[BC] My story...

[Burt I. Weiner]

I once worked for a company as C.E. for their Los Angeles AM & FM 
combo (not KFAC).  They were great to work for - then they 
sold.  During the time I was with the stations they had few if any 
technical problems.  Most problems were quietly handled before they 
turned into a catastrophe and went un-noticed to management and air 
staff.  After about five years under the new owners, including moving 
the studios 3 times in four years, management noticed that I was 
apparently being paid to do nothing.  I was replaced with a much 
less-expensive engineer.  After a while they started having problems, 
one of which had the station off the air for over ten hours.  I got a 
call from a front office friend who wanted to tell me the gruesome 
details.  The "less-expensive" engineer was running around waving his 
arms in the air doing this and that while the station remained off 
the air.  Management was overheard to say, "It's a good thing Weiner 
isn't here, he would've just sat there!"

During the time I was at the above stations the DJ's were required to 
have a Restricted Radio Telephone Operators Permit.  You know, the 
one you got for knowing how to spell your own name.  Anyway, there 
was this one kid who refused to get the Permit.  I did everything for 
him except sign the form.  I filled it out and offered to mail it - 
if he would just sign it.  He refused.  It so happens that his mother 
was the Manager's secretary.  I got called into the manager's office 
and read the riot act for picking on this kid because he was black.

Burt

At 06:00 AM 4/4/2010, broadcast-request at radiolists.net wrote
>     I wonder if that isn't just another of the many "business legends". How
>many managers actually view maintenance of the plant that provides them with
>a living wage as a problem?
>
>     I may be simple, but I believe that anyone that truly holds that opinion
>is too stupid to be doing the job they've (apparently) been hired to do, and
>soon won't be.
>
>     And yes, a successful engineer will most likely be the one that
>understands and relates well to the staff and management. Nothing new there,
>that's the case in every job that I've ever held.
>
>Dave Dunsmoor