[BC] Radio Programmer lists?

[Rich Wood]

------ At 12:41 PM 2/6/2010, Barry Mishkind wrote: -------

>There are some here. The problem is, as Rich has mentioned a few times,
>these guys seem to be even more afraid than other station employees
>to post their names publicly - or even do more than lurk.
>
>Some of it is due to corporate mania.  Some is to avoid giving
>"answers" to the competition.

In the case of programming, most of the reluctance is to avoid 
revealing "secrets." The more successful a station is the more 
reluctance and more corporate prohibition. At WJIB(FM) we wouldn't 
even tell competitors how we were processing. The signal was so clean 
they wanted to know. We had great ratings and weren't about to pass 
on how we did it.

I appear to be the conduit. I get many private emails from 
programmers who want issues brought up. Since I can't be fired hey 
ask me to take the hit. It's not a problem for me but I don't believe 
any list that requires real names will survive. Without real names 
there's no credibility.

Over the years there have been many format changes that were complete 
secrets, even from the Program Directors. Generally, the new format 
is put together off site and rolled in as the staff is rolled out. 
Even record companies aren't asked to supply material. The new staff 
spreads out and buys material retail in quantities that won't cause 
questions. It's not unlike Walt Disney using small companies to buy 
property so the price won't skyrocket if Walt Disney is discovered to 
be the ultimate buyer. That's why radio stunting is done so often.

A programming list is most likely to be steeped in nostalgia and 
devoid of anything specific to today's plans.

Research is considered proprietary unless it's industry-wide or paid 
for by a group of stations. Even then its closely guarded.

I have the advantage of knowing how programmers feel about current 
technology (they've told me in their emails) and how they feel it'll 
affect listening. I have a large wardrobe of flameproof clothing so 
taking flak from the opposition,  non-believers,  groupies and others 
who know all there is to know about programming even when they've 
never spent a minute doing more than criticizing.

Even more relevant is the fact that few programmers have any actual 
authority beyond babysitting talent. If information gets out it's 
easy to determine its source.

Rich