It's been 18 years since I last worked in radio. However, from my late teens to early 20's, I tried to make a career in broadcasting (like so many of you). I moved around many times throughout my 20's and worked in different radio markets (all in Missouri, mind you). One of the hardest things I had doing sometimes is taking direction. No, I don't mean blatently defying program director's orders or violating station's policies, but rather what seem to be (in my opinion) the "small" matters of doing an airshift. Here's an example:
When I worked in Carthage, Missouri, I was the morning guy for a 50,000 watt FM that competed in the Joplin market. The format was light adult contemporary. We played "lite" songs from the 1960's, going forward (this was from 1992-1993), which consisted of easy listening and soft pop. We did not play everything that was on the AC charts, as many of the songs at that time were too upbeat for our format, but we did play most of them. Here are a couple of things I got in trouble for more than once: 1) Making funny comments on the air (they were clean) 2) Giving what the general manager called "laundry lists,"; that is, reading a list of celebrity birthdays or the top 10 songs of the week. I was told that such things are no-no's with an AC format and that they do not set well with the target audience (our audience was 25-54 year old females).
Many times I felt that the rules coming from the PD and GM regarding my on-air performance were "'rigid" and made it difficult for me to be creative. I suspect that these precepts they were laying down were at the recommendation of the station's hired consultant.
A year later, I left that job for one in Springfield (Missouri's third largest city, about 65 miles from Joplin). Once I moved there, I began listening to other radio stations in the market (as I'm sure all of you do, as well). Well, I tuned to Springfield's AC station, only to hear a morning comedian doing PG-13 rated skits and giving news and commentary that might not be acceptable for children under 13 (in contrast, everything I said on my previous radio show was always G-rated). He also had a female sidekick who would laugh hysterically at everything he said. I often wondered if he pumped her up with laughing gas each morning before their morning show began. I had found out from my new co-workers that they had been a morning team on this station for a few years and the man was practically a radio veteran in the Springfield market (he had worked as the morning guy on other stations). As with most morning shows, they played very little music, instead focusing on news, commentary, and comedy bits. Obviously, these announcers had quite a bit more freedom with what they could say on the air (they even gave laundry-listed information, like several "today in history" topics), compared to what I had has a morning guy. And the puzzling thing about all this is that their format was practically the same.............adult contemporary. The only minor difference is that their playlist was a little more current (they only went back to the 70's, not 60's with their music selection) and they played the upbeat AC charted songs, too.
My question is, just what is the source behind all the parameters on what to say and what not to say when you are an air-talent for a music station? Does all of this come from a consultant or is it just based on the personal preferences of the station management (i.e. we don't like funny people, so you won't be funny on the air)? And where does the consultant get his research regarding what is and isn't kosher? If his research is based on music research studies, then why is it that several radio stations across the country with the exact same (or similar) format will execute it differently? You would think that, in my case, either having a comical person as your morning guy would be suitable for an AC station, or it would not be, end of story. Yet, while working in Joplin, I am told this is not acceptable for that type of audience, only to go to Springfield and find a station with the same format doing just that! Is each radio station's consultant giving different advice for the same format? If so, then I'm not so sure the consultant is really basing the directives he gives on any study, but only on his personal observations. Either that, or like I said, the station owner, manager, or program director is giving directives to the jocks according to his/her own personal tastes, rather than according to what the listening audience (supposedly) likes.
When I worked in Carthage, Missouri, I was the morning guy for a 50,000 watt FM that competed in the Joplin market. The format was light adult contemporary. We played "lite" songs from the 1960's, going forward (this was from 1992-1993), which consisted of easy listening and soft pop. We did not play everything that was on the AC charts, as many of the songs at that time were too upbeat for our format, but we did play most of them. Here are a couple of things I got in trouble for more than once: 1) Making funny comments on the air (they were clean) 2) Giving what the general manager called "laundry lists,"; that is, reading a list of celebrity birthdays or the top 10 songs of the week. I was told that such things are no-no's with an AC format and that they do not set well with the target audience (our audience was 25-54 year old females).
Many times I felt that the rules coming from the PD and GM regarding my on-air performance were "'rigid" and made it difficult for me to be creative. I suspect that these precepts they were laying down were at the recommendation of the station's hired consultant.
A year later, I left that job for one in Springfield (Missouri's third largest city, about 65 miles from Joplin). Once I moved there, I began listening to other radio stations in the market (as I'm sure all of you do, as well). Well, I tuned to Springfield's AC station, only to hear a morning comedian doing PG-13 rated skits and giving news and commentary that might not be acceptable for children under 13 (in contrast, everything I said on my previous radio show was always G-rated). He also had a female sidekick who would laugh hysterically at everything he said. I often wondered if he pumped her up with laughing gas each morning before their morning show began. I had found out from my new co-workers that they had been a morning team on this station for a few years and the man was practically a radio veteran in the Springfield market (he had worked as the morning guy on other stations). As with most morning shows, they played very little music, instead focusing on news, commentary, and comedy bits. Obviously, these announcers had quite a bit more freedom with what they could say on the air (they even gave laundry-listed information, like several "today in history" topics), compared to what I had has a morning guy. And the puzzling thing about all this is that their format was practically the same.............adult contemporary. The only minor difference is that their playlist was a little more current (they only went back to the 70's, not 60's with their music selection) and they played the upbeat AC charted songs, too.
My question is, just what is the source behind all the parameters on what to say and what not to say when you are an air-talent for a music station? Does all of this come from a consultant or is it just based on the personal preferences of the station management (i.e. we don't like funny people, so you won't be funny on the air)? And where does the consultant get his research regarding what is and isn't kosher? If his research is based on music research studies, then why is it that several radio stations across the country with the exact same (or similar) format will execute it differently? You would think that, in my case, either having a comical person as your morning guy would be suitable for an AC station, or it would not be, end of story. Yet, while working in Joplin, I am told this is not acceptable for that type of audience, only to go to Springfield and find a station with the same format doing just that! Is each radio station's consultant giving different advice for the same format? If so, then I'm not so sure the consultant is really basing the directives he gives on any study, but only on his personal observations. Either that, or like I said, the station owner, manager, or program director is giving directives to the jocks according to his/her own personal tastes, rather than according to what the listening audience (supposedly) likes.
