PUTTIN' ON THE GAME FACE PART 2

One of our most viewed blogs, was how to deal with the smiles and frowns of job searching. In Country radio there are a lot of open jobs, we need to determine if these are real jobs or just EEO postings. Be up front on your interview, phone or face-face. It is illegal for employers to post jobs that don't exist. It's also in violation of FCC rules and it's an EEO violation when insiders or referrals are hired. See today's ALL ACCESS (3 companies were fined) http://allaccess.com Ask about the compensation range, they are going to bring it up, it's how they are going to make the selection. Where you live and what you make will be the determine factor this day in age - It has nothing to do with talent or accomplishments. Most large companies post openings then promote from within.

Employers will use the economy to hire the cheapest candidate possible. You need to determine if you can work for the wages they offer. You also need to find a position that fits where you want to be and what you want to do. I have interviewed for several of the open Country programming positions. I live in California and these jobs were in the Midwest and East. I expect to work for less than I did in my last position, but not criminally less. Beware of the dead end interview, where you are caught up in a interview loop and nothing progresses from one interview to the next. Ask them where it is going. Just because you are unemployed doesn't mean you aren't a human being with feelings. The positive; Most of these opening were filled in several weeks, unlike years ago where it would take months.

This will come back and so will the jobs. I'm waiting it out. I can't program a radio station in this environment. I don't want a job, that is a job to keep my job. That's not why I got into radio. I got into this business because it was fun and I was fairly creative and dedicated to what I did. So you want off the beach and back to the grind - Do it! - But remember you can control some of the attributes of the search.

CIRCLE THE WAGONS FROM RJ CURTIS

Circle The Wagons

How the Stagecoach Festival prospered in spite of a rotten economy

By R.J. Curtis

When the third annual, two-day Stagecoach Festival took place on April 25-26 of this year, an estimated 100,000 country fans turned out to see headliners Kenny Chesney and Brad Paisley, along with dozens more acts on four different stages. It was a record crowd for the event. Stagecoach is a massive outdoor show, held on the spacious polo grounds in Indio, Calif., a desert community two hours east of Los Angeles. After the first two years, the Festival appeared to be building momentum faster than its older sibling, the decade old Coachella Rock Festival had in its early years. Coachella and Stagecoach are both produced by Goldenvoice, the Southern California based regional division of AEG Live.

Terrible Timing

Looking back, the timing of October's announcement for the dates and lineup of Stagecoach 2009 couldn't have been worse. The grim reality of the U.S economy's morbid state had just begun to dominate the news. Knowing that, Goldenvoice considered unhitching the wagons for this year's Festival. "Totally true," says Paul Tollett, President of Goldenvoice. "When everything was crashing, we thought this might not be the year to do a big country show with that crowd being hit by foreclosures." Stagecoach attracts primarily a Southern California crowd and takes place in an area known as the Inland Empire. With a population of 4.1 million people, it is the third largest metropolitan area in the state of California. The "I.E," as it's referred to, has also been one of the hardest hit regions in the nation for home foreclosures.

Skipping a year seemed like the most sensible option, until organizers put their heads together and came up with a plan. "We had the idea of going with a lower ticket for entry into the event," Tollett says. Prices were adjusted from the original $175 for a two-day general admission to $99. A layaway plan was also introduced, so fans could make regular installments on ticket purchases. Another piece of the puzzle was getting the artists on board, specifically the event headliners. "Kenny and Brad helped us on their fee to make our price work," says Tollett. "You can't do a price like that without your headliners respecting what's going on." As the on-sale date for the event was approaching, no one knew what to expect but according to Tollett, the ticket price and the layaway option never seemed to affect ticket buyers financially. "I think the key was that we gave them six months starting in October to make payments for those tickets."

