a gold medal winning Olympics
  event ( including a skip and a jump of course )

..When the air staff was renamed: "The Good Guys, Gals, Gays and Transgenders"

I thought I'd have a little "fun" with the above, and I'm sure you may have some of
your own. As the General Electric advertisements used to say: "Progress is our most
important product". In the case for Radio, I'm not so sure there's been that much
progress, nor do I think our "product" is all that important anymore. You decide.
And remember: "old disc jockeys never die...they just seg-a-way".

But that's just MY RadiOpinion....what's yours? (you don't need an "app" for that!)

 

              SOUND. IN THE EAR(or Minds "Eye") OF THE BEHOLDER.


Sound. Something so simple is really quite complicated. Especially when it comes to Radio.
A lot of people over the years told me that I "had a great sounding station". What does that
mean? Is it the music? The Microphone? The control board? The transmitter? The DJ's?
The over all audio chain? Sound is so subjective, that any ten people could(and probably will) disagree.
   Every person has a different receiving apparatus...the EAR! Each individual is different in
his or her ability to "hear". It could be the size or placement of one's ear. It could be the 
physical limitations of one's audio range he or she is born with. Some people can't hear
very high notes....some can't perceive the low or bass notes in a frequency range. 
   But before any recorded sound reaches the ear, it has more than likely been "tinkered"
with. Studio engineers, producers and talent have had their sound "product" adjusted to
their hearing, and what they want the final product to sound like. I know many major
recording companies used to engineer their music played on radio stations to have a
frequency mid range which would sound best on car radios. In the 1950's and '60's, most
car radios had a cut off frequency in the 7,500 cycle range, therefore "DJ Promotional"
copies of records were usually adjusted to that range...the general cycle range of the 
typical AM radio station as well. Music usually "popped" more, sounded stronger in that
mid range. Once FM came along, it's range was much higher and lower in the extreme
ends of the frequency spectrum. Then somewhere in the 1970's, many savvy radio
engineers sought to add various sound tweaking devices.Then appeared graphic equalizers
and sound compression units which would be added to microphone amplifiers, to the audio
chain itself ..before and after going through the transmitter. Now, in the digital age, there
are enough technical devices to enhance and edit sound, I really don't know what I'm
ACTUALLY hearing anymore. Then, after all is said and done to a radio station's audio
signal, the listener will have your radio station running through his or her receiver with
their own settings of loudness, bass or treble...most likely undoing what sound modif-
-ications were done to the station or it's music or sound settings beforehand. 
   I always had in MY minds "ear" what I wanted my station to sound like according to
what format was being aired. High energy, soft approach, mellow sounding...whatever you
decide, make sure you, and only you, make the final approval of "sound" for your radio
station. What type of air talent, jingles, music, make sure they conform to one person's
hearing that matches yours. There's way too much jumbling and mixing of "sound".
Make it basic, simple and as close to the original sound of a "normal ear"as possible.  
  Now, I guess the next "sound" mystery to tackle will be which sounds better? Digital
or Vinyl? Or, what's the best speakers or earphones to use. Well, "to 'ear' is human".
I say: Too many sound"cooks"(or kooks) just may be spoiling the sound broth!

Like I said..it's all in the ear of the beholder isn't it? That's MY RadiOpinion..what's yours?
  

                                       Who Knows What Evil Lurks?

"The Shadow Knows." How many of you remember the old radio program:
"The Shadow"? The voice of "The Shadow" was first Orson Welles in the 1930's,
and Brent Morrison later in the 1940's until the series finale in 1954. I can always
remember that mysterious voice intoning the words: " Who knows what evil lurks 
in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows". It always began each week's program.

