8/4/1995
Programming a radio station correctly is a very fine art…mastered by few…misunderstood by many.
This is the second in a two-part series dealing with a part of the art form: the programming playbook. Last week we reprinted the first part of a playbook I began while programming the RKO chain. It dealt with the philosophy behind a winning station. This week, on the following pages, you’ll find specific guidelines for the mechanics of the format.
Many of the “rules†don’t apply today and it is important that you don’t take this playbook as gospel. You should compile your own. Establish your rules and philosophy based on your specific needs and the needs of your station. Having an overall game plan on paper can only make you a better programmer. It will also make your staff better because their instructions are clear and your expectations of them are in black and white.
Playbooks, game plans, written instructions and memos are all good. They are, in fact, almost irreplaceable. However, much more is needed to establish a winning attitude that transfers to the on-air sound. Don’t get lost in the planning. Make sure that your station sounds right. It’s not enough to put your format, ideas and ideals down on paper. You have to make sure the format, ideas and ideals are joined by a staff that will take your written animation and make it come alive.
Interaction with the air staff is a key to becoming a winning program director. This is not to say that you should make bosom buddies with the air talent. There should never be a misunderstanding as to who is the boss. However, members of your team should want to work with you, not just carry out your edicts because it’s a job. Whether or not your staff wants to work with you is up to you. You must set the tone.
It is your job to meet with corporate executives within your company. It is your job to deal with the paperwork and politics that are part of programming in the 90s. It’s the job you’ve chosen. It is also an important part of your job to insulate your staff from the corporate paperwork and politics. Don’t treat air talent the way you are treated by corporate executives. They aren’t a part of the mix. When you meet with your staff, don’t portray the image to them.
Weekly air check sessions are almost mandatory. Your staff needs to know that you are listening and that you care. I always enjoyed meetings where air checks were played and critiqued in front of the entire staff. This satisfies several goals: each member of the staff knows what you expect from all the others…not just them personally; other members can learn from the mistakes or the perfect breaks of others; each person can critique others. In years of doing air check sessions with the entire staff, I learned more from the members of my staff than they learned from me. It’s also a time where the staff can gang up on the PD to bitch about aspects of the format that they might not bring up in individual sessions.
Open air check sessions also create a spirit of comradery within the staff. It’s all for one and one for all. It also makes each a better jock. Knowing that your air check will be played and critiqued in front of the whole group makes each member a little sharper while they are on the air.
Individual air check sessions should take place once a month. It’s important that every member of your staff have time for some one-on-one instruction. It’s also a time for individuals to bring up specific problems they want to discuss in private. When you have these private meetings, make the jock your center of attention. Don’t take any calls or conduct other business. You might be extremely busy, but set everything else aside. Let the jocks know they are important to you and that the meeting is a top priority.
In these private meetings, allow individuals to express their feelings about their working conditions without fear of reprisal. Input is particularly important to a good program director. If you ask for input, don’t get angry if the input isn’t necessarily what you want to hear. Don’t take it personally. Didn’t you bitch about the boss before you became one? Bitching is an important part of an air talent’s life. Let them vent their frustrations. Often, they want no specific action taken, they just want to know you will listen to what they perceive as problems.
Also try and buy lunch or dinner for each member of your staff once a month. It’s important that they be able to meet with you outside the confines of the radio station. No business should be discussed. This is just a relaxed, social, feel-good meal.
Being an air personality is psychologically one of the hardest jobs in the world. Not only do they want to be the best in their market in their time period, they also want to be the best on their station. This can create conflicts within the staff. It is up to you, as the PD, to control the individual egos without breaking anyone in the process. Listen to a jock’s concerns. Take time to explain your objectives. Point out what you need from each shift and why one particular person works in a time slot while another doesn’t. Patience is not a strong suit with most jocks. Try and instill this virtue by building up their confidence and sharing our belief in their ability. If the situation warrants, give the jock a timetable as to when a change in the situation will occur. Maybe it’s as simple as moving the jock into another shift when someone resigns. If you expect no staff changes be up front with the jock and explain the facts. Offer to find the jock another job in a different market if the situation is untenable. This usually has a calming, if not chilling, effect.
Jocks have personal problems with others for reasons that have nothing to do with air shifts. As PD, you’re working with highly combustible, if also very fragile, egos. Everyone doesn’t like everyone else. If some member of your staff is bitching about another individual’s problems, try something I used a lot. Tell the jock, “I know Darrell is having a hard time in this area. What can you and I do to help him?â€Â This makes the one bitching a part of the solution, not a part of the problem.
If these suggestions don’t help you, if your staff still doesn’t respond, if you use all of my suggestions and some of your own ideas and nothing works, you always have another alternative: Replace them all with people who will listen.
Hey, it worked for me!