Odd that I just started reading this book and it just so happens that the news brings stark illustration of the book's topic.
Anyway, this week's "The Letter" newsletter for All Access is concerned with more mundanities, like getting a job (it was written before the news from London):
Lately, I've been getting a flood of calls and e-mails and letters from talk hosts looking for jobs. And I've been getting behind in corresponding with everyone as the stack of CDs and resumes gets taller on my desk and the e-mails keep coming, and I apologize to you all for my inability to catch up with the backlog, because I really do want to see everyone get gainful employment. But I know that the job market can seem impossible to navigate these days. What do you do to stand out? How do you get a job with companies cutting back and consolidating and with so much syndication out there?
Beats me.
No, actually, there ARE things you should do to increase your chances. One is to network. A lot of jobs go not to the person who sends a CD and resume but instead go to someone the PD or consultant already knows. Well, "know" is a relative term. "Is aware of" is probably more accurate. The PD probably has an idea of the kind of show he or she is looking for, but the chances of finding that in a stack of CDs are more remote than thinking about the people with whom you're familiar and deciding that, yeah, that guy at that station would be perfect for this slot. And that's why you need people to know who you are BEFORE there's a position open at their stations. Like in Hollywood and in other equally respected industries like prostitution and drug dealing, it's all about who you know. You can plug away and get great ratings and never move forward, because nobody knows about your story, or you can get phone and e-mail and in-person relationships going with key decision mak ers- PDs, consultants, the GM's golfing partner who tells him everything that's wrong with the station- and be one of those people about whom they say "hey, what about that guy? You know, the guy at that station. The one with the... you know, that guy." They might even remember your name, which means you're ahead of the game.
That's one way, and an important one. Another is to not give anyone any reason to hate your guts. I'm not going to go into detail here, but let's just say that if you've insulted, disrespected, or ignored someone in the past, don't expect them to be all that thrilled about helping you. That's all I'm saying. You know who you are. Some people have long memories.
What to put in your aircheck? The problem is that different PDs are looking for different things, but when I was a PD, scoped or unscoped didn't matter. What did matter was this: you have 30 seconds. If I don't hear something that will keep me listening in the very opening of the tape, you're gone. Harsh? What do you think listeners do when they tune in to your show? If there isn't something entertaining, compelling, interesting right away, it's off to another station. I can't tell you how many airchecks I heard over the years started with long, heavily produced intros instead of what I wanted to hear, THE SHOW. And production values aren't as important to me as content and style. One of the best hires I made was off a crudely "produced" cassette with two guys in a production studio in market number infinity doing a mock talk show- they'd never even worked together on the air, it was rough, but within the first seconds I heard what I was looking for. I got lots of s lickly produced tapes and agents' packages for that job, but I went for the one that got right to the point and entertained me from the very beginning. So that's what worked for me. But other PDs may be looking for something else, so take that for what it's worth (a guy who isn't hiring anyone telling you who he'd hire if he was making the decisions, which he isn't).
And be prepared to move. It's that kind of market out there.
What's the future for the business? Satellite, podcasting, WiMax? How will that impact your career? Let's save that for another week. I don't feel like scaring anyone right now. Instead, cheer up with the cavalcade of whimsy that is Talk Topics, the radio industry's biggest and most widely read show prep column, available exclusively at All Access News-Talk-Sports. This week so far? Stories about some celebrities arrested on a street named after them, a woman who woke up to find something on her body that hadn't been there before she fell asleep, a particularly unfortunate celebrity political endorsement, a couple of reasons not to travel to Italy, the actual scientific explanation for those Mentos-and-Diet Coke explosions, exactly how fat soda really makes you, a parade in New Zealand that'll put the Macy's parade to shame, the train wreck that is Maurice Clarett, a link to an entire article about the fabulous world of gum, a lawyer who couldn't resist passing the bar (rimshot!), someone who got fired by text message, the decline of civilization as measured by the popularity- or mere existence- of "Pants-Off Dance Off," and an article about weirdos- like me- who don't have air conditioning, plus "real news" links and commentary about the Middle East, the primary elections, and Paris Hilton proclaiming her celibacy. Add to that "10 Questions With..." "Family Matters Radio" producer and co-host and cool person Caroline Kruse, the Talent Toolkit with some good bookmarkable sources for Hollywood news and gossip, and the rest of All Access with the industry's fastest/most complete/ginchiest news coverage in Net News, message boards, columns, the incredible Industry Directory, and Mediabase 24/7 charts, all that music radio stuff, you know, and, well, it's all pretty amazing. And free. Free? No wonder the number of users has gone through the roof lately.
Next week: I (finally) take a few days off. Will that improve my coherence? We'll find out.
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