I think of it now over sixty years later. Why? Because of the apparent evil that is
saturating our World today. If "The Shadow" were around now, it's doubtful he would
"know" exactly who this evil emanates from. Hardly a day or week ends without a
terrible tragedy occurring from the "hearts of men" on this spinning planet somewhere.
And now that murder and mayhem have come to this country, it's time to rethink and
retool our mindset into preparing for a new kind of "War" and/or disaster. I certainly
recall the school drills in preparing for an Atomic bomb. I remember being in The
Civil Air Patrol as a teen, logging aircraft sightings from roof tops in my hometown.
Also, many a civil defense "bomb shelter" was purchased and installed in backyards.

Nowadays, any community, big or small; can be the next target for disaster. Yes, any
disaster, domestic or  foreign born, could be coming to a site near you...or you.. or
your place of business. Especially a radio station. Every radio station in America be
it large or small, local or network, should be preparing for potential violent threats.

Let me share a story of a station in San Antonio Texas where I worked, where 
planning ahead for potential disaster really paid big dividends. It was November of
1963 when 13 tons of explosives somehow shattered the afternoon air with a
force sending shock waves some 30 miles into the downtown Alamo City. Office
building windows were blown out. It was an immense explosion. Within seconds,
our newsroom teletypes were rat-a-tatting the words of a nearby Atomic Energy base
called Medina Base(which few knew was even there)had indeed released this power-
-ful Earth shaking explosion. We all fully expected to go outside and see a large
mushroom cloud in the Northwest sky. You could see a boiling brown and gray cloud
that appeared to be hundreds-if not thousands-of feet in the air. Fortunately, we had 
the best news department around, and covered it well to it's conclusion days later.

But this event triggered a change in the way we would cover disasters in the future,
and a good thing it did. Our new Program Director-Stan Richards called a meeting of
the entire radio station staff to outline new procedures he wanted put into place. Stan
wanted everyone who worked at the station to come in and perform certain duties that
were assigned to each person. Everyone...from the receptionist to the janitor, to the
salesmen, to the late night disc jockey..had an assignment. Well, nine days later, we
and the new disaster plan all would be severely tested. In nine days John F. Kennedy
would be assassinated! We would stop all music and go TOTAL NEWS for many
days. But that wasn't all. Four months later-March 27, 1964- another large scale
tragedy occurred.  It was the Great Alaska Earthquake that shook North America on 
a Good Friday. It was 9.2 magnitude temblor. Devastating, but we were ready when
most were not. The 7-Midnight D.J. was assigned to "man" the news room telephones.
He was instructed to call and see if he could get any statement(s) from the Governor,
or anyone in the Alaska Capitol. Well, the phone was picked up...by THE GOVERNOR
HIMSELF!! It was a miracle, as the Governor said that communications were all down
except this timely phone connection. It was clear in a few minutes that our station was
the only source they had with the outside World! It was through our news department
that every news source-print or electronic media- was fed the news about this catas-
-strophic event. Our news feeds numbered in the hundreds for hours on end. Amazing
what a little preparedness can do isn't it. SO, I guess the moral of all of this is to pass
this advice on to anyone you can working in radio today. The evil that lurks in our World
at this time in our history needs all of us to be on alert and prepared anywhere at any
time. It would be at my urging that you make sure that your station or business or YOU
put together a plan of action BEFORE another tragic event happens in your area or
area of influence. I may not be as foretelling as "The Shadow" from radio days of yore,
but I feel safe in saying that "Evil DOES lurk in the hearts of men" out there, and my
suggestion is that you be ready to deal with it when or if that evil comes close to you.
ISISuspect it time for all good radio men to come to aid of their countrymen...

.....that's my radiOpinion, what's yours?  (The Shadow would like to know)            

                                       RANDOM RADIO READINGS

 I spent the past week or so reading various sources to find anything that speaks well
of Radio's future. Alas, I could find very little that was positive. I offer some edited
content from several media writings. In case you missed any of them, here's a brief
sampling of what I read. Let's start with these:

RADIO JOBS NOSE DIVE If you are presently on the air at a radio station you a member of an increasingly exclusive club. RadioWorld cites recent data on employment trends show job shrinkage in the industry over the past quarter century. The Telcom Law of 1996 causes considerable consolidation which means fewer jobs. From 1990 through early this year, the number of radio broadcasting jobs drop about 27 percent. There are 118,700 radio broadcasting jobs in 1990 compared to 86,800 through March 2016.

