Radio: The Book

Steve Warren

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2004
• ISBN:
  9781136035135
• Edition: 4
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Communication Studies
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

As entertaining as it is educational, Radio: The Book is a must-have guide to success for anyone interested in a career in radio. Providing a wealth of information and relating his own personal experiences, veteran radio personality, Program Director and Programming Consultant Steve Warren shares trade secrets and industry know-how that would usually take years to accumulate through experience. An invaluable advantage over your competition, this "cheat-sheet" for the radio programmer includes practical advice regarding: ·Radio as a career--from tips on getting started to job negotiations
·Programming--talk radio and music, from format science to picking the hits
·Relationships with listeners--everything from staying in touch with your audience to public image
·Branding, marketing, and advertising the radio station
·Research--music tests, audience analysis, ratings, and more
·Practical information about management policies
·Radio realities--information on rules and regulationsThis latest edition has been updated to include: ·Important updates on an ever-evolving field
·Essential forms for radio station functions--production orders, personnel files, absentee reports, PSA schedules, format clocks, remote schedule, and more.to be accompanied by an on-line section of electronic forms for convenience
·Ideas for successfully programming in new radio formats like satellite, internet, and cableIn such a competitive industry where formal training can be hard to come by, Radio: The Book, 4e, is a short-cut to the fast track for current and future programmers and program directors. With an active radio broadcast career that is still exploring new ideas following s more than forty years at some of America's most prestigious radio stations (including WNBC, WHN, WNEW, and CBS radio), Steve Warren is more than qualified to mentor readers. Steve has competed successfully in all music formats from Easy Listening to Country to Top 40 to Oldies, always putting the listener first and now, putting you first.

THE LISTENERS

1

IN TOUCH WITH THEM

Every ratings service, research company, and individual radio station has endeavored to accurately identify the specific person it may call a listener. When I teach a class about radio programming in the United States or Europe (where commercial radio is in the developmental stages in many countries), I always write in the corner of the chalkboard this phrase: “It’s all about the listeners.” It may not be a bad idea to make several signs with this phrase on them and post them prominently in your studio and other key offices around the radio station.

In my classroom, at every opportunity, whether the session includes discussions about technology, sales, programming, music, promotions, style, management, or any other aspect of radio broadcasting, I can safely and confidently point to the chalkboard anywhere in the discussion to return the thought process to the indisputable fact that it’s all about the listeners. Without the successful cultivation of some measurable and proactive listenership, radio fails. This simple phrase drives every department of the radio station and is pivotal in any decisions we make as broadcasters. Sometimes, it makes good sense to remind our air talent that they are talking to real people. It’s not a bad idea for program directors to also remind themselves that their programming is designed for people. Although some of the disciplines of radio are scientific and there are formulae to determine music list length and rotation patterns, a program director who spends all day staring at his or her computer might be missing something important about the lives and tastes of the real people on the other end of the radio signal. When driving, it’s good to keep an eye on the control panel, but more important to watch the road.

No matter how much we may get caught up in our own participation in the radio industry and how much knowledge we acquire as day-to-day broadcasters, the listener remains the crucial individual in the success of any radio station. Without the listeners there is no success, no revenue, no ratings, no jobs, no anything. Regardless of station format, accurately identifying and serving listeners is paramount. While the characteristics of listeners vary from format to format and market to market, there are several general listener qualities that are often overlooked, including the fact that they have consciously decided to listen to the radio and have selected a specific station. In addition, most people have a history with radio listening and radio stations, so they possess a basic understanding of how it works.

LISTENERS AS A RESOURCE

Listeners are a resource. They can be helpful in locating obscure music selections and can possibly provide expert commentary for news or public affairs material. Don’t be afraid to invite listeners to provide information or services to the station directly. Since our company has worked primarily with adult formats over the years, we’ve constantly been searching for hard-to-find music. Just a few words on the air have resulted in our access to thousands of selections from personal record collections that would have cost a fortune to purchase. A thank you on the air or a gesture of a station promotional item is appreciation enough. Actually, these collector-contributors feel good about being a part of the station. Next time they hear one of their songs on the radio, they’ll reach over, turn up the radio, and tell everyone in the room that you’re playing their song. When programming Adult Standards (MOR) at KTSA in San Antonio in 1988, I mentioned on the air that I was looking for a few difficult-to-find records. I got a call from a retired Air Force guy (there are lots of Air Force retirees living in San Antonio) who had the songs I wanted. He invited me to his home where he allowed me full access to his superb, perfectly catalogued record collection. As it turns out he flew hundreds of missions as a B-29 pilot in World War II. As a kid, my bedroom was full of model B-29 airplanes, so what began as using a listener for a music resource became a personal resource for hearing firsthand about what it was like to fly the Super-fortress.

