I’m fairly well-known as a big proponent of Show Prep. But in my seminars I warn jocks:
If you do what we’re talking about; if you constantly stay aware of what’s happening in your community; if you always walk into the studio prepared…You can expect to be ridiculed.
“Oh, isn’t that cute? You’ve got your little notebook of ‘show prep.’ You know, a real professional doesn’t need to prepare. A real pro knows how to ad lib. ‘Spontaneity,’ ever hear of it?”
If you’re always prepared before your show, sooner or later you will hear that from someone else at your station.
Invariably, it’s some older jock (always a male, for some reason) whose claim to fame is that he once worked in a “big market.” Let’s say your station is in Grand Rapids; he once worked in Detroit.
For a few weeks.
Then he left Detroit and has spent the past 20 years in smaller markets.
Why did he leave the Big Market?
“Politics. The PD played favorites, and I refused to kiss his ass. So instead of staying there and playing that game, I left.”
Strangely, this guy never says, “To tell you the truth, I wasn’t good enough. Plus, I had a lousy attitude, so they fired me.”
This guy couldn’t make it in the big leagues. He’s bitter, he despises his job, and he’s jealous of anyone who has achieved any level of success. Also, he hates your enthusiasm for radio, because in the distant reaches of his memory he recalls when he felt that passion.
That emptiness hurts. He hasn’t found anything to replace it, other than a couple of very unhealthy addictions, several marriages, a bankruptcy or two, and an aggressively negative attitude.
When that guy ridicules you, don’t take it personally. Stepping on your dreams is just so much easier than owning up to his own failures.