Stagecoach isn't the only concert festival to employ the use of a layaway plan. For example, Country Thunder, USA, a three-day concert event held in Florence, Az. just outside Phoenix, and Twin Lakes, Wisc. announced similar plans last year, affording ticket buyers the opportunity to have their credit card charged in two monthly installments leading up to the event. Tollett says he wasn't aware if a ticket layaway plan was a new and revolutionary idea, saying instead, "I remember as a kid we did it all the time, buy toys on layaway. There wasn't a stigma attached to it, you just didn't have the money at the time." The payment plan was also introduced to the Coachella crowd, because the annual rock festival took place one weekend before Stagecoach, therefore, the same economic conditions existed for that show. Tollett says the Coachella crowd "didn’t really understand the term layaway that much." The younger, rock crowd, "was looking for the angle, or what the scam was." Country fans however, took to the concept immediately. As a result, Stagecoach had a comparatively much bigger percentage of people who bought tickets using the layaway method.

Give Country Credit

Although Stagecoach is now firmly established as one of the biggest, most premier country festivals in the U.S., the country genre is still new territory to Goldenvoice and Tollett. As evidenced by its tremendous success with the Coachella Music Festival and other events, the company has focused in the rock and alternative world. Because of that, it's interesting to hear Tollett's perspective on country music. "I think the country crowd understands their market more than most of the touring business. Rock and the dance market, especially the dance market, have no concept of ticket price for the fan." Because country artists tour much more often than most other musical acts, Tollett believes they understand the idea of keeping prices reasonable. He also has been impressed with country radio when it comes to live events like Stagecoach, describing the format as "active and always up for a new concept. They like to meet and talk about ways that make things great for their listeners. They are some of the most open minded radio people I've ever experienced." Tollett gives huge kudos to country radio for working events harder than other formats. "From San Diego to Riverside, to LA and up Southern California, it's amazing how on top of it they are." All of that is especially refreshing to hear, considering many in this format are often labeled by programmers and 'experts' from other formats who consider country to be the slow learner of the music radio bunch.

New Rules Of Engagement?

After living through a major event where the stakes were high in a lousy economy, I asked Tollett if he thinks the rules of engagement for staging live concert events are now different than 12 months ago. "The future is unwritten in this business, that's for sure," says Tollette. "It would seem logical that if you kept ticket prices down, people would go more. So let's hope that works out." The Taylor Swift's, and Kenny Chesney's seem to continue selling tickets left and right he says, but part of the new order is that, as a general rule, all bands need to come down in terms of ticket prices. There will be occasional artist that no matter what they charge they'll sell out, but Tollett says you can't just put that on the talent, it applies to all categories. "Promoters, talent managers, vendors ... when times are good, the gravy train is there." We asked Tollett what acts will face the steepest challenge in the current climate. "Potentially, it's medium sized bands," he says. "Not your up and coming bands; not our superstars but your bread and butter, working bands. Those are the ones that should be more careful, the ones out there slugging away by themselves on a Wednesday night in a city that's not huge."

If there is any positive news about live concert events, it may be that music and entertainment still provide a great diversion to people, even when times are tough. One thing Goldenvoice has discovered during its short foray into country so far, is that Stagecoach tends to draw a more regional crowd, whereas rock festivals are huge traveling events. It has become part of people's vacation plans, he says. "Instead of going out of state, you go 60 miles, do some camping, see some music and then go home. We may have tapped into not just entertainment dollars but vacation dollars."

JOEL RAAB SUNDAY GUEST STAR

“Less” Is the New “More”: Heard this line on one of the news channels. You’ve got to be kidding me! There seems to be some sort of a campaign going on to make people feel like its OK lose a job, have income, benefits and pensions chopped up. As long as we’ve got “love." Puhleeze! I’ve seen my share of economic downturns in my lifetime, but never one quite as severe as this one. Challenging? Yes. However, I refuse to be negative about future prospects for me, my family or the industry I love with a passion. I have decided to be optimistic. You can make that decision, you know, and take pro-active steps toward improving your situation. Those steps will vary widely based upon your circumstance. What have you done today to make things better? Good luck. Be optimistic. That’s half the battle. The other half? That’s a lot harder.

LETTER FROM LISA

Over the last few years, Country has morphed into the format that is “family-friendly.” Our imaging tells our listeners that our station is the one that they can listen to with their kids. Parents can have us on when they’re driving around with the kids, school bus drivers listen while they’re shuttling the kids to and from school. Is this a good image, or a bad one?