SO HERE’S WHAT I’M GETTING AT

Throughout this book, there will be many references to the radio listeners. It’s also important to keep in mind that every aspect of radio broadcasting evolves from and revolves around its listeners. As the aging of America marches forward, new demographics reflecting the tastes and needs of older listeners will be more important. Similarly, but on the opposite end of the age spectrum, children are beginning to adopt some radio listening habits. For the first time, people under the age of 12 are being included in ratings reports. The development and success of Radio Disney in many markets have proven that radio can attract and retain preteen audiences and on AM radio stations, in most cases. As we spend our careers inside a radio studio, handling the day-to-day chores that fill up our shifts, on the other side of the radio signal are people listening, handling theirs. Saying just the right thing at just the right time, playing just the right song at just the right moment can alter a listener’s day. Each incident may be small, but collectively may amount to a significant influence over time. Scattered throughout this book are anecdotes and tales from my personal experiences in radio. Some of them are as a professional broadcaster, others as a casual listener.

Take a few minutes before diving into the following chapters and do the following: Go find a radio somewhere in your house or office. Turn it on and flip to the AM dial low end (540 is the lowest actual AM frequency), then slowly move up the dial stopping briefly at every station you can hear. Stop long enough to actually hear what’s being said or to identify the music, format, or topic. Keep going all the way up to the top of the AM dial (up to 1700), stopping at each station. Now flip over to the FM dial and do the same thing, moving from bottom to top (88-108) and spend a few moments with each station.

If you are like most people, you have your favorite station or two (or three), but did you actually know about all those others? We regularly jump among our favorites and seldom stop to check what else is out there. It’s much like ordering the same thing off the menu every time we go to the same restaurant. Although most of those other stations don’t mean much to you, each one means something to someone else in your community or it wouldn’t be there. The collective influence of all those stations has shaped and molded the position in the market of the stations you actually do listen to. They collectively compose and define the radio market and each one of them is there, day in and day out, every day, doing what they do. Each station has a staff of people responsible for its programming, technical operation, sales, and business affairs. Some of these stations may be co-owned by the same company and may be in the next room, just feet away from your favorite station. When you go to sleep at night, those stations are still there, as they are when you are listening to your favorite CD, when you’re watching TV, or even when you are out of town.

Our airwaves are full, actually crammed to the brink, with radio stations. There are more independent radio stations in the United States than in any other country. Radio began and remains a private enterprise in the United States. An individual may own a radio station just like he or she may own a pizza shop or plumbing business. Unlike most countries in the world, the U.S. government has never been in the business of owning radio stations. From the inception of commercial radio in the United States, private enterprise has held title to the stations. The marketplace has determined their success and failure by how we, the listeners, react and respond to what they do.

We were somewhere near the 11,000-radio station mark as this book went to press. That number may fluctuate very slightly, usually upward, with new licenses being granted all the time and with the creation of new, low-power FM facilities added to the pile.

Radio is a local enterprise and the local marketplace has prevailed at cultivating an industry that is informative, entertaining, and pervasive. Each of these stations exerts its influence on each of its listeners in an ongoing ebb and flow of tuning in and tuning out, channel changing, and chasing the clock.

We, as broadcasters, may never know if the song we just played was the last song someone would ever hear, just like we may never know that the same song was playing in the background while a new life was being created.

Listeners. It really is all about them.

BASIC RADIO REALITIES

2

GETTING STARTED

The focus of this book primarily is programming. That is the product we sell and where the creative process is called upon to generate profit-making ideas. It’s also the part of the industry where I have spent my entire career. It is important to remember that programming interfaces with every other department in the radio station, usually on a daily basis. Therefore, it is as important to view those other departments from a programming perspective. Knowledge of each of the interdependent departments of a radio station is very important, but having actually to hold a position within those departments is not required. As we mentioned in the beginning of the book, so little has been written about programming that the information is almost conspicuous by its absence. Programming is the key element in broadcasting, but you’d never know it by browsing the radio-TV section of a bookstore. Since programming is limited only by lack of creativity, it would be presumptuous to outline ironclad rules and regulations about what works.

If programming were merely a formula, then we could dispense with this whole book and put the formula on a single handout sheet. In reality, because programming is so wide open from station to station, the best I can hope for is to stimulate the creative process and hope that many of these ideas I have found to be successful can be adapted to someone else’s needs and situation.

Industry organizations such as the Radio Advertising Bureau, National Association of Broadcasters, and various State Broadcasting Associations can provide considerable quantities of valuable information regarding radio sales. In fact, the selling of radio advertising, though unique, does call on basic selling strategies from other businesses and acquires a considerable number of personnel from retail and other sales-related occupations. Over the past 10 years or so, radio sales executives have moved more toward marketing and away from selling. Although the exchange of money is still a critical issue, the development of a comprehensive marketing strategy for advertisers has become a more successful and lucrative approach than the hard sell and close. It is important for program directors to understand the role of sales. However, being an independent advocate for the programming of the station is a more important function and sales should never use its revenue-making position to compromise or dictate programming decisions.

The relationship between programming and other departments will reappear throughout the book where appropriate, and although we’ll revisit these areas, I thought a few comments about the two most significant departments with which programming will need strong understanding and alliances would be appropriate, sales and technical/engineering.

