[BC] A question for Rich Wood

[Rich Wood]

------ At 09:35 AM 9/8/2008, Scott Todd wrote: -------

>Figured I'd address this question to you in a public forum because 
>it's something I feel others in our industry might be interested 
>in.  Have you ever known a station to decline the use of their 
>studio to a national talk show host when they're in town because 
>said host was so difficult to deal with?

Are you sure you want to open this can of snakes?

The answer is absolutely yes. There are several hosts who can't get a 
station or independent studio to work with them. You have to 
understand that their home base is their comfort zone. Talk Show 
Hosts, particularly national ones, have enormous egos, some deserved, 
some not. Don't feel singled out. They give their home folks trouble, 
too. Many to the point of announcing how inadequate their engineering 
department is or how their studio is a pit. They don't seem to 
realize that it hurts their show when they do that. It also hurts the 
station, the network and the affiliates because many listeners still 
assume the host is at the local station. Many listeners still think 
music stations use record changers.

In fairness, some of the more professional folks get upset because 
equipment failures or operator mistakes make the show sound bad. Most 
pros will try their best to work around a problem and make it seem 
like it was supposed to happen. The less professional, in my opinion, 
will get abusive to anyone nearby, whether they had a hand in the 
problem or not. It depends on how awesomely important they think they are.

>I had an incident last week where I got some grief because the 
>gating on a mic processor wasn't set just right.  It was OK for the 
>guy who usually sits at that position, and since my voice is similar 
>to his it sounded OK to me too.  Visiting host in question, however, 
>has a radically different voice and doesn't work the mic quite as 
>closely thus the problem.  That's pretty minor in the grand scheme of things.

Yes and no. Any personality bases what he or she sounds like from 
headsets at home base. Having been on the air for 15 years of my 
career I understand how uncomfortable different headsets and 
processing can make a personality feel. Again, a comfort zone. Now 
they have a distraction and can't totally focus on bashing Obama or 
McCain or gays or immigrants, etc.

I've had the pleasure of working with some amazing talents. If you 
rent out this studio often it might be a good idea to learn how to 
massage their egos and abandon your own for a few hours. There's a 
lot I'll endure from a great personality. Never forget they help put 
food on the table even if you lose your appetite when working with them.

Rich