Why Did That Commercial Not Air?

We are in the business of communications and it's always struck me as odd the lack of communication within a radio station. Commercial radio sells advertising, therefore you would think it would be imperative to make sure commercials air at the assigned times. We've got scheduling systems, smartphones, intercoms, tablets, landline phones and our legs. Somehow, commercials still get missed and too many air-personalities don't understand the urgency to help prevent these problems. Here's an e-mail exchange with an air talent.

Jock: The PD is all over me about spots that I missed on my show the other day.

Coach: What air shift do you do?

Jock: Afternoons, 2 till 6.

Coach: What happened?

Jock: The same car spot missed in both my 3p and 4p. I put it on the discrepancy sheet both times, so I don't understand why he got so mad.

Coach: What kind of automation system does your station use?

Jock: NexGen. The spot was listed in the break, but I guess there was no audio and NexGen skipped right to the next spot in the sequence. So how is that my fault? We do make-goods all the time.

Coach: Did this happen on a weekday or weekend?

Jock: It was this past Thursday.

Coach: You can do the right thing and still be wrong. In your case, the PD is wondering why you didn't immediately contact someone in advance of the first commercial stopset that the commercial was missing. And he is even more confused you allowed it to happen again a second time without letting traffic, the production director or him know anything. I know with the NexGen digital automation system, when there is no audio in a commercial indicated on the screen, it shows up in orange or red on the merged commercial/music log. This happened during business hours and your PD probably thinks this is inexcusable. Is this the first time this has happened during your show?

Jock: I assumed traffic already knew about it and yes, it's happened before. The PD is always passing the buck and it is his job to handle problems like this.

Coach: When it comes to missing commercials, never assume anything; it is a team effort to keep a station running efficiently. Scheduled commercials that do not air can set off a chain of events leading to problems for a lot of people. Seriously, there's traffic, production, programming, salespersons, billing, the VP/GM, ad agencies, and anyone else in the line of fire. Many issues can be at stake: Is this a difficult client? Was this already a make-good? Is the spot time-sensitive? Is the salesperson trying to renew the client to a long contract? Picture these scenarios; somehow the missing commercials never gets to billing before invoices go out, no room for make-goods, maybe missing spots has happened too often, and the VP/GM has been on the PD's butt about it, etc. You need to understand, just by doing the simple thing of verbally alerting folks, all sorts of woes can be avoided.

Jock: So you are saying if any of those things happen, it's all on me. Shouldn't those other departments and the PD stay on top of these things so the personalities can concentrate on their shows and not have to deal with things like that?

Coach: In a perfect world, I might agree with you, but none of us are perfect; it's called being human. You need to realize that you are a part of a system that is only as good as what everyone puts into it. The upside in the future would be for you to find out if traffic and production were already aware of the missing spot. What you do as a personality is important and what you do as part of the station's system is just as important. Remember, commercials pay the bills, including your salary, so it is important to increase the likelihood for all scheduled spots to be aired. Take the effort to look ahead and let someone know something is about to be missed.

Jock: Hey, this has happened to our night guy and some of the guys here on weekends; there is no one to walk down the hallway to.

Coach: Look, I think you and all the jocks should take the time to find out the procedures to avoid missing commercials at all hours of the day and week. By the way, you did a good job of shifting away from the original problem of missing commercials during your shift. Getting back on track, there was some breakdown within the procedures and you were the last one in the chain to prevent those commercials from missing.

Jock: Isn't there some way to not take me away from doing my show?

Coach: Sorry, that age-old argument doesn't cut it with me. At one time or another, every air talent (myself included) has made an excuse of not wanting to do something because it might distract them from their show. And it's always something the talent just doesn't want to do. For example, writing down song requests, interacting on social media or allowing someone to briefly see the studio. It's amazing; it's never distracting to grab a slice of birthday cake or take time for a slice of free pizza. Do what your PD asks and let someone know before, and not after, a commercial is missed.

Jock: I still disagree but alright, I get it

Coach: One other thing, NexGen updates are mandatory and the system has the capability of sending automatic e-mails to traffic if there is missing audio for a spot. As for your PD, it's customary for many OMs/PDs to merge daily scheduled music and commercial logs once traffic has sent theirs to file. Anything without audio would appear if the merged was being reviewed page by page. But still, the talent or board-op in the studio is the last line of defense.

Conclusion ...

Everyone must work together. Filling out a discrepancy sheet or e-mailing is never enough; go the extra mile and literally contact a human before, and not after, the fact when it comes to missing commercials that are supposed to air. There is no such thing as too much communication to ensure scheduled music and commercials are aired. As a PD, I only got upset with air personalities if they did not make the effort to alert those designated for fixing a problem and to also notify me. Staying ahead can prevent emergency meetings in the work day.