I was on LinkedIn the other day and saw where a Market Manager for a large radio company announced they had gotten a ‘promotion.’ As I read further into the details, it appears this person was celebrating as the company they worked for made them not just a local Market Manager but a Regional Market Manager.
Below the note announcing the new role, many colleagues weighed in offering congratulations and telling them how excited they were that they had been recognized by the company for all their hard work and effort.
I laughed.
C’mon. If you have been around this business for any length of time, you know what really happened here.
Somebody else who was in that position and lived in the market lost their job. Rather than spending the money to replace the person in the market, the company simply bumped someone else up with a small raise and ‘promoted’ them to being a Regional Market Manager.
I see this happen with morning shows a lot as well. Not that long ago, a show that really doesn’t do that great in its home market, was added to not one but two other markets.
The hosts made a video and celebrated their unbelievable accomplishment of being asked by their company to do a show in other markets. They are no longer just a local show, they’re now a syndicated show.
I just wish it wasn’t obviously being done so they didn’t have to pay a show in the other market and the large media company can say they have a ‘local’ show in the market.
Look, this is the business these days and we all understand that things are being done to cut corners and costs wherever possible.
The issue here is fairly obvious. The Market Manager who took on the extra responsibilities will now be less of a manager to the home market and will eventually only travel to the new market when they have to. If you have ever been in that position, you know to truly do the job the right way, you can’t focus on more than one market at a time.
I have been in this position before and while it was nice the company recognized I was willing to take on more responsibilities, I know that I didn’t treat the markets equally. I didn’t set out to do it that way, it just is what happens, it’s only natural.
The non-local morning or afternoon show is usually good until the first time one of the hosts mispronounces a word that nobody in that market would ever pronounce incorrectly or talks about a subject they think is important but really is not something that market cares about.
I once had a company require my station in St. Louis to use a traffic reporter from Salt Lake City, Utah. The reporter was great, very professional, always on time, had a great personality on the air, everything you would want from someone working on your station. With the one slight exception that she would mispronounce a street or city name at least once every report. When someone is doing a report that is supposed to be a service to the listener calls Belleville not by its correct pronunciation of ‘BELL-ville’, but instead says ‘BELLY-ville’ you can no longer hide that this person isn’t local to the market.
Another ‘trick’ radio companies like to do is localize a national show. iHeartMedia is famous for this and I often wonder if there are people out there who really think Bobby Bones or another national host is really broadcasting from their market because of one bumper per hour that has them saying the station call letters.
I can understand if this stuff is done in a smaller market where a company may not be able to find anyone who can entertain the audience and do endorsement ads that need to be done for advertisers. Frankly, it just shouldn’t happen in bigger markets if the company is planning on having real success. My fear is these companies own so many stations they can’t figure out what to do with that the fact of the matter is, they don’t have a plan for real success.
Look, not every promotion in radio is this way, but it is hard to argue that most of them these days are designed more to change the bottom line than they are to reward someone. Leadership is crucial to the success of our industry. Faking it by having someone hundreds of miles away getting a ‘promotion’ simply to save money isn’t doing anyone any favors.
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The Best Thing I’ve Heard/Watched Recently
At the BNM News Summit in Washington, D.C. this week, there were several really strong sessions, but one in particular I found fascinating was Futuri CEO Daniel Anstandig’s keynote presentation on AI. It was eye-opening to really think about how much people are using AI without knowing they are using it.
Anstandig talked about all of the various ways Futuri is helping broadcasters with AI in the newsrooms, in sales and in programming. He played a clip from Mark Cuban which, in summary, said there are two kinds of businesses, the ones that are using and embracing AI and ones that are being left in the dust.
Watch for the videos to be released from the BNM Summit and make sure to check out Daniel Anstandig’s presentation. AI already blows people’s minds, just wait to see what happens from here.
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In Case You Missed It
Last Friday, Derek Futterman posted his feature on NFL analyst Greg Olsen. Whatever you think about him as a broadcaster, he has handled the Tom Brady/Dropped Down to the Second Team deal about as well as anyone can handle it. He understands it, but that doesn’t mean he has to like it or want it to continue for very long. He has been very consistent in his sentiments in that he will still go out there and do the best job that he can because he wants that seat back whether it’s at FOX Sports or somewhere else.
Olsen said to Derek, “I want to call the games that everybody’s tuning in to watch and all eyes are on the game and you’re the voice that weaves them in and out of super complex situations, super interesting, high-stress, kind of all-in environments and situations. I love that. Last year calling that run of playoff games that we had was awesome. I didn’t want it to end. I wish we could have done another week.”
You can read the full feature by clicking here.
Dave Greene is the Chief Media Officer for Barrett Media. His background includes over 25 years in media and content creation. A former sports talk host and play-by-play broadcaster, Dave transitioned to station and sales management, co-founded and created a monthly sports publication and led an ownership group as the operating partner. He has managed stations and sales teams for Townsquare Media, Cumulus Media and Audacy. Upon leaving broadcast media he co-founded Podcast Heat, a sports and entertainment podcasting network specializing in pro wrestling nostalgia. To interact, find him on Twitter @mr_podcasting. You can also reach him by email at Dave@BarrettMedia.com.
