[BC] RE: Food for Thought

[Rich Wood]

------ At 04:49 PM 5/3/2005, Brent Hall wrote: -------

>I still believe a lot of listeners were lost with the large corporate 
>buyouts of great local stations. When popular announcers retired or quit, 
>they were placed with card readers that had the personality of a dial 
>tone. Rich, when programming stations, how have you kept or found great 
>announcers?

I'm probably not the person to ask. I had more tapes and resumes than my 
office could hold. In major markets people usually stay because they're 
paid well, have union representation and the market feeds their egos. What 
I'm looking for is someone with life experience (something to talk about), 
a natural voice (don't need ballsy anymore) and someone who can think on 
their feet when things go wrong. A curiosity about almost everything. A 
sense of humor is essential even for a card reader. A sense of showbiz is 
important. It's like porn. I know it when I see (hear) it.

In small markets it's hard to keep good people because they have their eye 
on a larger market. I've found it very effective to find local people who 
may not be announcers but are communicators. I've had many affiliates who 
had people I would have stolen if I didn't mind losing the client. People 
who were natural for radio. Every market has them. You just have to keep 
your ears open. Teaching them to run a board is the easy part. Once you've 
found them. Pay them as well as you can and nurture their talent. I've 
known many people who work in small markets and love it. Some of the most 
interesting affiliates I've had are in tiny markets. They know everyone and 
have a passion for what they're doing.

People in large markets should never ridicule small markets. They may just 
have something to teach you.

Rich

Rich Wood
Rich Wood Multimedia
Phone: 413-303-9084
FAX: 413-480-0010