NEW RADIO CRISIS AHEAD Along with the current generation of engineers who move ever-closer to retirement, at this year’s NAB, the coming crisis in broadcasting is the lack of qualified people interested in getting into broadcast engineering. Without someone who knows the current broadcast technology and equipment and how to install, configure, maintain, and repair it, can your broadcast facility and operation stay on the air for very long? No one seems to appear to replace the retiring engineers.

From a recent Doug Schoen's article in Forbes:

 You wouldn’t know it from all the media coverage focused on streaming video and streaming music, but recent Nielsen data shows radio actually has the most reach among American media consumers. 93% of adults listen to the radio each week as compared to 87% who watch TV, a substantive difference. In terms of the American population, this means that 243 million people over the age of 12 are listening to old-fashioned broadcast AM/FM radio every week. It may all come down to the fact that as long as we have cars, we’ll be listening to the radio. And since I can’t see a time coming when that won’t be the case, it’s quite clear that radio – and its tremendous reach – is here to stay.

I found this interesting article in Media Life Magazine...it's sort of "Roots" for Radio:
http://www.medialifemagazine.com/understanding-roots-american-radio/

Here is that excerpt from Media Life Magazine's ongoing series about the state of Radio:

Talk to old radio people and they’ll tell you that the Telecommunications Act of 1996 destroyed radio. If it didn’t destroy radio, the law certainly changed it forever, and none of it for the good.
It’s done no good for anyone, not the industry, not listeners, not advertisers.
The only people who ever stood to come out ahead were the fast-money people, the folks who financed the explosive growth of giants like iHeartMedia. In end they too may take a hosing.
The problems radio faces today trace directly back to 1996. Indeed, 1996 is the great divide in the history of radio—radio before 1996 and radio after.
The irony of the 1996 law—and all great disasters have their ironies—is that the act’s intended purpose was to open up whole areas of the telecom industry to competition, such as cable and long-distance service.
But radio, though just a small part of the legislation, was already a highly competitive industry, and had been one since the creation of the Federal Communications Commission in 1934, which capped the number of radio stations any one company could own.
The aims of the 1934 legislation were two. One was to ensure competition in local radio markets. The other was to ensure that radio served the public. It was a time when many markets were dominated by newspapers controlled by political machines. Radio was intended to be independent, above politics and on the side of the listener.
Against that history, think of the 1996 legislation as a case study in the law of unintended consequences hard at work.
Here’s what the law did. Prior to 1996, a company could own one AM station and one FM station in any market.
The new law allowed ownership of up to eight stations in larger markets and put no cap on total number of stations.
The impact was immediate. Clear Channel, among others, went on a buying spree, amassing some 1,200 stations, up from just 43, financed by outside capital.
And just as quickly the slashing began. Stations that before might have employed 20 had payrolls cut to just several people as the new radio giants merged station operations in their markets. On-air talent was let go, replaced by syndicated feeds of anonymous DJs recorded in far off places.
By one count, 10,000 radio people lost their jobs in those first several years. Longtime radio people were replaced by managers who knew little about radio but were willing to make the cuts ordered by headquarters.

It's great reading and contains many truths we knew to be self evident.
And from Billboard comes this:

On the final day of the American Association of Independent Music's (A2IM) indie week convention -- held at the Marriot Hotel on the east side of middle Manhattan -- independent label executives discussed, with varying levels of optimism, how the music industry is changing through streaming, but also reminded attendees that old school radio is still an important element in promoting music.

"Radio still matters," Razor & Tie co-owner Cliff Chenfeld said. In the new digital world, "its not like the old days. If you had a record on the radio, you sold some records," Chenfeld said -- and then it was over.

