Sorry, but this week I will not have a year-end best of or worst of list for you. I won’t have predictions, hopes or desires for Radio in 2010, either.
I do, however, have some wishes for you, my comrades in Radio:
If you’re an owner or group head, I wish you well with your lender(s) and/or board.
If you’ve been in business for more than a minute you know they’re the folks who really run the company. You just get the nice office and the pleasure of having to deal with people who most likely don’t understand or care about the problems you face in heading a company that is best run with long term thinking but must deal with the “I want it now” attitude they possess.
It’s easy for those lower on the food chain or a vendor like me to get upset with “corporate” and wonder how we’re to achieve the desired goals the way Radio is operated today. You’re getting it from all sides. And you wanted the big chair?
If you’re a mid-level manager such as a GM, DOS, OM or PD, I wish you well in converting the resources you’re given to the goal that his been set by “corporate.”
I also wish you well in keeping the fires burning inside those in your charge. Your creativity in this area is your best friend. Remember, money isn’t the only elixir.
If you’re an on-air talent or salesperson, I wish you well in your interaction with the listener and the advertiser.
You have a common enemy and a common ally all wrapped into one: The Internet. I could write a book – or at least a short story – on how to best take advantage of the Internet and turn it into an ally. Suffice to say, as with the mid-level manager, your creative resources are your best friend.
If you’re one of the many that has been displaced by the perfect storm Radio has encountered over the past two years (the economy and over leveraged Radio companies with debt coming due), I wish I could tell you to just hang in there and it will get better. It won’t. You’ve already heard that Radio will never be the same again; believe it.
There will be some re-hiring but not back to the levels we once enjoyed. For you, I suggest you take a realistic inventory of your assets if you haven’t already. What can you offer an employer or what can you offer as an entrepreneur?
The worst thing any of us can do is put our future (and that of our family) in someone else’s hands. You must take control and move in a direction your skill sets take you.
With that, I will close by saying Happy Holidays, Happy New Year and may God bless us all.
Bob Glasco
480-488-0903
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