A loyal reader writes:
“When I first arrived in this market nine years ago, the only gig I could find was weekend overnights. I gladly took it to get my foot in the door. The morning guy was an industry veteran, very well known for garnering substantial numbers. The times I filled in for other people and ran into the morning man, he treated me like something he had dragged in on his shoe. Very rude, very condescending.
“Now, nine years later, I’m the Operations Manager of a different station. I have an extremely rare full-time opening on my staff. Guess who’s applied for it?
“It’s a situation as old as radio itself, but you CANNOT be rude or snotty to ANYONE in this business. The person who’s doing the garbage shift may be the person you’ll be sending an aircheck and resume to in a few years!”
Years ago I received a similar report from Jay Meyers, as I recounted in my book, PERSONALITY RADIO:
“In 1975 I was a novice jock, looking for work. I called up this program director at a small station in Chester, Pennsylvania. He said, ‘Yeah, I have a weekend opening. Meet me at the station at 10:00 on Saturday morning.’
“It was about an hour-and-a-half drive for me. I got there at 10:00 and waited. 10:15…10:30….Finally he arrived at 10:45. One of the jocks there said, ‘This guy is here to see you.’
“The PD looked at me blankly and said, ‘What do you want?’ I said, ‘I’m Jay Meyers, and you told me to come at 10:00 this morning for an interview.’
“He said, ‘Oh, I changed my mind. I can’t see you now.’ And he walked away.
“Years passed. I ended up as Program Director at WFIL/Philadelphia in 1983. My second day on the job I got this 12-page resume and letter: ‘I’m this long-time Philadelphia air personality, I hear you may be going oldies, and I want to be involved in it, I’d be great for you, etc.’
“I read through the resume, and when I came to the part where it said, ‘1975: Program Director, WEEX/Chester,’ it suddenly clicked. It was the very same guy!
“I wrote him a letter that said, ‘In 1975, when you were program director at WEEX and I was just a beginning jock, you had me drive out to your station to meet you, but when I got there you wouldn’t give me the time of day.
“‘Well, guess what!’
“And I put it in an envelope with his resume and mailed the entire package back to him.
“So sometimes it’s true: What goes around comes around.”
Comments on this entry are closed.
Great post Dan!
Sad to say that this sort of stuff still goes on. More so locally here in Hawaii where jocks just started less than a year and move up fast to the point of OM or PD within another six months. The ones who have been in the business the shortest period of time in our market behave this way over those who have been around for a decade or two.
I’m generalizing, of course, but it’s what I have personally observed over the last thirty years. I’m not sure if voice tracking brought more of these people to the surface or not in the last ten years but it’s rather sad to see considering that most of us really enjoy this job of uplifting people with music and patter.
Same thing happened to me many years ago…all these years later..he actually used my name as a reference…..well…you know the rest. I’m here in Vancouver..and he’s STILL working at this rinky dink station …minor/medium market– 25 years later…!!!
Sometimes though, I wonder if it’s better to take the high road and go for the best talent for the job. I mean, nothing feels better than giving someone the payback they deserve, but what if they’ve changed?
Wouldn’t it be better to at least interview someone who maybe wasn’t the best to you on your way up? And even if they haven’t changed, maybe you could be the one person who, by giving them a chance when they needed one, could help them to see the light and start on a path toward making those necessary changes.
There’s no question there are too many dicks in radio (and in all of life in general). I’m just saying it might be worth it to consider that, over time, people can change. It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen.
A PD I know who shall be known in this posting as “A PD I know” was notorious for never returning phone calls, never responding to emails and getting furious with the fact that he had so many phone messages and emails that he never wanted to return.
Now he’s out of work.
Guess who is SHOCKED, I tell you, SHOCKED that NO ONE will return his calls?
There is an old saying that goes “Be carefull of the toes you step on today, as they might be connected to the ass you may have to kiss tomorrow”.. Live it, learn it, apply it on a daily basis and treat everyone with respect.
I wish I believed that to be true…I can’t, at least not in radio. I try not to be a jerk because it’s the right thing to do, but I’ve seen far too many guys in the business go on to lucrative, fufilling careers, despite (because of?) the fact they were total AHs…
Karma, you get what you give. Sometimes it takes a while but it always works. The bastards will always get what they have coming, sometimes it just takes a while. If you always do the right thing you will prosper in the long run.
Unfortunately Dan, the people that need to hear this, or read it wont. Or if they do they’ll be too ignorant to KNOW it’s directed towards them.
Somewhere in a PD’s life, when they morph over to BEING a PD, they forget what it’s like to need to feed their family, make their car payment, save their credit and suddenly feel themselves too important to answer or return a phone call.
PLEASE, no comments about the busy life of a Program Director. We’re all busy.
It’s funny. an old friend of mine, who will PROBABLY read this commented me on facebook the other day. It’s THE FIRST time I’ve heard from him unsolicited in YEARS. I might also add that he’s recently been taken from the PD chair in one market, and is now just a lowly jock again.
He didn’t even READ the post he was responding to either, I guess he just felt like we were able to talk again…I guess we’re equals again….
Thanks for what you do Dan O
tjk
Good to see you in print, Ted. Having spent my share of time on the beach, I’ve always tried to communicate with job seekers…I’m going to say most of the time…even if only to acknowledge receipt of their package. Can’t say that I’ve experienced the same kindness that often on the receiving end. To each his own style, I suppose.
It would pay to look at the picture, turn around, and read the sign – “Gentlemen”, then be one.
I’ve had a couple of situations just like this, where I’ve been wronged then run into the person later. The best thing to do is to…be the bigger person. Even if you don’t think they deserve it….be the bigger and better person. YOU will feel better for it.
for sure. It will always come back to you.
I agree with Morgan. If you allow that person to change you, or turn you in someone “smaller” than yourself then they won. Like ET said “Be good”. ; )
I have seen the opposite happen. As a morning show in a Sacramento shadow market “the big morning show” would call and mess with me… It was funny so I always played along. When I found myself on the beach, guess who called and offered me a job. Be nice, It will pay off!
Me too! Was doing overnights in Hartford at 21 and the big morning guy was the same as in your story! When I asked him to cool it he dragged me toward the GMs office saying “Let’s go to the GM and see who’s more important to the company!” I’ve come up the ladder a few rungs since then. Nice to hear I wasn’t the only one. 🙂
No matter how rotten someone has treated you in the past it is ALWAYS best to take the high road. I’ve been put through the grinder many times in my career by individuals with big egos and small minds. These people have no idea how many valuable lessons they taught me along the way.
And occasionally, you encounter stations where everyone looks out for each other. Case in point: I do weekends at a station that just beat it’s competition for the umpteenth time, so the PD arranged a tubing trip down the river for the airstaff to celebrate over a Friday/Saturday, with the station either tracking or using part-timers like me. When the morning show realized that one of the part-timers would have to work a double, on-air all night then stay to board-op the best-of morning show, one of the hosts volunteered to come in and board-op his own show, joining the trip late so she could get some sleep.
I love working there. The people make it worth putting up with the corporate BS, and I can’t think of a single person on that staff who wouldn’t step up and help someone out if they needed it.