Earlier this week, personnel at 207 Alpha Media radio stations probably got shocking news: their company was being sold to Connoisseur Media.
It’s never easy to hear your company is being sold. No matter the industry, but especially in the radio industry, when so many are predisposed to think the worst.
It’s easy for your mind to wander into “Worst Case Scenario” mode when something like this happens. But as someone who has seen their radio company sold — twice! — here are four tips I’d give to those who are inside Alpha Media stations (or any other company that could be sold in the future) and wondering about their next steps.
Take a Breath
Relax. This is cynical, but you’re going to have plenty of time to freak out and be in a tizzy. Now isn’t the time. Today is about confidence. Take a deep breath and remind yourself that you got your job because you were worthy of it.
The reality of the situation is you’ll have to worry eventually, but not right now. Take a moment to calm yourself. People who do their best work when they’re stressed or worried are a rarity. Those who have the ability to steady themselves and focus on the job at hand are going to have a leg up.
It is easy to be worried in a situation such as this. Choose the difficult route. Choose to be confident and carefree for now.
Assess Your Position and Become a Necessity
While you’re relaxing, do yourself a favor and look around. How “fat” — not literally — is your organization? Do you see places where a new company can trim? If not, look again. Because as long as there are people in the building, there is “fat” that can be trimmed.
Now, that doesn’t mean you should worry about what is or isn’t going to be cut down the line. But look at your position inside your company, inside your cluster, and inside your station. How do you feel about your position? Maybe more importantly, how do your superiors feel about your position?
In these situations, you’re going to have to look out for yourself first and foremost. And part of that is signing your own praises. If you’re anything like me, that can be a difficult thing to do. It might be almost antithetical to your personality. But you have to become important and a necessity to your current cluster or station, and an immediate necessity to your new company.
Show how you have and can generate revenue for the new company. Come up with sponsorable ideas, interesting promotions, creative monetization opportunities, and non-traditional revenue possibilities. You know what new companies like? Money. And not just money, but an immediate return on their investment. Be the person who can help provide it.
If you’ve ever thought of the sales team as your enemy, first, you thought wrong, but secondly, you need to make them your best friend. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Time to start squeaking. It benefits you, your station, your cluster, and your company in the long run.
Network
Networking is always a good idea. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from working here at Barrett Media, it’s that people enjoy sharing their ideas and thought processes. There are a lot of aspiring mentors out there. Especially if you reach out and are inquisitive about learning more about the business, your format, or whatever lane you’d like to learn more about.
While I think networking is important, I also think there’s a clear point of differentiation between networking and brown-nosing.
Relationship building is the name of the game. Many jobs are filled — and opened, frankly — by knowing the right people. Reach out to folks. Share your admiration for their work. Ask questions. Build rapport. Don’t just send a LinkedIn invite and hope that’s enough. Converse. Inquire. Discuss.
Find out what you can offer someone else and see what you can take from their insight. There is — in my opinion and experience — a culture of willingness to share, explain, coach, and develop inside the radio industry. It’s one of the best qualities it has. Use it to your advantage.
Save All of Your Work and Update Your Resume
It isn’t all sunshine and rainbows in Mycompanyjustgotsoldland. The chances of cuts are insanely likely.
So, you need to be prepared.
Start backing up everything you do. Save every piece of work that can showcase your talents to a future employer — whether they be inside or outside of the radio industry — and can be of benefit to you. If your company has access to special tools that you might not have should you depart hastily, use them. Whether that be ChatGPT or another premium AI platform, Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office, or whatever else might be of benefit to you.
You never know when the hammer might fall and the market manager, operations manager, sales manager, program director, or HR director might meet you when you walk in the door and say, “Hey, you got a second real quick?” Be prepared for that. Set yourself up for success if you’re one of the unlucky ones.
Use this as an insurance policy. Hope isn’t a plan. Hope that you’re not one of the unlucky ones, be prepared if you are. The faster you can hit the ground running in your job search, the faster you’ll hit the ground running at your new job.
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Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing daily news stories, features, and opinion columns. He joined Barrett Media in 2022 after a decade leading several radio brands in several formats, as well as a 5-year stint working in local television. In addition to his work with Barrett Media, he is a radio and TV play-by-play broadcaster. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
