JACKSONVILLE AND RENDA

I would welcome any intel on the Jacksonville Renda group. How's the staff? Who is the GM and what is she/he like? Who are the PD's? What are they like? How does this company do business? Is it a stable group? How are their numbers?

You don't hear much about this privately held company, so perhaps no news is good news. But I would very much like to hear what anyone has to say, good, bad, indifferent. Please keep the remarks intelligent. There's enough hateful stuff posted around these types of boards. As Jack Webb used to say..."just the facts" please.

Thanks Much!!

Hey BSKPD, Google first and then ask questions later.

Goodfella

sometimes, googling doesn't resolve any results.
why there are forums like this.

-rob

Renda as a company ? You've heard of proactive? Try no active. It's those in the trenches that really make the difference. Like many spoiled rich family owners Tony's
stations are his toys. The employee is someone he has to talk to when bumped in to.

Renda has my vote and it seems to have some of the diary holders votes too.

vt ... why the sour grapes? Are you angry because Renda is NOT in frenzied sell-out mode because they held their cards while everyone else bought ludicrously overvalued stations by the bushel in the 90's?
Grunts in the trenches are what EVERY business is about, and as long as guys like Arthur Crofton and Jim Bayard have been in Tony's corps, how can it be as bad as you make it seem?
... beside, if you don't like the owners you DON'T have to work there ... just like any other business.

First off in this century everyone is better off working for smaller radio companies. Renda not included. It's just a wanna be. Crofton and Biard are good guys but old school. Until clear channel sells off their radio stations to smaller outlets will the business ever have a slight chance to rebound. The fact that the FCC is throwing heavy fines at stations is another reason radio has lost it's creative edge. We can only hope.

Fired by Tony?

Sour grapes?

I imagine most people would rather work for somebody like Tony than Cc or Cox!

You use the term 'old school' with contempt, as if it's no longer a valid way to both serve and entertain the public. Let's say CC DOES finally sell their smaller loss leaders to someone whose stupid enough to purchase overpriced stations with weak signals and serious identity crises ... just what do you propose they 'rebound to?
As far as FCC fines are concerned, you infer that the only kind of radio that will succeed will be 'shock' radio with the kind of content (i.e. d%@k jokes) that panders to morons.
Yes TR's stations and formats are safe, but that's not a bad thing. When was the last time a Renda station had to worry about fines for sketchy bathroom content? He's never sold a radio station for any reason, let alone because of foolheardy business practices that seem to run rampant among outfits like CC, Cox, and the other so-called broadcasters.
P.S.- vt ... what do you believe qualifies Renda as a 'wanna be'?

I personally may have some issues with Tony in the way he handles people. But one things for sure, Tony is a great businessman and as sharp as a tack. All of his stations, and I've heard all of them are well programmed, and stronger in their markets than most. And they guy doesn't over pay for anything. I think he out competes his larger competitors in most cases.

I worked for RBC Jax for 11 years. Many things can be said about Tony Renda, everyone has an opinion as do I. Tony is one guy who is always straight with his people. Tony comes from sales but he will tell you as an employee how things are, I always knew where I stood with him. He is big on Loyalty, sometimes to a fault. I offered to step down when he decided to go with the Oldies format. I told him I was not the right guy to program the format; everyone in the building knew that including me. He stuck with me and gave me a chance to learn the format. It failed to produce but at least he gave me a shot. I picked up the phone on more than one occasion and called him directly when I had to. He always answered the phone and made time for the issue. Tony Renda gave me a shot when no one else would. Some say that was a mistake, maybe it was. I will always be grateful to Tony and several General Managers who stuck with me when there were more qualified people waiting at the door for my job. I was average at best as a broadcaster and I know it. There are some very good people working for Tony in all his markets. If you have an interest in working for Renda Broadcasting, it is a good family owned company to work for if you are not in it for the money, unless your interest is in sales. Eventually the Company will be in the hands of his Son who has made mistakes and learned from them over the years. TR will continue to do things the way his father has taught him. Think what you may of Tony Renda, as far as I'm concerned as a former employee, He is a class act and a good man. I am one of the lucky ones today because I was able to leave radio on my terms and move on to a new career where the money is much better and work is fun again. My time with Renda Broadcasting taught me alot, and it is paying off today.
I know there is very little interest in what I have to say here, but I wanted to share my thoughts when it comes to Tony Renda and the kind of buisness man he is. His character should never be questioned.