Like anything else, it can be both good and bad. Good… because it gives us a broader target demographic for advertisers. Bad…because in our mission to keep the perception of “family-friendly,” we may avoid some really great, soulful songs in the process.

The most recent example of a great song that didn’t make it because many programmers deemed it “inappropriate” is Jamey Johnson’s “High Cost of Living.” The song mentions pot, cocaine and whores and only achieved moderate chart success. I listened to the song many times, and even though I loved it, I hesitated to add it for this very reason. I was, however, receiving many requests for it, so I decided to give it a shot. I pulled it two weeks later because of a handful of passionate complaints from parents wanting to shelter their kids from hearing about pot, cocaine and whores. Ironically, “High Cost of Living” is not about the virtues of pot, cocaine and whores, but is about the consequences. The man who partakes in these activities loses everything good in his life and ends up in prison regretting what he has done.

By avoiding the “adult themes,” we end up with a steady diet of songs about bonfires, summer nights, small towns, liking my “chicken fried,” and being “country, from her cowboy boots to her down home roots.” I’ve been a fan of country music since childhood, but find myself completely bored by most of the music we play these days. Actually, one of the other images that we like to project about the format is that the songs are about real life. Now, maybe some of our listeners who grew up in small towns across America can relate to these songs, but how many of your listeners in Boston, Washington DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago can relate to them? I grew up in Miami, I’ve never built a bonfire and I don’t wear cowboy boots, yet I fit into country’s target demographic.

So, am I saying that as programmers we should play the gritty, edgy songs like “High Cost of Living?” It depends on your station. We need to program to our audience, and if the audience in your market wants a safe, family-friendly station, then you should play the safe ditties that dominate today’s chart. I’m just one listener who misses the soulful music that I used to hear on country stations.

FRIDAY THROTTLE FROM BOB GLASCO

If the Bible was being written in these times, and there was a chapter on radio, it would be filled with the same verbiage used in the book of Exodus to describe the various plagues God (through Moses) brought on Pharaoh’s Egypt. God was trying to convince Pharaoh to release the children of Israel from the enslavement they had endured for generations.

We are currently being held hostage by over leveraged companies who find it both impossible to pay down debt, and to operate stations the way they should be run to maximize both cash flow and their ability to compete in an increasingly crowded entertainment world.

Many words have been written and spoken in the last couple of years about the people sitting in the corporate offices of these companies; most of it has not been exactly flattering. But to be fair let’s consider how and why we find ourselves in this position.

Let me begin by stating that I am not a financial expert and these are just my opinions based on observing the industry from the inside.

The Telecom Act of 1996 was the beginning of our current troubles. Ironically Radio consolidation was an incidental part of the bill, not its main focus. It started a literal stampede anyway.

Well meaning and forward thinking individuals saw the bill as a way to gain market revenue share and turn their companies into real players. Of course in order to get the quick cash and they needed to buy up the beach front real estate they coveted, they had to go to Wall Street. This also made it easy to bargain for these properties by making shares of their company a part of the deal.

It sounded great and seemed reasonable except for one thing: Radio is a long term business. While quick audience movement can be accomplished in the younger targeted formats, it’s not so easy in the 25-54 world. As a result our long term business that was always a great cash flow machine became a short term “what have you done to increase value this quarter” industry.

Of course that wasn’t too hard to do while there were still good properties to buy. Purchasing cash flow is the easiest way to show growth after all. But, like all good things, the supply of cash flowing properties available for purchase began to dry up. As a result operators were forced to begin looking for ways to show “The Street” the increases it demanded on a pro forma basis after all the choice real estate was gone.

The estimates of cost savings to be realized by consolidating stations into one group in one location turned out to be greatly over-estimated. A Radio station needs certain things to be successful. Just because it is co-located with other stations does not mean those needs are going to be greatly diminished.

The longer the demands from “The Street” for increases lasted, the more desperate operators became. To make a long story hopefully shorter, dealing with those demands are what got us to where we are today.

You might say the current economic climate, the plethora of entertainment choices brought on by wireless technology and the Internet also played a part, and you would be correct. But those things only served to speed up the journey toward the inevitable.

