My August 1 guy didn't work out.
I vented to some friends. See below. Meanwhile, since writing that I have 3 leads. Each one a long shot.
I'm putting the station on a day or two a week for not be permanently silent, mostly when someone wants to 'run the signal'. I'm trying to save my owners some money in hopes I won't be job hunting.
RADIO HAS BEAT ME TO A PULP
As some of you know I have a day job managing a radio station in a top 10 market. I've been with the station 25 years as of last month.
My market is 113 radio signals. 17 stations do what we do. We lease our broadcast day. We are a daytime only without a translator but a good signal.
It can be the easiest and yet the hardest job in radio. When you have a client, it is easy. You just keep things on the air and the check coming in. When you don't have a client it is the hardest.
The reality is it is a sign of weakness to 'need a station'. It is a weakness for a station to 'need a client'. Nobody knows who is looking for a station and a station does not know who needs a station. It's usually an introduction or the entity happens to find you. At least selling businesses, you know it is a numbers game. Call on so many businesses and you'll find a yes.
There are 17 stations in my market doing what we do. The demand is less than that, driving down prices. I am thinking my owners didn't get that at first. After all, that was not the case when the last client bought.
That last client broke their contract with about 2 hours notice. They didn't pay and said they were broke but were on another station the next day. That was last September.
I took a pay cut. I lowered expenses. I still had to pull from savings.
I began my hunt. I found several good ones but my owners wanted too much per month. By the time they lowered the rate, those good ones found a radio home for the dollar amount they wanted.
In November I was told we were going dark in December if I didn't have a client. I was scared.
In late November, I found a plum potential client. We worked out a deal. He used us to get a better rate at another station after a month of negotiating.
January came with a 50% pay cut. More trimming expenses in store. It is bare bones and I still tap savings.
My owners stayed with it but put the station up for sale. If they found a buyer, as is the case in radio, the staff isn't retained.
June came around. My owners said my job was done June 1 and the station was going dark.
I had a lead. I worked it. The offer was not anything my owners would say yes to but I took it in and they gave it the okay. Sure we'd lose lots of money for months but it was a start. The start date was to be August 1.
It's August 1. He didn't start. He didn't pay. They'd keep the station if I found a client.
I am trying to save this but I don't think I can. The client wants to run promos in August then start in September, giving us a check September 1. He wants a month of benefit free while my owners foot all the bills.
I'm tired and feel beaten to a pulp. There have been deadlines where you never knew if you had a job or a paycheck the next day. Today might be my last day at the station.
I pity my owners that have hung in there. They are in the same boat as me. Radio can be a cruel mistress. It's no different than any other business.
I feel I need a long vacation but I know I had better not spend a dime. I have run through too much of my savings already.
Radio has taught me to keep watch for that glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel even though you are getting all too familiar with the bottom of the barrel. You learn to walk the tight rope without a net. You carry on.
I'm not the only one. Last week I talked to a guy in the same boat. Years of hard work and dedication only to have the rug pulled out from under him squashing his future like a bug. He is trying to create his future from thin air. He did all the right things. Life isn't fair.
My lease is up at my place. If I have a job, a client, that's fine. If not, that's another situation all together. While I have almost a decade to put in to radio before retiring, I have seen my age and being 'over qualified' being a negative. I'll have to find something. I want it to be in radio because I love radio. I'll have to move if I'm done here.
I'm lucky. I started behind the microphone 40 years ago, then programming, then to sales and then management. I can pinch hit in most positions in a station. I may not be the best but I can hold my own without a chip on my shoulder. My love of radio and my experience make me an asset. I'm constantly learning.
So, I'm just venting. I'm looking for that glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. Meanwhile I carry on. I always have and it always worked out. It will this time too.
By the way, my owners rejected the revision. I thought they would. If I had to make that decision, I would have done the same. I'm back to square one. I'm working two leads. It's not promising. You just never know, the next call might be the one.