Briggs Bickley

It is you, Briggs Bickley, who is the class act. It is indeed, like everywhere else, "those in the trenches" who make Renda the place to practice your craft that it is. The test of any learning is in the application. Briggs, you gave those around you the same opportunities that were given to you. You devloped loyalty because of the respect you bestowed on anyone around you who was willing to go the extra mile to get it right. You are a patient teacher, a fair manager, and a truly decent man. We don't share the same view of how you were eventually treated by Renda, but yet again you have imparted an invalueable life lesson; the power of grace. As far as working for Renda, the current management is not to my liking. I wouldn't trade the time I had with Briggs Bickley, Jim Byard (if old school means supportive, encouraging and fair, then the accusation sticks), and several others in the Jacksonville market and in others who always took my calls and gave me whatever support they had to offer, for anything. I was pushed to be better and given the tools to get there, not by Renda per se, but by a staff, IMHO, they were lucky to have.

BB and moonshaow must be high. Your both making me throw up

Welcome to R/I Briggs! A civilized, heartfelt, and eloquent post is a rarity around here and on behalf of the radio people that don't feel disenfranchised, ripped off, walked on, or just plain old bitter about how bad the world of radio sucks since 1996 ... it's great to have you. Kudos to you for walking away from the biz a better person, and using what you learned here to better yourself in the outside world - a place where most in this realm shrivel and die personally and professionally only to whine about it here on this board.
So, vt, what shameful, inhuman thing did Tony Renda do to YOU to make you this way? It's not really cricket to throw stones without a reason ...

hmmm...brother bear a brit? Beautifully put.

Funny I thought there was a difference between walking away from a job and being asked to leave the building for good. Walking away and being told your fired were two different things the last I heard. In the real world when you tell an owner to say nothing of a GM that you are not suited to program an oldies format and don't know the music they would find someone else asap. TR wasn't being a good guy letting BB program cool. The fact is TR didn't care who was doing it. If he cared he would of hired a PD with a winning track record like Pat Garrett or any of the hundreds of programmers out of work. I do however give BB alot of credit for admitting on here he was way over is head.

Briggs, your post was spoken from the heart. It’s rare to see anyone show a human side in a public forum and to admit not being in the right position. You showed a lot of class here and I’m happy you are now in something you enjoy.

It’s no secret that I was among the most vocal on this board regarding Renda’s KOOL. And I was certainly not shy in holding back critiques of you and the many blunders that occurred.

And while you hold your former employer in high regard, I think it’s a shame you weren’t given the tools to succeed. I wanted the oldies format to work in Jax and from Day One, I knew it would not if it continued on that course. And no doubt that is why I and others kept hammering away at the issue hoping things would change before it was too late.

I’m sure Mr. Renda can be seen as a successful businessman given there are many examples of profitable stations with excellent numbers and revenue. But I never understood how and why he let KOOL flounder as he did. There wasn’t a billboard, any commercials – hardly anyone knew the station existed. And for those who found it, the programming errors and lack of station identity turned off more than turned on.

Look, while loyalty is great, I wish Mr. Renda would have supported you and the station more. If you would have had a music director and midday host, a la Pat Garrett - that would have demonstrated a commitment to at least give the station a fighting chance to succeed. As I look back, I continue to not understand, from a business standpoint, why the station and the format appeared to be a part of some orchestrated failure. Who knows, maybe it was an excuse to get rid of the former GM. Not being an insider, I can only guess but nonetheless, this was costly and didn’t have to happen.

And where is Renda Jax today? It seems the “old” voices are getting replaced with younger voices. Maybe they just work cheaper than those they replaced but this seems to be a trend everywhere. In this crazy 25-54 obsessed environment, maybe Renda Broadcasting has little choice but to go with what everyone else is doing.

But I expected them to be different. It would certainly set them apart from everyone else. Anyway, it was good hearing from you Briggs. Peace.

Briggs you're being very hard on yourself. Arrow and Kool were both DOA. Hello COX knew when to say good bye to KOOL. But, Renda thought they knew better and didn't. Maybe it was time for oldies to finally move on. Now if 1007 had a better signal and if TR put marketing money behind the format it might have been a different story. You sir did a great job with the resources you had.

TR has forgotten who made him wealthy. He can be a good man and should treat his is people much better! But Greed and his short stature are his downfalls. CC and Cox are just greedy, mean and evil. The current crop of RBJ Jax management is a bit short sighted. It's not their faults. They're reactive to TR's greed and are clinging onto their careers hoping and praying they'll make budgets. RBC Jax has hired so many ex-Cox and CC employees it's almost like working for the evil empires.

Has RENDA moved ALL Their Stations to Jacksonville like they did Palatka,oops I mean Daytona's WGNE.

all studios are now in Jax for the stations they own now.