(By Mike McVay) Valentine’s Day is tomorrow and it seemed like an appropriate time to write about Love. I could wax poetic, but that would be inappropriate given what’s at the center of this week’s column: a break-up and a broken heart over a love of radio.
Onetime love gone bad. The spurned individual acting out in a way that, if self-examination took place, would be embarrassed by their behavior. The story of how Radio has broken many a heart, ruined home lives, and sent many into the depths of depression. A real true scenario. Not something to make light of as depression is real.
It’s not unusual for someone like me, or anyone in a high-profile position, to have “haters.” If you put a spotlight on yourself, then you’re encouraging admiration and disdain, almost equally. Often the negativity isn’t really about the person as much as it is about the sheer frustration experienced by the comment writer. One of my friends, a highly respected former broadcaster, responded to one of my recent social media posts with a comment that was not positive about radio. I took it as anger from that person. They responded that it wasn’t anger. It was frustration. A frustration because of their love of radio.
In some cases, it is frustration caused by circumstances beyond one’s control. Frustration because a lifelong goal has been taken away or one’s life has been turned upside down because of a business decision. Job elimination, deserved or not, is tough. When someone’s job is terminated, you’re not just impacting their life, you’re impacting the lives of their family, dependents, and community of friends. You’re derailing a support system. We have careers. We don’t have jobs. A job is something you do to pay your bills so you can enjoy your life.
I was terminated early in my career. That personal experience helped to form my opinion that a balanced and diligent recruiting process is extremely important. If you terminate someone you hired, you failed. Unfortunately, the terminated person pays the price for your mistake. If you’re in management and in a position where you make decisions regarding someone’s future employment, you should be aware of the impact a termination has on an organization. You should be aware of the impact it has on an individual.
When radio breaks up with you, it hurts. It’s painful. It’s sometimes embarrassing. It feels as if you’ve failed. We can say to each other that losing your job in this business is a rite of passage.
It’s more than that. It can be a setback that leads to the end of the line. It’s a serious disruption. We love this business because it’s fun. It’s a rush to entertain. It feeds our egos. To many, it is fulfilling. It makes us who we are in our eyes and the eyes of others. Many of us have an identity because of our careers. It impacts our self-worth.
One of the most attended sessions every year at Morning Show Bootcamp is the AQ research report from Jacobs Media Founder Fred Jacobs. Jacobs’ research project interviewed 500 members of the air talent/producer community, including some who were unemployed, as a part of the AQ Study of Radio Personalities.
The question of “Why” people go on-air brought forward the Top-3 attributes of the role of the personality. “It’s Fun, It’s Entertaining, It’s Emotionally Fulfilling.”
It’s this love for radio that drives us. It’s why some pass up better paying opportunities outside of the business. It is why others tolerate work cultures that shouldn’t be tolerated. The drive that exists in many is fed by the fun that is experienced on the job. When that fun goes away, one of the most important reasons for working is diminished. My advice would be to go in search of finding the next “fun” job and not stew in self-pity.
There are other jobs to be had in the ever-expanding media industry. Digital, Podcasting, Syndication, Social Media, Streaming (Audio & Video), Gaming, Production & Content Creation as well as Radio. Invest time and energy in broadening your skills.
If you’re an operator and you want to keep the romance in radio alive, pay attention to your team members and feed their drive. Their passion for this business should be embraced, encouraged, and never stifled. Create a culture that includes FUN. Want to stay in radio? Make your own fun and share it with others. If there’s no fun to be had where you are… find some. Life’s too short.
Mike McVay is President of McVay Media and can be reached at [email protected]. Read Mike’s Radio Ink archives here.
We only spoke on the phone once, but I could see your passion. I Learned a lot working at Cumulus, but ultimately failed there. What I did do was gain perspective, I think we always do when leaving a situation. I certainly learned what not to do. I brought that knowledge with me on my next job. Radio can be a cruel mistress, but if one has the fire burning inside, well you continue on. Great article as usual.
Good words as always Mike. I’d add that I think a lot of people don’t grasp how much sudden job loss can really do some damage to the brain. You’re absolutely right. The depression can be very real. We have science on the very real physiological impacts of job loss – and the compounded grief that comes with realizing it might never have truly been a “team”. Ours is not the only industry that sees sudden layoffs, poor wages, corporate bankruptcy… while bonuses still roll in for many.
And I love this part: “It is why others tolerate work cultures that shouldn’t be tolerated.”
