RADIO PROGRAM DIRECTOR WITHOUT MUSIC AUTHORITY

A Loyal Reader Writes:

“My Operations Manager has been in control of my classic rock station’s music since before I was made program director.

“The music has become very stale, and he doesn’t respect my opinions on the music because I am in my late 20s.

“How do I go about getting control of my music without stepping on his toes?”

I don’t see that happening under the circumstances you describe.

1.  He has all the power.

2.  He doesn’t respect your opinions.

If neither of those changes, I don’t see you getting what you want.

This is an example of a problem that needed to be addressed before it became a problem.

How?

When you were told, “Great news! We’re going to make you Program Director,” you should have replied:

“I’m honored! Before I formally accept this promotion, I need to be clear on what authority I’ll have:

“Will I be able to hire, fire, assign and/or discipline air talent?

“I’m sure you agree that only one person should be making the music decisions.

“Until now, you’ve been in charge of the music. But as Operations Manager I know you have a lot of other things to worry about, and as Program Director I would expect to have authority over the music.

“How do you feel about that?”

What would your OM have said in response?

Probably:

“Forget it. I do the music around here.”

But….

1.  At least you would have tried.

2.  At least you’d know not to bother fighting the music battle.

I’m not including the obvious suggestion that you could have refused the job under those circumstances. You’re in a small market, you want to advance within the company, most likely management would have held your promotion refusal against you, and you might have created bad blood with the OM.

So what can you do now?

Not much.

My best suggestion is to set up a meeting with your OM.

Note that I did not say, “Talk to your OM about it.”

Set up a meeting:

“OM? Can we schedule a time to talk in your office today?”

“Uhhh…What do you want to talk about?”

“It would be better to wait until we can sit down and talk privately. How about 3 o’clock?”

Why don’t you reveal what it’s all about right then?

1.  If you tell the OM what you want to talk about, you’ll end up discussing it right there and then — probably in the hallway. And your OM will dismiss the subject with, “I really don’t have the time to get into this.”

2.  This way, the OM will spend all day worrying about it: “What’s the problem? Is he going to quit? Is he going to tell me about some workplace sexual harassment issue? What’s the problem?”

You’ll build up the OM’s tension, which is an advantage for you. Because when the OM finally learns what the real topic is, he’ll be relieved.

Which means he’ll relax.

Which means he’ll be more likely to listen to you, rather than to dismiss your suggestions out-of-hand.

Plus, setting up a formal meeting might make the OM aware of how serious this issue is to you.

At The Meeting

Telling the OM that the station’s music — selected by the OM — is very stale won’t help you.

Instead, focus on your frustration at having been promoted to a job of great responsibility — only to discover you really don’t have the responsibility that should come with the job.

Ask the OM, “If you were in my situation, what would you do?”

And then….

Listen to his answer. Maybe you’ll be able to work something out.

Otherwise, forget about the music and focus on the areas of responsibility over which you do have control.

Finally: Classic Rock format….You’re in your late 20s….And a little quick research reveals to me that your station is ranked #2 in a 14-station market.

Is it possible that the music which sounds stale to you sounds really good to your target audience?