So, before you focus your anger on a few corporate heads think it through. No one person or group of persons is necessarily responsible.

Radio will make a comeback. People like Larry Wilson will be a part of that comeback but it will take time and patience. The play isn’t over for the current group of large Radio companies but it is in the final act.

SCOTT LINDY SLINGS THE BULL

The plan came together pretty quick for success, expound on it?

We have a small and dedicated staff that all take direction and give me feedback very well. We’re all of the same mindset,..I’ve got morning show hosts who are still here at 5 in the afternoon, cause they are still working and having fun. We laid out a plan and a set of principles that will direct all on air performances. This team is far flung (Atlanta, Birmingham, Chicago) but they all live in the same mind. My assistant PD and Music Director, Lance Houston is a Selector and Nexgen genius and makes my wild ideas come to life on the air while counseling me on what the best methods are technically and operationally. Add to all of the that I have the two of the best out of market voice trackers in radio with Madison Reeves and Ty Bentli (listeners call to talk to them every day) and I have the personnel to win the war.

Tell us about your new morning show?

Jason Pullman, who’s last on air gig was at Star in LA, had been doing primarily voiceover work when I first started talking to him about The Bull. He immediately hit me as someone that was not only a big fan of country music but someone who didn’t sound like a typical country DJ. He’s the guy you meet that looks like a GQ cover guy wearing a $50 t-shirt, designer jeans, driving a convertible Mercedes and is cranking Montgomery Gentry and singing at the top of his lungs at the stoplight. He’s paired with Kristen Gates who is a favorite of Atlanta from her presence on Kicks 101.5 (how could they let her go!?!?) and Star 94. They have a chemistry most PD’s work for years to develop in a morning show. I got lucky by putting them together. They’re driven, focused and they make me laugh about every ten minutes.

Imaging components?

Our imaging is done by Deke at one of our rock stations in Dallas. He’s got a lot of swagger but can also put the soft touch on our more heartfelt pieces. Deke is also a hilarious guy and ad libs quite a bit with the scripts I send him. Our Bull Imaging producer Rachel McGrath, has skills that bring a big time sound to the stuff Deke voices. We go for the irreverent, funny and left of center. The stuffy chest pounding typical country radio imaging does not have a home here on The Bull. I let Deke and Rachel have as much fun and push the envelope as much as they can. Not everything they submit gets on the air but the surprises they give me when I review the final product does make me giddy from time to time. Both are fans of the station as well as fans of doing it differently. We use a different producer, Randy Spicer, for the daily Caffeinated Radio promo and Music City Minute feature that Kristen hosts all day on The Bull. Randy brings a style to these two pieces, that run very heavy all day, that incorporate several sounds, drops, music clips and sfx. Most of the stuff he adds to these pieces are less than 2-3 seconds long,…it’s magic to hear them on the air.

What now sets THE BULL apart from KICKS?

We play way more music, we really do. We run sweepers every day starting at 6 AM telling listeners how many more songs we played than Kicks. Our DJ’s are less chatty and less old school sounding. I demand that all DJ’s do the liners and station announcements in their own way so the listener gets the vibe of what we’re doing for them from several different sounding personalities. We cater to the true country music fan by spotlighting new music with The Bull Buzz Cuts, we have a local country music show on Saturday nights, “The Bull’s Backyard Country”, we have a music news feature that runs all day called “The Music City Minute” (2 versions every weekday, 3 versions on the weekends). You won’t hear any of those things on Kicks. Our DJ’s endorsements aren’t out of control the way they are on our competition’s station, we target lifestyle products that our DJ’s really believe in. You won’t hear any jocks on The Bull hawking a diet pill in one break then talking about a cheeseburger special in the next break. The flow of elements on The Bull also carries much more energy,…you won’t hear us play 2 down tempo songs back to back. It’s a subtle thing but if you listen to both stations for 20-25 minutes you easily pick up that things happen faster over here without being rushed.

