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10 Questions with ... Conor Flanagan
July 18, 2017
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BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
DEMO:
Seven years as the best darn morning show host on the FM dial! Then I got laid off as the damn company folded! Now I'm back to take what is rightfully mine! Liner jocks beware!
1) How are you occupying your time, besides looking for a job?
I started my own media production company. (HollywoodFunk.com) I write, voice and produce radio and TV advertisements, as well as provide voiceovers for movies and movie trailers. Did I mention I learned how to animate cartoons? Can't tell you how fun that is!
2) Some people get discouraged or enlightened with the business when they actually step out of it for a while. Tell us your observations from the outside.
I humbly see both sides of the coin. I'm discouraged for obvious reasons; for example, when I got into the business, on-air talents were still called DJs. DJs had huge personalities that would engage listeners. Now in an ironic twist, on-air talent is referred to as "radio personality," but most are nothing more than liner jocks, without any knowledge of broadcasting fundamentals. Even in major markets, the trend of putting untested and unqualified talent on the air continues. It's a total insult to real talent. However, it seems that radio companies have started to realize the shortage of talent, and seem to be hiring again. I just hope it's not too late. Otherwise you will have some clueless programmer or consultant with no on-air experience trying to teach the next generation of broadcasters!
3) Do you plan on sticking with radio?
Absolutely! I am one of the very few who dreamed of being on the air since I was a boy. I was recording breaks on my tape deck by age five. I ran my high school radio station. I started a pirate FM radio station by 18. I earned my morning show just three years after getting my first real gig. And I was better than any other show in my market for One simple reason: I have a blast entertaining my listeners. Don't get into radio to stroke your ego. There's already enough of those jerks in the business ... you know who you are!
4) What is the next job you'd like to obtain?
Morning show host, please! And fair warning to all who will eventually be my competition: Your awful thousand-dollar text-to-win contest or other lame, non-engaging corporate-run promotion will not be enough to compete with me. I have content. I have designed and executed contests and promotions that listeners remember for the rest of their lives. I get the interviews that no other show can. And I never take a day off.
5) What has been your best resource for finding out about job openings?
All Access, of course! In all honesty, I check ALLACCESS.COM at least once a day for the latest positions. I have yet to find a better resource.
6) With consolidation there are definitely fewer jobs. How do you separate yourself from the pack?
There is a ridiculous amount of unfit radio hosts these days. From small to major markets. Programmers who have no on-air skills, are now more valued in the industry than true talent. Whose terrible idea was this? Any moron can open an app on their computer and program a station these days! Is it so hard to schedule a song? Alright, ranting aside, I think the tide is turning. Personalities are hard to come by; I'm back to take what is rightfully mine! Liner jocks beware! Programmers and consultants are now a dime a dozen. I am very blunt and forward when applying for any job. I don't sugarcoat my e-mail greeting to potential employers like I used to. I spare them the bullshit. I tell them that if they want the best (the best being me, of course!) then they need nothing more to give me a call. Then I send them top-notch examples to prove my claim!
7) What do you miss most about music/radio? The least?
I miss the thrill of spontaneity! Does anybody remember when radio wasn't a contrived, boring, repetitive process? Now the listener switches stations because they know a commercial break is coming when the on-air jock starts talking, instead of lingering on their every word. Does anybody remember Einstein's Theory of Insanity? ("Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results" said the father of modern physics.) Sound familiar?
8) Having been through all you have dealt with in this biz, what advice would you give people trying to break in?
Be patient. Radio stations get so many applications for job postings, they don't always get to listen to all of the demos that are sent to them. And if you do get your foot in the door, always make yourself available. Don't pester the established staff, but let them know you would love to shadow them, or help with any promotions they are running. And don't forget a little charm goes a long way!
9) How will this experience change you when you get back to work?
Not one iota. I am the best damn radio personality on the planet. And the more I listen to radio in every city I travel to, the more I can tell it needs me. We are in the midst of a huge degradation of quality talent, and the bar lowers every year. Many true radio personalities were abruptly shoved out of the business the last two decades. With their exit went any chance of properly training the next generation of broadcasters. I fear I am one of the very few left who truly knows how to captivate a radio audience, and still be willing to teach the next generation how to do the same.
10) Where do you see yourself in five years? Ten years?
In five years I hope to be well established in a large or major market (syndication wouldn't hurt!) doing what I do best -- entertaining the heck out of my audience and reviving the golden age of radio! In 10 years I'd like to believe I will have the time to help train as many personalities proper technique as time will allow. Lesson one: If you aren't having fun doing your show, the listener certainly ain't having fun listening to you! There's always barber college -- ha!
Bonus Questions
Care to contribute a recipe for our "On The Beach" cookbook?
This one is a must-have for cookie dough addicts! And the bonus is that you won't be ingesting raw pastry. Take a large coffee mug, and fill it about 1/3 of the way with your favorite milk or milk substitute (really love almond/coconut milk for my recipe.) Add ½ cup of crispy chocolate chip cookies (Mother's Cookies are best, but I will settle for Chips Ahoy!) With a spoon, mash the cookies into the milk creating a nice pulpy mess. Too crunchy? Add more milk. Too runny? Add more cookies! Delicious and nutritious. And boy can it help after a long day of humoring all the narcissistic sociopaths you can encounter in a multi-station cluster! Bon appétit!
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