We’re also not the only industry where wrongful termination happens (experts suggest 150k+ of terminations violate the law) but far too many (especially in our industry) feel they cannot seek justice for fear of being labeled disgruntled and difficult. We have seen a few come forward with claims of discrimination, harassment, whistleblower retaliation etc.. but not nearly enough. I’m sure if we’re all getting honest, each one of us could point to a time in our careers where we either experienced it, witnessed it happening to another or heard stories that follow patterns. Our industry, like others, could benefit from having each other’s backs a little more.
You’re right. The grief that comes from having a frequency stripped away is pretty real. Especially if you’ve built a career caring for that companion on the other side of the radio. We lose not just our co-workers, our income, our livelihood… we also lose that “friend”. We need time to process this or years down the road, we could find it festered.
But I really love this part “Want to stay in radio? Make your own fun and share it with others. If there’s no fun to be had where you are… find some. Life’s too short.”
I love a great expression I heard recently: “if one door closes… open it again… that’s how doors work”. 😉
Mike McVay worked with Lew Dickey at Cumulus Radio, as legendary AM stations like KGO, KABC, WABC (now going through a resurgence) and others, owned by Cumulus collapsed. Dickey terminated all the high-paid local talent. Mike is well liked and we respect that. But respectfully, that track record at Cumulus could be questioned.
Paragraphs 5 & 7! Also pertains to the record industry.
No hatin’ here, Mike. I’ve known you for decades-and your common-sense approach to radio is sorely needed today. The trouble is you’re talking to the choir and not the choir director. The director is off in their own little world wondering how to rearrange the notes. I have the pleasure of working for a couple of broadcasters who are doing their best (while as busy as any “brand manager”) to keep their properties going strong. It’s not 90% to the bottom line. It’s 100% fun-as in what attracted people like me (and others here) to sit in the parking lot of a radio property – salivating at the chance to crack that mic. I still enjoy it daily. Hope-in spite of the challenges-that you do too.
Mike
Thanks for the profound and well written article, Even for those who survive it is sad seeing “breakups”.
The heartache from a broken heart is not just mental, physical as well. It’s not just professional, it’s personal. You devote your heart and soul into the craft, sacrificing a “real life”. You prove your worth with success as others say, “now that’s a radio guy!” Only to be let go by a fool. Others who praised your work, talent, creativity, now tell you, “you’re done.”
It’s like someone asked for a divorce, and no one want to marry you again.
The best way to put the love back into radio, IMHO, is a return to what was once known as “Mom and Pop” ownership. Huge, out of market, ownership all too often leads to decisions solely based on the bottom line. There are, of course, exceptions but they are just that: exceptions. Radio reinvented itself numerous times over the past 100+ years and can/will do it again to be relevant. Doing that, again IMHO, will require locally owned sweat and labor and a razor sharp focus on being “live-and-local”. Radio licenses are getting ridiculously cheap and entrepreneurs with little or no money will soon be able to take advantage of that and bring a new breed of operators to the microphone.
indeed.
Mike,
I read your column about the heartbreak many of us feel about the challenges of Radio careers. Today, I read that A.C. McCullough passed away. A.C. was an exception to the rule. He worked in Youngstown, at WHOT, for 52 years. As I kid, I would sit in the parking lot of WHOT in Campbell, pretending to be a disc jockey.
Somehow, this kid was blessed to have his dream come true. I feel for my compatriots in radio. In Youngstown, it once was a dream to be on the radio. I pray that dream may live still for others.
Another insightful, great article from the legend himself I will say this radio is finicky, but you have to enjoy every moment. If you’re not having fun and making your own waves, you’re just waiting to be a casualty it might be a right of passage to get fired, but in a world starving for contact if you’re not a 24 seven Contant creator, you’re never going to get ahead.
Content sorry new I phone stinks
Great article! So much truth!
I always felt that one of my top accountabilities was also to develop people and send them to bigger markets or help them get to a place where they were prosperous and content, doing meaningful work. The ratings, the money, pretty well came with that, but that said I was fired twice 20 years apart, both times because of the fact that I had an amazing share but was too expensive. “The music is the star!” uh huh…I never missed a paycheck! Your security in show business is your talent, skill, knowledge, and your intellectual vacuity. MY satisfaction was sharing the joy, teaching, coaching, and also going on the air and doing it right. GREAT companies understand it and “get it”. BAD operators usually fire themselves! Great article, Mike. VERY well to the point! As Hot Rod Hundley used to say, “Ya gotta love it, baby!”. If you do, you will never miss a paycheck! It shows!
This is brilliant, Mike. Yes, I appreciate you “quoting” AQ4 – that’s why we do it. But more importantly, this is a heartfelt look at radio careers, perfectly told around the holiday where we think about hearts, flowers, candy – and LOVE. Your observations are empathetic and spot-on. Thanks for saying it.
Thank YOU Fred.