Here’s something you won’t see in the trades,… in the first week of PPM here in Atlanta, total week 18-49 persons, WKHX had a 6.0 share and WUBL had a 1.7. In the last PPM Month (May) WKHX had a 3.4 and The big bad mighty New 94-9 The Bull had a 3.3. The Bull is at the door,…and we’re coming in horns first!

THE MAYOR OF IMAGING SPEAKS

I always knew I'd be in radio. I loved radio ever since I can remember. Imaging is still my first love. I never thought I'd be a politician let alone a Mayor of a city. But... I guess stranger things have happened. While I'm blessed to still be happily employed as the imaging director at several of the finest Country radio brands in America (KBWF/San Francisco and KKWF/Seattle), I wasn't feeling like I was contributing enough to the world that gave me so much. So I ran for City Council in 2008 and was elected Mayor of my town in 2009. I know that a lot of radio folks they’ve been laid off are now being forced to look at alternative ways to make a buck. I hope my story will give you a little inspiration about how to use your radio experience to find a new non-radio love in life.

It's amazing how my experience in radio has helped me along my journey as Mayor. I mean - I've only been in government for a little over a year and Mayor for a little over a month, but I've already drawn a few parallels between the radio industry and local government. The ultimate goal is basically the same: serve the public and make your customers happy. It's just the products, personalities and politics in government are worlds different from those we're exposed to in radio. Regardless of what your new career will be, the goals will most likely be the same: do more with less while making customers happy. It's just the products, services and methods you're working with in your new gig will differ. For me, just as a radio market size influenced the resources available to me at a particular station (budget for jingles/sound effects/voice guys, record label promotional support/artist availability for liners, number of jocks I could count on for VO work, etc.), in local government, population also influences the resources available to your entity - big cities get big tax revenue and direct grants from the Federal Government, small towns like Kemp have a tiny tax revenue base and usually have to go through a more competitive grant process to get money from the Federal government through a middleman agency (the state, county or local council of governments).

During my time working at KSNI in Santa Maria, we had a full time programming staff of about 5. Together we ran 4 stations, we all pitched in to cover air shifts and production orders, and we all drove the station vans to remotes. We all had access to update the website, and we all knew how to answer the front desk phone. We even pitched in with the occasional sales call and made trips to the transmitter site to make repairs. When I was at the Wolf in Dallas, I was in the station van, maybe - twice in 4 years? I only did 1 remote, the occasional infrequent weekend or fill-in shift, and otherwise just focused on imaging. If the website needed updating, you shot an email to the full-time webmaster (or one of his assistants). Sales calls? Not even - we had a staff of 15 sales people to do those. Answer the phone at the front desk? I couldn't even tell you what the two switchboards looked like... Here in Kemp - I'm running the equivalent to a small market city. We have a minimal staff, but we still need to keep the water and sewer plants working, the water towers full, a police force on the streets, potholes filled, pipes leak-free, and park grass mowed. Just like a small market station, we stretch, work together, and do what we need to do to get by and ultimately look to make the product better and improve customer service.

When I worked at a small market station, my goal was to make it SOUND like a major market station. Running a small town, my goal is to make the quality of service equivalent to that of any major city. Being both a small and major market radio veteran, I've been blessed with the experience to see how to stretch a buck and use creativity to reach a big result. The focus, no matter what your station or new situation happens to be, is always: to make customers happy by providing a first-class product and quality customer service.

I'm grateful radio taught me those lessons to help serve the 1200 people that elected me. The message for you is this: soak up and learn from your experiences in radio. No matter how good or bad things might be for you right now, know that the challenges and experiences you've had in radio are a priceless benefit to you - regardless of what path you take during your journey. Oh, and in your new career, chances are you'll probably realize that radio people aren't the only ones that have crazy personalities...

MORNING SHOWS MAKE COUNTRY RADIO

Thanks to Ken Anderson from The Wolf in San Francisco for a great blog to start the week. We have had more interest wanting morning show sharing than any other attribute. Have you ever read Tracy Johnson's book MORNING RADIO and MORNING RADIO 2? Best books that have ever been written on the concept of a winning morning show and the tangibles that need to be applied to the science of mornings. It's is art and science. Let me share some of the highlights of the book that I have turned into a ten commandments of sorts for application to Country morning shows.