The longer a song is on the radio, the better results in the streaming world.

Finally, the panel turned its attention to the one area where the indies stand tall against the majors efforts: vinyl. "Vinyl is the most reliable format we can forecast," said Secretly Group principle Darius Van Arman, who added that opinion that vinyl’s growth is not a bubble. "When the sea and temperature rises and we can no longer inhabit the planet, there will be two survivors, cockroaches and vinyl," he said.

Finally, the panel turned its attention to the one area where the indies stand tall against the majors efforts: vinyl. "Vinyl is the most reliable format we can forecast," said Secretly Group principle Darius Van Arman, who added that opinion that vinyl’s growth is not a bubble. "When the sea and temperature rises and we can no longer inhabit the planet, there will be two survivors, cockroaches and vinyl," he said.

More troubling Radio news comes from Jim Rose's fine newsletter: 


MASON CANNOT STAY AWAY FROM RADIO CBS chairman and CEO Leslie Moonves is in talks about selling CBS Radio’s 187 frequencies. Former longtime CBS Radio President Dan Mason retires from that position a year ago. Radio’s current largest member iHeartMedia’s 850 radio station’s fiances are in disarray. Time to call in reinforcement from veteran radio industry exec Dan Mason who sits on the sidelines. CEO and Chairman Bob Pittman and President, COO and CFO Rich Bressler send out the SOS to Dan Mason.
REDSTONE SAYS SELL CBS RADIO CBS chairman and CEO Leslie Moonves says that although CBS’s controlling shareholder Sumner Redstone opposes Viacom’s plans to sell a stake in Paramount Pictures, he is on board with plans to sell or spin off its 117-station CBS Radio group. During the Q&A portion of CBS’s 2016 shareholders meeting Thursday in New York, Moonves describes the CBS Radio sale: Our situation with radio has absolutely nothing to do with Viacom. 

I also caught this article in Ars Technica magazine about interference "radiators":

The US Federal Communications Commission is trying to figure out exactly how much trouble is being caused by radio noise.
Many devices emit radio frequency energy that could interfere with radio services and increase the "radio spectrum noise floor," essentially the sum of all unwanted signals. The FCC is planning to study changes to the noise floor from human-made sources over the past 20 years.
It's commonly believed that "the noise floor in the radio spectrum is rising as the number of devices in use that emit radio energy grows,"
"Radio spectrum noise is generated by many different types of devices. Devices that are not designed to generate or emit RF energy but do so as a result of their operation are called Incidental Radiators," the FCC said. "Most electric motors, light dimmers, switching power supplies, utility transformers and power lines are included in this category. There is little regulation governing the noise generated by these devices.
The FCC mentioned several other classes of devices that can increase the noise floor. One category is "unintentional radiators" such as computers, portable electronic devices, and high-efficiency lights, which "send RF signals by conduction to associated equipment via connected wiring, but are not intended to emit RF energy." There are regulations limiting the levels of RF energy that can be emitted from these devices.
There are also devices that are "designed to generate and emit RF energy by radiation or induction." Cellular phones and base stations, wireless routers, Bluetooth devices, broadcast TV and radio stations, radars, microwave ovens, arc welders, and fluorescent lighting all fall in this category.

That's just a few excerpts about the future state of the Radio business. I'm one who wants
to believe there IS a better day forthcoming...but i'm not terribly encouraged. For those
of us who "grew up" with so called "Golden Eras" in broadcasting, it's sort of like seeing
one of your children leave home with a college education, and years later find them
living on the streets! It appears that no one cares enough to get involved anymore...at least
enough to stop this perilous downward spiral of a once revered profession.
That's MY RadiOpinion...what's yours?


THIS JUST IN: (6/28/2016)

HUGE LAY OFFS AT GREATER MEDIA Greater Media undergoes restructuring with an unclear number of layoffs. On Friday, June 24, 2016 as many as nine full time employees receive pink slips from Greater Media Philadelphia, PA.