SALES

It is often said that the real money in radio is in sales. This is probably true for people who enjoy selling. However, I don’t think many people enter the business initially without some interest in a specific job. I really don’t think anyone enters radio primarily for the money, in any department. It’s a special business, combining an assortment of people in the development of a uniquely personal product. Announcers, air talent, or whatever term is selected, are actually salespeople, too. They sell the radio station’s benefits to the listener. They sell themselves at personal appearances, and they sell their ability to perform for management on an ongoing basis. The account executives representing the sales department operate in a more structured environment and work with ratings, budgets, costs, and contracts. They also operate as an adjunct to other businesses wanting to get the word out about their products and services.

In many cases, there are announcers who are looking for more stability in their lives, enjoy their community, have families, and want to stay where they are. There comes a time when the salary for announcers just can’t go any higher. The more-money aspect of sales is not the salary itself, but the option to make commission. Therefore, within sales, the earning power has no set limits. There always seems to be a small percentage of radio account executives who have come through the ranks of programming. Their decisions to do so are largely personal and usually the result of a conscious career move. Programming can be a springboard to sales and management, but it is not designed to be so, nor is it subordinate professionally to those areas. The occasional adversarial relationship between sales and programming often results from misunderstanding and working at cross-purposes.

From the sales point of view, calling on clients, making promises, asking for the order, and being in and out of a car all day are all part of the difficult and underappreciated job. Salespeople often think announcers have it quite easy, doing a 4-hour shift in a studio, especially for a guaranteed salary, often rumored to be greater than their own.

From the perspective of programming, salespeople are responsible for station income, directly affecting studio equipment purchases or salaries. Salespeople may occasionally be accused of giving away the station too cheaply and making unrealistic, short-notice demands on announcers and production people in developing commercials. They also want the program director to put material on the air (like promotions and air-cluttering, low-value contests) for the sake of making a sale. Just like brothers and sisters who occasionally fight, sales and programming people frequently find themselves in spats, but they ultimately need each other. That truth usually mitigates any problems between the two departments and prevents disputes from becoming too serious. It should be the goal of a good general manager to have frequent meetings between these two important departments. The manager should continue to restate the goals of the station within proper limits and with guidelines for expected performance. There should be effective systems or operational procedures for handling interdepartmental affairs. The income-producing objective of the sales department should never be used to leverage programming decisions that may compromise the overall value of the station.

TECHNOLOGY

The minute I start writing about anything technical, the shelf life of this book is reduced by 75%. Radio technologies are reinventing themselves by geometric progressions. In the field of music reproduction alone, we’ve gone from vinyl records to tape cartridges to compact disc to hard disc to CD-ROM to iPod to heaven knows what next in just a decade. We are knocking on the door of new distribution technologies that still include FM, AM, (AM Stereo and AMAX), digital (DAB), direct satellite (SDARS), and beyond. I see things at broadcasting conventions these days that I have never dreamed of—but I don’t see some of the things I saw last year, because they are already outdated.

The ease and convenience of a new technology always come at a price. An easy example is the basic telephone. In the late 1800s the telephone came into common usage and greatly improved personal and business information exchanges. But the price paid was a loss of privacy. When we put in a telephone line we give everyone permission to call us and interrupt whatever we’re doing at any hour of the day or night and for any reason. How many times have you heard someone say that the telephone is driving them crazy? In the same way, consolidation of ownership and the leap to virtual programming have come at a cost—and it’s about the highest cost that radio can pay.

The cost has been the loss of a valuable local service for local listeners, one that may be very different from basically the same service in another location. People depend on the personal touch that comes only from air talent that lives in the community, from air talent that many people know or have seen at a local event, and from a station that can be viewed as a constant and helpful neighbor.

An experiment in England some time ago confirms this. A whole village was wired for cable TV and was provided the service for free, with all the different kinds of programming that were available at the time. Tucked away in the offering was a little local station that concentrated on local news and community events. When the ratings for all the channels were reviewed, guess what? The little local station far outstripped any of the others. The most popular program on this station was an informal chat show broadcast at breakfast time from a pub that doubled as a restaurant. In that experiment, the medium was TV, but the same principles undoubtedly apply to radio. Another example comes to mind. In the 1950s, there was a trend toward broadcasting for an hour every day from someone’s living room. Someone well known in the town would entertain, interview, and advertise right from home. These shows were very popular. They usually beat out the slicker network offerings in the same time slots. The talent might not have been at the most professional level, and the production values were certainly primitive, but people liked the person broadcasting and liked the show. What’s even more important, they tuned in. The upside of the rush toward virtual programming is that it may, at ratings time, show that it doesn’t pay to slight the listener—that the listener is what it’s all about—and that no technical advances can ever replace the personal touch. We hope that all this may prompt a swing back toward what radio does best: act as a voice for the community right outside its front door.

People don’t listen to the ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• About the Author
• Chapter 1 The Listeners
• Chapter 2 Basic Radio Realities
• Chapter 3 Radio as a Career
• Chapter 4 The music and the Talk
• Chapter 5 Research
• Chapter 6 Branding and Marketing
• Chapter 7 Promotions
• Chapter 8 The Station’s Personnel
• Chapter 9 Other Radio Media
• Chapter 10 Wrap-Up
• Chapter 11 Christmas Programming
• Appendix: Forms
• Index