The goal right off should be a morning show that sets the tone for the day, outperforms the station and helps propel the brand to the user. Local, topical and audience interaction based are three main ingredients that need to happen every time they communicate with the audience. The show needs to have a goal, template, blueprint and road map to success based on the following major attributes of morning radio:

· Leadership

· Clear roles with contrasting view points

· Not just topical, but doing interesting things with the topics

· Making people talk about them

· One large benchmark

· Radio theater

· Reflecting the listeners world

· Never “above” the audience

· Displays of emotion and empathy

· Playful, affectionate, kidding

· Longevity with continued commitment

Quite often, Country morning shows are really only announcers or morning “egos” that offer nothing but happy talk and goofy banter to each other and constantly talk above the listener’s heads. The morning show needs to intertwine the station together as a whole, offering seamless, non-offensive, fun and memorable programming quarter hour after quarter hour. Just like the entire station, the morning show will attract P-2 or cume from other stations, building on the pyramid of domination, by being more than a Country music station.

Winning attributes of morning shows: They are not fake, they are likable, they are well balanced, they are credible, they are entertaining, they are interesting, they are visible, they are humble and they have a purpose!

http://www.burnsradio.com/book.htm

PPM LIKES COUNTRY

As evident in the first two monthlies of Spring, Arbitron's PPM and Country seems to be a match made in heaven. Which means that the smaller in-tab of PPM respondents, who don't change for a year, listen to Country radio in these giant East coast megalopolises. 17 of the Top 50 markets have no (New York City) or only one Country station.

Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Baltimore, Washington, Riverside-San Bernardino, San Jose, Orlando, Austin, Milwaukee, Memphis, Providence and Hartford. These are over a million populations bases and most will be PPM markets by next year. ed. San Jose technically has the 2nd product with KBWF.

First let's tackle the Apple. New York City, Sean Ross responded to a posting on http://radio-info.com in his ROSS ON RADIO - that a New York Country station would have to serve the younger end with Taylor Swift and the higher end with Kenny Rodgers. I don't think it has to be about the music demographics but about the entertainment prowess of the station. If you put a second Country on these 17 markets, they better come a blastin' through the bar door with six-shooters in both hands. Presenting Country in that scenario might be too basic for contrived contemporary radio programming in 2009.

Finally we need to look at vision, which interprets cost. The wrong move is to put a second Country station on in Austin or Philadelphia and not impact locally, topically or interactivity with the life group. These stations would need to have a pulse. Look at Atlanta, now that The Bull is sounding better and less like an AC station playing Country, it's shares are improving. But that needed to be accomplished at the launch. They lost a few years.

KEN AND COREY ON LOCAL, TOPICAL AND LISTENER INTERACTION

Local:

SF is such a large market with the most unusual vibe of any market I've worked. The city can be so odd and if you were to base your content on the crazies and ultra-sensitive liberals that populate downtown, you would be so far off the mark here. The country audience lives in the East Bay, down the Peninsula, in Napa, and in normal subdivisions like anywhere else. I make it a point to talk about places I've been like the Wal-Mart in Dublin and that cheap Mexican restaurant by the courthouse in Sunnyvale. Now as far as the crazies and softies, we make fun of them on the air because that's what the rest of the Bay Area does. Our bit "Have you seen your crazy" was born from that attitude and I'm not sure it would work in any other market but here!

Topical:

It's so cliche but every day you really do have to say to yourself "what is my audience talking about/thinking about/caring about right now?" With some topics it's harder to find the comedy than others but if the characters are the show are well-defined, compelling content is often created simply from the multiple points of view in the room.

I know Chuck told the story in a previous blog but the audience can often throw you a curve ball - i.e. when you bring up a hot political story and get little response, but then the next caller says "Hey Ken, there's a box on fire on Route 22" which turns into a hysterical 20 minutes of listeners speculating what's in it and where it came from!

Listener Interactions are King!

