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'Like Sands Through The Hourglass ... So Are The Days Of Our Lives'
February 12, 2019
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. There's a reality TV show inside every station just waiting in the wings. Reruns of WKRP in Cincinnati only touch on the occasional problems. It's not all music and contests; this PD came to me for advice on a situation worthy of a Dr. Phil intervention
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There's a reality TV show inside every station just waiting in the wings. Reruns of WKRP in Cincinnati only touch on the occasional problems. It's not all music and contests; this PD came to me for advice on a situation worthy of a Dr. Phil intervention.
PD: It took me two years to decide whether to come to this station. I developed a relationship with the COO over the years. I met him at a State Broadcasters Association meeting. I'll tell you, but please don't mention my name or the station I work for. Anyway, I moved to this market from a smaller station that I was programming. I had been with that company for eight years, but it's hard to say no to moving up in market size. But unfortunately, despite having visited several times and meeting everyone at my current station, I had no idea how sour the relationship was between the sales manager and the COO was. This is nuts and I'm here in it.
Coach: I've been in some bad situations;hopefully I can tell you something that might help.
PD: Maybe, maybe not, but I thought I'd give you a try because I can't talk to anyone here about it and I really don't want to talk to my programming buddies, for them to say, "I told you to stay where you were." I just got copied on this three-page memo about the music we just put in after a music test. The sales manager must be on his usual crusade to get back at the COO by going to the owner and complaining about how I don't know what I'm doing.
Coach: What format are you in? Tell me more about your COO friend, the owner, and the Sales Manager
PD: We're a Hot AC. The COO used to own stations, once programmed, and did on-air work, too. He met the owner when he still owned stations. He had retired and was pretty much traveling and playing tennis with his wife. This is an independent owner with four stations in the cluster. Besides my station, there's a Top 40, a Country, and an AM Christian station. The sales manager used to work at an agency outside of Chicago and has been here since the owner talked him into coming here 12 years ago. The COO has been here for 15 years. The sales manager had never worked at a station, only sold radio agency-wise. He handles all four stations.
Coach: I'm starting to get the picture. You mentioned a memo ... can you share any of it?
PD: Well, in my own words and not the COO's for obvious reasons, it was about a new list of songs that were put in after the last two PPM monthlies. It was a result of a research project. We cut down on our library. Now I did the work, but to keep the heat off my back, the COO injected himself as the person who made the adjustments. I said, heat, because as usual, the sales manager apparently complained about the sound of the station and questioned why anything was changed. The COO took the time to explain the reason for the songs we were now playing along with our blend of current music. Each song in our test finished between the top 10 and the #100 in most liked. It goes right along with our 175 songs in the highly preferred category.
It boiled down to the COO telling the owner in the memo to have the sales manager address any program complaints to him and not me. The COO stressed his 45 years of radio as compared to the sales manager's 12 years.
Coach: Wow, you are in the crosshairs of a pissing match. You already know you are in a no-win situation, regardless of your ratings. Those two don't like each other and you are being made the whipping boy by the Sales Manager. Two more questions: What are the ages of these gentlemen and how are you treated by others around the station?
PD: The owner and the COO are in their 60s and the sales manager in his mid-50s. I've been here a year. Most of the sales staff are okay with me, but want to stay in the good graces of their boss and communicate with me mostly by phone or outside the station and rarely in my office face to face. I need to mention the PD's of the other three stations do not catch hell like I do. I think it's because the sales manager wanted someone he knew to get the PD job of this station. The ratings have been good, and the rest of the staff seems fine with me. The promotions director always seems like she is picking my brain to report to the sales manager. I can never figure her out.
Coach: It sounds like you need to swallow your pride and continue to let the COO weather the storm for you. Unless the owner gets the Sales Manager to knock it off or leave the company, you are only left with the obvious alternatives of leaving or staying. The sales manager must be bringing in money or the owner would not let him be so petty. Is the money that good? Do you have a family?
PD: The answer is yes to both. And wife and I have a son, 13, and a daughter, 9.
Coach: Well, follow the lead of the COO and stay out of any confrontations with the Sales Manager. Do you have an MD or APD?
PD: My APD is my MD; he covers when I'm out of town. The sales manager never picks on him.
Coach: Get with the COO and try and coordinate your vacation so you are off at the same time as he is or the Sales Manager. It sounds as if Mr. Sales just likes getting under the COO's skin and is not necessarily after your job. But still, I know you must feel uneasy a lot.
PD: Sometimes I feel like I'm a stepchild in the middle of an ugly marriage with two people who need to get a divorce.
Coach: Sorry, I don't feel like I was much help.
PD: No, you helped, it feels good to tell somebody what I've been dealing with. I haven't even told my wife about some of the petty memos about me between those two.
Coach: The next time you need to vent, instead of an e-mail, give me a call (972) 672-4812.
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