Blogalicious!
Every now and then, someone asks me, “Why don’t you still program radio stations?”
That’s usually about the time I bust out into uncontrollable laughter.
“Why on earth would I want to deal with the day-to-day office politics and mind numbingly tedious administrative chores that have absolutely nothing to do with actually programming a radio station just for the privilege of getting to put myself in a position not too dissimilar from that of a baseball manager, where it’s never a question of whether you’ll be fired, but when? And then there are those 4 AM phone calls from the morning news person who wakes me up to inform me that their cat has swallowed a hair ball, forcing them ask, ‘Can you go in and cover for me on the news this morning?’”
How can I say no to someone with a cat in dire need of a pre-dawn Heimlich maneuver?
Oh, it’s tempting to get back in that pool — NOT! Seriously, thanks, but no thanks. Besides, I’m livin’ the American dream: Working from home, I get to go to work in my underwear.
Still, I must admit, after 25 years sitting in the PD’s chair in top-10 markets, I have strong opinions about the state of radio today. Plus, working as I do with dozens of radio stations and networks each week gives me a unique vantage point I never enjoyed when I was working at a single radio station. I now get to see how different stations across America, Canada and around the world deal with their own unique competitive challenges. And while my role as their “station imaging voice” doesn’t exactly put me in a position to act as a programming “consultant,” I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that it’s impossible, after over two decades as a major market programmer, to ignore my need for an outlet to express some of the opinions I have.
This blog is not intended in any way as a critique of any station. It’s merely intended as a way for me to spout off from time to time about things concerning the state of radio today. Sometimes I’ll write about programming. Sometimes production. Sometimes imaging. Sometimes on-air talent. Sometimes it’ll be just random musings from a man with a few too many free minutes and easy access to a keyboard.
So, enjoy. And feel free to chime in with your own comments.
Cheers,
Randy Brown
President
Brown Media, Inc.