The first thing I do when being introduced to a new audience is to create an environment that tells the listeners it is safe to call and that their input is always welcome. At first that means putting on some calls that later would never make the air, but the audience may be apprehensive about you (the new guy/team) so it's paramount to convey that welcoming vibe. Once that is done, it's like a steamroller of synergy between you and the audience that generates great interactive content and that magical bond that consultants wax poetic about! It's easier to sound like the market when your cume that makes up the market is an integral part of your presentation.

Sometimes Corey makes fun of me when I try to extract content from callers (probably because I try too hard at times!) But you never know when Jim from Walnut Creek may give you radio gold when he casually tells you that his new girlfriend is a "mountain woman" that he picked up in the hills! We suggested he teach her to walk upright and introduce her to a razor before she meets his friends.

BUBBA'S BACKYARD

When you first hit Modesto, you see the growth that has been taking place in this virtual bedroom community of the Bay Area. All the towns around Modesto have large populations due to the fact it really is LA’s Riverside-San Bernardino to The Bay Area. Citadel has been able to tap into those resources with Kat Country 103. From Scott Mahalick to Ed Hill and Randy Bubba Black, the last 11 years at the helm, this station has mirrored the community and sounds bigger than life. It’s easy to hear and see why it’s been so successful. They have a deep advertising base and it maintains ratings and prosperity.

In the first fifteen minutes of listening, they talked about a fire affecting traffic on the 205, the morning show is going to be at a school in Ceres with the class doing the Pledge of Allegiance. The imaging and production values were explosive and Bubba has this flagship station of Citadel and the Cat Country brand sizzling. When I first met Bubba in 1998 I knew I liked him. He once told me “we play music, oh yeah between imaging and commercials”. He introduced me to Chris LeDoux at Larry’s ranch and we had a bond. His values are pure and masterful, to carry the torch from two Citadel programming geniuses and he has done an outstanding job. During our interview he told a record rep on a text:” You will say you were at the label when (insert artists name) was dropped by the label”. That’s our Bubba. He is extremely focused and in 11 years he hasn’t missed a beat and stays on it like butter on toast. Bubba is a radio freak and he's clearing the freak bar on low with street shoes.

To build a brand into a giant like Kat Country 103 takes constant attention to the process. Bubba has a fun job, continuing to offer localism, topicality and listener interactions that continue all day on the station. What I respect about him, he could go anywhere and has been offered great jobs, but his home is in Manteca, his family roots are the farm and friends in Ripon. Met the extended family of labs and Russell's - Mrs. Bubba and good to see PD MoJo Roberts from 95.1 KHOP. 40 working acres and didn’t see Mr. Haney once trying to get Bubba to buy something he didn’t need. Because he has everything he needs in place.

REAL PEOPLE - REAL IMAGING

(left) Co-editor of FTC Austin Keyes at the legendary KFOG with Lee Baby Simms and Lee Abrams. Austin looks like Billy Crystal on crystal in the picture. Here's Austin's blog:

Can we please stop leaning on "professional voices" so much and put the job of branding our stations into the hands of real people, our listeners?

Jaye Albright opined this recently and I started to crank up the memory glands. ? not, listeners (real people) had great impact in 1990 when we featured them and that technique in Tampa on 98Rock’s evolution into the marketplace while building a new station. What followed was an 18 month drive leading to market ratings domination. WXTB was a rock 40/hybrid and the brainchild of Greg Mull our program director and former member of Frank Maggid and associates research team. It was as simple as blasting out a phone number asking people to call and make comments on their station.

“98 Rock is building a new kind of radio station, a station that lets you decide what we play…..The New 98 Rock, what kind of radio station do you want?....(listeners,listeners,listeners). This is your radio station, keep telling us, we’re listening as we build you a new kind of radio station.

Why do product companies, use the man on the street interviews about their products? Because it works. Regular everyday people telling us what they like about brand x is very persuasive. Testimonials are the best form of advertising. That’s also why twitter is such a rapidly growing phenominum.

The Amazing Tom Rivers was a young programmer @ WQYK in those days and he was listening to 98 Rock, (Tom had worked with us as a young on air talent) and taking notes. A decade later he would deploy listeners and Country artists as imaging tools to rebrand WUSN Chicago. Yessir put a little elbow grease into it and go out a get some sound. Let the listeners be the stars, they love it, and will surprise you with their creativity. Real People-Real Radio.

