Reach Out To Your Friends

Jimmy Carter in his homebase Nashville

I'm very sad for the thousands fired this week in the many employment executions around the country.

The Clear Channel one was one of the largest and most bloody. You keep hearing that they have major restructuring ahead when and if they go to more of an airline-based hub-and-spoke programming system.

It is just one radio chain, but the others are going to do or have done to some degree things like this already. You can send a bowling bowl down the main hall of any radio complex and I doubt you would strike anyone.

MusicRow's had a few firings (I'm not going to clean it up by calling it layoffs, downsizing, etc.). It's not over and I'm surprised we haven't seen more with the sales the way they are.

Microsoft's thousands, Logitech, Dell, the airlines, NASCAR, Bridgestone tires in a Nashville suburb -- 600! It's shocking and sad and darn right scary. Add to that folks like Larry King losing a million dollars in that Bernie Madoff scandal. Lord, we need a little good news today!

The Obama day this week was uplifting. Let's HOPE all the good will and karma going to that bunch will result in something positive. Sure seems like everyone has their work cut out!

The cutback of advertising dollars is surely putting the choke on NASCAR and broadcasting. Even if you are a good worker ... a star even ... tt's getting harder to run from the reality that advertisers are scared and pulling back. Let's hope the car dealers and the banks get their businesses going again and getting the economic engines turning before we all have to start growing food and fishing in Stonewall Jackson's pond.

The concert gang is out and the money is coming in. Remember all through this the magic number always seems to be 10% ... 10% force reduction, 10% fewer people in this and that. The concerts I've seen this year already were packed. Maybe they have cutback in concession purchases and fewer T-shirt buys, but hard to tell. The CD sales figures are disastrous. This week the #1 in pop barely broke 60,000.

I'm hearing the buzz of the bean counters and the get people off the payroll song. Not hearing the creative people coming up with how to dig us out of this mess. That is scary.

The newspapers in the U.S. are sick. Very sick. Local TV to me is looking like the Edsel dealership. The new media from Internet and smart phone TV, social networks is the thing. The news viewership is older than ever in the majority. Still, "American Idol" rolls on. At least people are watching the old media for something! "24" is still great, but I'm watching it free at www.fox.com Nontraditional media is winning the race in the good demographics.

Keith urban has a CD title: "Defying Gravity." That CD needs to jump off the shelves to save jobs this Spring. I hope it will...

Paisley's tour is again fantastic. Darius Rucker is a hardworking, personable guy. His music speaks for itself. He is a huge asset to the Country format. I hope everyone is helping him get a permanent foothold. His stage show is solid. A few of his songs are new favorite, like "Don't Think I Don't Think About It."

Dierks is a star and with his new CD on the launching pad; let's hope he has a great 2009. It seems to be shaping up that way. He's out with Brad and going out some with Urban.

Brad is on a roll. The reviews match any hype you hear from me. I think the guy is a genius. By far the brightest musician I've ever known. Yes there are plenty smart men and women in this business, but we have such broad, deep talents in the areas of performance on the guitar and in computers, design and feel for all of that. Who does their own animation? Who plays a guitar like that, short of Eddie Van Halen, and yes, there's Keith Urban, a fellow gunslinger and singer. Those two are dangerous when together like Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday.

Get well to Keith Anderson headed for vocal cord surgery. Little Jimmy Dickens is doing much better after his surgery.

Hard to believe folks like Fleetwood Mac are on the road in a big tour this year.

I got into the business of broadcasting because from afar it looked like fun. From the inside it was hard work and it was fun. Somewhere around the introduction of the computer, it stopped being as fun.

The corporate takeovers began taking the radio and TV business to places that were more pressurized and less fun. Radio went to automation and sterilization first. Now TV is there. People are a dying need. But as the people get taken away, the soul of the stations die. The fun leaves. It's like watching Hal in the 2001/2010 space movies.

Hal runs most of the radio stations and some of the TV stations now. Hal doesn't have a heart or a soul. Hal has no feelings. Hal is smart, but only has smart as the human who teaches it.

The small start-up company with creative -- not accounting -- people will be the ones to break out of this current mess. The independent business model will work harder and beat the highly leveraged, not creative, bean counter-driven companies.

On Net News here at All Access, an important article I will copy and paste here. It's worth reading if you are on either side of the firing squads currently roaming the nation's businesses:

Three emotions are likely to dominate the first month following the loss of a job: fear, anxiety and impatience. You know you need to update your resume, scour the want ads and work your contacts, but it is just as important to make sure you are in the right frame of mind. Panic, self-pity and desperation won't help you find your next paycheck.

Here are 10 tips for coping with a job loss and finding your way back into the workforce:

Catch Your Breath

Give yourself time to figure out your next step. Don't feel compelled to jump right back into the workforce. When you are ready, keep your options open. The job you end up with may surprise you.

Transition

Your next job may be a transitional one. Whether it's full or part time, embrace it. Every experience is a valuable one and you never know where it may lead. Even freelance or part-time work could lead to a full-time job.

Stay Healthy

Use your health insurance while you still have it and check in with your doctor and dentist. Eat well and go to the gym. The better you feel, the more positive energy you will have for your job search.

Embrace The Upside

Something good will come from this. You must believe you will end up better off, even if you can't see it. The world is full of successful people who overcame some bad breaks along the way.

Strategize

Make a list of your contacts. Extend your health insurance and apply for unemployment benefits. Send a thank you note to your boss and colleagues you enjoyed working with, and ask them to keep you in mind if they hear of suitable positions.

It's Not You

Your friends and family may seem uncomfortable around you. They may feel sorry for you, they may be embarrassed because they still have a job or your situation might cause them to worry about their jobs. It's all about them, not you.

Woe Is Not Me

Wallowing in self-pity just won't help, even if your luck has been hard. Sometimes you know why you were fired, sometimes you don't. What matters is what lies ahead.

Finding Work Is Work

Looking for a job is your job. Perseverance and patience should be your new best friends. You may have to settle for less, but even in a bad economy, there are jobs for good people.

Positive Spin

"I'm excited to be back in the job market because it's given me a chance to go after a job that I love," sounds a lot better than, "I recently lost my job." Optimists fare better in tough times, so keep your outlook strong.

Check Yourself

A prospective employer can learn a lot about you online, and that can be good or bad. Spruce up any profiles you may have on FACEBOOK, MYSPACE or LINKEDIN. Don't forget to GOOGLE yourself -- an employer sure will. You can't easily change what's out there, but if you know what a search will turn up, you can address it.

If You've Recently Lost Your Job

If you have been affected by the CLEAR CHANNEL restructuring, or any radio or music industry job -- please -- send your information including name, position, station/market, phone/e-mail contact info to NET NEWS Editors PAT GILLEN (pgillen@allaccess.com), JEFF SILBERMAN (jsilberman@allaccess.com) or any ALL ACCESS format editor, and we will get it listed here, and in our Industry Directory as well.

I liked best the thought conveyed this week to reach out to someone you know who was canned. I did to one and will to others this weekend. It's a horrible time and you need to know people care about you.

I hate this, I really do, for people who went to work this week to just do their job. Companies have to survive, but you have to wonder how good your leaders have been doing at taking care of the store! Any of us could be next. So plan and diversify. Don't have all your eggs in one basket. EVER again! Work hard, be positive and reach out. Facebook is great. I'm there and love finding lost people. Do everything to get your name out and network.

I know it's going to be all right. I just don't know when!