Been listening to a lot of local radio and noticing that format basics are no longer required and, in fact, are almost a luxury now?
The simplest radio 101 communication fundamentals just don’t fit into the schedule of announcers voice tracking way too many stations at once, and there just isn’t time to be aware of their landscape market to market. At least that’s what one might surmise.
I think it really comes down to management just settling for less because our jobs and perspectives are just so different now in this consolidated less is more world. If we programmers don’t require more from the staff, of course they will do less and only a precious few will go the extra mile to separate themselves from the crowd on-air. It has always been that way and that’s why the hiring process can seem so long and tedious as the search for the one in a million self motivated communicator becomes a real challenge. But it doesn’t stop at hiring the right person.
I remember when we first heard Bobby Bones and could immediately tell he would do any amount of work and prep to win. It showed in every facet of this show; every character, every bit, every element. After meeting him, we came to learn that Tommy Austin had created an atmosphere in which people wanted to learn more, experiment more broadly and achieve greater success. I think the real key to Bobby and Tommy was allowing a talent to fail on occasion as a bit went flat or too long, or a character just didn’t gel in the show. Failures didn’t require a huge postmortem but did require a thoughtful consideration of what worked and what didn’t, so the mistake wouldn’t be repeated and the show would be better for the experience.
Allowing missteps when training racehorses is not something that comes naturally, but you have to let them breathe and assess the track occasionally to know how best to attack it and their competition.
How much time do you spend working with your talent on growth and learning the fundamentals? How do you handle failures? Do you allow enough room for not just chomping at the bit, but to open up and flat out run…or does that require too much maintenance?
Pick some format basics and make them fundamental building blocks and lets get back to teaching, grooming, and fostering talent which is prerequisite to growing audience. Just ask Tommy and Bobby.
