WHY DID THEY CUT MY HOURS? QUESTION FOR DAN O’DAY: I do the morning show, and we received an award for our efforts this year. We as a morning show team have only been together a short time, and the tape we were judged on was 51 days old. So we were feeling kinda proud, and the very next week our show was cut by an hour and my bid to be put on full-time was shattered as my hours were cut to 20 per week. Here's the problem: We don't know how not to take this personally. Do you have any suggestions? Because that was what we were told to do, and it just doesn't feel right. DAN REPLIES: Believe it or not, you were given exactly the right advice: Don't take it personally. The PD who cut your show didn't do it for reasons having to do YOU. He did it for reasons having to do with HIM. He wanted to get a jump-start on the at-work listening show. He wanted to give more air time to his girlfriend. He'd just been told to cut his budget by 25%, effective yesterday. He doesn't think your show is as good as you do. Whatever. Look, Howard Stern is the #1 jock in New York City. What's his 18+ audience share - 10%? Do you know what that means? That means that at any given moment during morning drive, nine out of every ten adult New Yorkers don't listen to Howard Stern! So maybe your PD is among the nine out of ten who don't think you're God's gift to radio. It ain't about you; it's about what he likes and doesn't like. If he doesn't accord you the appreciation you feel you deserve, go find another PD somewhere who will. Every PD in the world except one can think you're lousy. And if that one PD who likes your work hires you, that's all you need to be in business.