For years now, I’ve advised radio people to have a Plan B for their careers, something they can fall back on when times get rough. In giving that advice, I always thought of it as a backstop, a safeguard, protection, if for some reason you find jobs within the industry scarce. When podcasting became an option, that became the universal Plan B, but it hasn’t worked, at least financially, for many people.
I’ve changed my perspective. What you need isn’t Plan B. You need an Alternate Plan A.
The radio industry remains an option, but barely, and it’s not growing. Podcasting isn’t generating the revenue we thought it would. What you should be doing is imagining a world where radio just doesn’t exist and you can do anything else you want to do…and then do it.
Go back to Square One. Blank slate. Marconi failed. No radio. What would you have done with your life in that case? Go back to school? Start a business? Take up painting? Move overseas? If you love radio but radio isn’t loving you back, perhaps it’s time to start over.
I know. It seems unrealistic, right? You can’t be expected to just start over if you don’t have the resume for it. You have bills to pay, and you didn’t make enough in radio to save for a rainy day. There are a million excuses, and some are legitimate. It doesn’t matter. Waiting for the business to turn around is something of a pipe dream. With the economy about to circle the drain, you can’t wait for that, or anything. Assess what you really want to do other than radio, and then get on that path. Need a degree? Go back to school. Need training? Find someone to show you the ropes, and, yes, YouTube how-to videos are out there, too. Relocation?
Pick a place you really want to live your life and find out what you’ll need to make that happen, then go visit and meet with a Realtor. When your dream career is not an option anymore, pick another dream career.
The older you are, of course, the harder it is to bail on anything, since age discrimination is real and your network may not extend very far beyond radio. For me, once I lost my main job, that meant semi-retirement, picking up work here and there (like this) but embracing the fact that I can sleep later and not worry about deadlines. (Also, I’m in South Florida surrounded by retired folks, so I’m blending in, though I refuse to drive 20 miles under the speed limit in the left lane.)
I’m lucky, but if I decide to pick up more work, I’m definitely not going to limit myself to looking for a radio job. That ship sailed, and is now taking on water at an alarming rate, though in the right situation, I’d consider swimming out to the shipwreck and seeing what I can do to patch the holes. But I don’t expect that to happen. Besides, I’m a terrible swimmer.
Meanwhile, several of my radio friends have found happiness in other fields once they left broadcasting. Some are succeeding in, of all things, retail, where you can start on the sales floor or loading dock and rise to management in an instant. Some went back and got a degree in something other than communications. Some retired and moved overseas. (Bon voyage, Jon!) What they all have in common is that they didn’t wait for things in radio to change; they embraced their own change and are better off for it. Not to get all Joseph Campbell on you, but it’s time to find your bliss. And if your bliss is being on the radio, um, find another bliss.
In the words of the Schlitz Brewing Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, “You only go around once in life.” (They also suggested you aspire to “gusto” and managed to crash the company with bad commercials and an unfortunate change in formula, so I’m not sure we want to rely on them for advice.) Make it count, but don’t expect radio to do it for you.
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Perry Michael Simon is a weekly news media columnist for Barrett Media. He previously served as VP and Editor/News-Talk-Sports/Podcast for AllAccess.com. Prior to joining the industry trade publication, Perry spent years in radio working as a Program Director and Operations Manager for KLSX and KLYY in Los Angeles and New Jersey 101.5 in Trenton. He can be found on X (formerly Twitter) @PMSimon.
