Diagonally Parked In A Parallel Universe

'Get Closer To The Curb'

Programming has become increasingly complex in recent years, requiring more time and effort than ever before. And despite that it looks as though Urban radio's ongoing economic woes may very well exacerbate that trend. The problem is that off-air PDs, MDs and production directors are already becoming rare and there's little doubt staff consolidations will continue.

As a result, more and more programmers will find themselves diagonally parked in a parallel universe. They're forced daily into unfair moments of choice. They're forced to choose between doing a great job on-the-air and scheduling or overseeing music, contests and promotions for two or more stations while they're doing their air shift. And when one of the jocks who works for them hears them blow a break because they were distracted, it's hard to defend when it comes down to doing an aircheck critique, in the rare event he or she has or makes time.

You simply can't devote maximum effort to both jobs. And the same crunch that is causing programmers to go back on-air is also cutting all those ancillary support people out as quickly as possible. To give you some insight into how the smartest and most successful programmers cope with the added responsibilities of regular air shifts, we thought we'd take a look at what works and what doesn't and why.

First of all, as a programmer you have to set some boundaries and limits on your time. For example, you have to say, "Look, I'm only going to be here until five o'clock." You've got to give yourself a little breathing room and attempt to stick to a schedule. It is very difficult to make the distinction between two very different, but important roles. I spoke with a southern medium-market PD who is also doing middays. He said, "At times I might've been too conservative because the PD in me would stop the midday jock in me from doing something that might have been a bit on the edge."

The one positive side of being on-the-air, regardless of the shift is that you become more aware of what goes on and what the concerns of the staff might be. If you're not on-air you don't have the same perspective -- but what a price to pay for it.

Our advice, and we've been there, is to resist the temptation to take care of other business while you're on-air. Don't take phone calls. All that does is distract you and make you angry. Look at your show as some kind of release from all the tension of being a PD. Let it be a breath of fresh air from some of the mundane tasks you have to handle. I remember having to handle all those value-added promotions every client and every salesperson expected me to weigh in on.

Let's not even talk about sleep deprivation that comes with a little more emotional instability. You have to realize you're tired and not continue to push yourself. The other important thing is leadership by example, so you've got to maintain. A lot of programmers have trouble delegating. They don't want to let things go. They have the attitude that if they want to get things done right, they have to do them themselves.

What you have to do is look for people who can do things better than you can. Again, these are moments of choice. You've got to realize that your job is never-ending and it's all right to just close the door at five o'clock and start again tomorrow. The days of emptying that "in box" by the end of the day are over.

Understanding Employment Law

Something else that can have you feeling as though you are diagonally parked in a parallel universe has to do with contracts and lawsuits. There was a time when our industries were basically free from lawsuits. No one dared to sue for fear of never working in the business again. But times have changed. Americans in general and those in our industries in particular, have changed how they feel about suing. They've become much more litigious. Some now see it as part of their survival.

These days stations are forced to make do with fewer employees as economics cause widespread work force reductions. With fewer staffers onboard, each individual becomes that much more important. When faced with an unknown candidate, among the first things a potential employer must do is verify credentials and references.

Being asked for a reference regarding a former employee or co-worker exposes both the former employer -- and the person being asked to give the reference -- to considerable risk. If litigation results, substantial costs can be incurred, even it the defense is successful. And if not, generous awards to employers who've sued former employers and others, with respect to bad references and related issues, are not uncommon. The primary legal issue is likely to be defamation or injury to reputation and career. Although truth may be an absolute reference to a claim of defamation, prudence dictates a conservative approach such as not giving a bad reference at all, no matter how bad it really was.

Even giving a good reference, if coupled with a stated reason for termination, can create problems. The same is true for merely repeating some dirt you've heard or disclosing private or false facts abut someone else in our business. Other legal issues besides defamation might be raised, such as the right to privacy. While the absence of malice or bad faith may help lower damages, it won't eliminate liability.

Most companies have a company policy in place and urge all employees to know what that policy is. When asked for a reference, a PD or manager is safe in saying, "Company policy prohibits my discussing the performance of former employees. I'm allowed simply to confirm his or her employment here, their title, employment period, salary and nothing further." Even if you don't work at the station anymore, you personally can still be held liable for defamation. So it's best to stick to the same facts as if you still worked at the company.

Rival Assessment

It's been called many things over the years, but we felt the best title for sizing up the competition is rival assessment. When doing rival assessment, the keys for Urban stations involve researching, executing and marketing of both their stations and the competition.

Here one question that must be asked: Which station has the most listener loyalty? Remember that approximately 40% of your P1 listeners are "button pushers." This is especially true of the "music freaks" who will knock around from station to station when the music isn't right, the commercials are on or when the jocks become obnoxious. You want yours to be the station that they remember and come back to. To get them to do that, yours needs to be the station that takes care of listener needs.

The other part of rival assessment has to do with marketing. A heavy television or billboard campaign can make a huge difference for whichever station does it.

Often one of the toughest combinations of promotion and marketing to detect, assess and counter-program is a direct-mail piece. I recently came across an Urban station in a medium-size market that did a 300,000 person, non-advertiser supported direct-mail campaign that cost a bundle and went virtually undetected by their competition. Then the ratings came out and there was wailing and gnashing of teeth. The PD and two full-time jocks were fired instantly. They were on the road again.

That's the same road that must be traveled by the smarter, passionate program people. It's both filled with potholes and loaded with opportunities. If you can avoid the potholes and recognize the opportunities, you can not only survive being parallel parked in a diagonal universe, you can prosper. One of biggest potholes to avoid is trying to anticipate the future by looking at the past. Rearview mirrors can help but they can't be relied on. Objects may appear closer than they really are. You still need to develop excellent parallel parking skills and get closer to the curb.

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