Last week, I talked about news/talk radio people not wanting to take vacation because of that genetic confidence inhibitor that makes it difficult to accept someone else doing your show.
What if they’re good? What if they take my job? Ultimately, the point was that you need to have faith in yourself or your management and just take the time off.
So now that you are enjoying two weeks in the south of France, then there is the question about who can/will actually fill in for you when you’re gone.
Of course, every station is different. Every company has different policies. Every team has different levels of depth on their respective benches.
I host a morning show. The board operator/producer contributes to the show a lot, and after that, the regular voices are traffic, weather, and news. We do not have the bench strength in those other areas to allow the news/weather/traffic folks to sit in the A-Chair, and even if the producer was ready to do the whole show, there is almost zero chance we could find an experienced board op to help on a holiday.
Truth be told, none of these scenarios matter much because on the major holidays everyone will be off, most likely anyway.
Why don’t I take the days off, too? No, I am not asking that question again. It’s more because there’s another reason some hosts don’t take more time off: They really can’t. My colleagues on non-morning show stations can get away with “Best Of” shows, but in morning news, it doesn’t work that way. We need actual bodies on the air because news has a timestamp, and by the way, that person needs range, talent, and the ability to ad-lib.
So, it’s not only about who gets the chance to fill in on holidays, it’s also who can do it; and then there’s who can actually do it well.
Easy, right?
At our station, we have some difficult obstacles to growing the so-called bench. When wanting a person to fill in, we actually have to post and fill a job opening – even for a 5-time-a-year fill-in! It’s kind of brutal, but a reality we must contend with.
With all that in mind, I will generically tell you what we have and what works. Right now, we have a former music format disc jockey and two current television anchors.
It’s fascinating because radio seems easy to the average person, and for some out there, it is easy. But for most, the idea of having to talk uninterrupted for 6-8 minutes at a time (or more) can be positively frightening. What do I say? What do I talk about? Should I write a script?
This is especially challenging sometimes with TV news anchors. As a former member of that club, I can say that the group can get accustomed to scripted segments and short reads so longer-form talking is a difficult shift. It can lead to many choppy blocks and an above-average amount of “umms” and “ahhs” as the host figures out what to do. I know. I’ve been there.
With proven radio personalities, they’re often better able to handle the strange habits of the radio clock and also likely have experience filling time. On the flip side, they may have established habits that may or may not make a positive impact on a program.
The truth about both options is that with reps, just about everyone gets better. The good TV folks know news, and once the game slows down, and they figure out that perfection is not an option, they can become great on the radio.
Experienced radio people may already be great, but if they aren’t, it seems that becoming great isn’t necessarily in the cards; they may have reached their peak already.
One conclusion is to just try and maximize the equations of competency and availability. If they’re available and competent, then sold!
For me, I’d like to raise the bar in one particular sense. First, though, I truly like all of the folks who fill in right now. They’re talented, open-minded, and flexible, but I would like to get a little younger and more diverse. I’d like to get over the corporate hump and try some people outside of the TV news/experienced radio voice. I have a few guests – industry experts, journalists, and academics – who are so talented and interesting. I’d love to get them to go on the other side of the mic.
If I could get a good core of these diverse personalities, then I’d like to try and get them enough reps to get truly comfortable and see what the ceiling looks like. More vacation for me!! And only then can you discover how good someone could be. I don’t worry about someone being too good or gunning for my job.
Life’s too short to be that kind of petty, and if I get bounced out in that kind of way, I feel like I probably deserve it.
Happy fill-in finding.
Brian Shactman is a weekly columnist for Barrett News Radio. In addition to writing for BNM, Brian can be heard weekday mornings in Hartford, CT on 1080 WTIC hosting the popular morning program ‘Brian & Company’. During his career, Brian has worked for ESPN, CNBC, MSNBC, and local TV channels in Connecticut and Massachusetts. You can find him on Twitter @bshactman.