You have ideas? Let us know.

HERE'S HOW YOU ARE FINDING FTC 6-17

Referring Sites34.00 (62.96%) Direct Traffic19.00 (35.19%) Search Engines1.00 (1.85%)

HIP TO BE SQUARE

Welcome to Wednesday. Last night was the usually 18-34 explosion of really good-lookin' country singers. Is this what's hurting our format. We are taking this a bit too far and could loose the mid to high end of our life group if we don't look at this carefully. Nashville has to be lovin' this - Like lemmings all the Country stations are now real; 18-34 sounding. Playing Dierks Bentley, Carrie Underwood, Jason Aldean, Taylor Swift, Rascal Flatts and more. With the influx of 2000 based songs, recurrents and currents, you don't hear George Strait, Alan Jackson or even Tim 90's songs any longer. Research says the life group wants to hear this class of 2004. Those 75-100 people controlling thousands in the market. Is this right?

There is nothing wrong with this direction - If the station takes on that direction. You can't force a square peg in around hole. Meaning: Why are these Country stations all sounding like vanilla adult contemporary stations playing this ultra-young focus of music. We've replaced YOUNG COUNTRY with NEW COUNTRY. Some markets have two country stations and they are both doing this!

Play this musical direction and take on a hip, young, super sonic sound, like CMT - Blazing imaging and young talent hitting the streets and clubs - Do it like CHR. Play power currents in hyper rotations with medium and new currents, some recurrents and limited gold. Have the balls to do this. Country radio needs to wake up and splinter like AC and HOT AC. Mainstream and New Country. It would mean doing something different other than the accepted norm. Most managers would freak out: What's going to happen to the 25-54 Persons? - The target for Country was 25-44 Women. It should be redesigned for 25-34 Women.

YOUNG COUNTRY gave birth to CAT COUNTRY and other full throttle Country stations. The Twister was born as a splinter between new and old sounding Country stations. KTST used lines like "This ain't your Grandma's Country station". With this direction, you would image like "This is the Country station your mother warned you about". This is a great direction with the right sonic sound to investigate. If you don't, your competitor will and under slice you 25-54 and 18-34 with a mid- target of 25-34.

PUTTIN' ON THE GAME FACE

All the out of work brothers and sisters know the feeling, the highs and lows of searching for work in radio, not much has changed over the past few years. Even with the economic conditions, there are still openings that needs to be filled.

I have to put on my game face with every call and every communication with a prospective employer. This is the same with search, seek and submit for any possible employment situation. I feel confident with my contributions, qualifications and credentials. There are those who want to seek out the skeletons and we all have those. Situations that you had no control over, that were part of the human psyche to perform or not to perform.

With the several conversations I have had with prospective employers, the conversations are geared towards the product, problems and process of the radio station. This is great, maybe we are past the inane interview questions like, what's your favorite color? and where do you see yourself in five years?

I have had some as detailed as several calls to gain trust and as little as "going through the motions of the employment process". The network of support on social networks is important. Communicating with a network of job seekers helps you feel connected to the human race. There are people in the same place as you. Good luck in your seach and let me know how I can help?

MOE TAKE THESE CHAINS OFF OF ME

I was talking to a major market Country programmer last week, that told me the last programmer in the station had tightened down the screws on the air staff to the point where they were told how to say the call-letters. W-N-BC reminds us of PRIVATE PARTS. We all know why Kevin did that, there was a WABC. But this is 2009. Chains on air talent from programming might be worse than chains on air talent that they put on to avoid having to evoke any personality.

If you have a creative, dedicated and passionate air staff - They need to talent-up. More localisms, topicalities and interactions with the listeners. Not less. If a Country talent thinks that telling what Taylor Swift is wearing is connecting with the audience, they need to go back to basics and start over on what's important to the listeners. Sometimes I feel like this is being hung on the programmer, when the air staff fully understands that making an emotional connection, imprinting on a listener is the most important part of their jobs.

I have been listening to a lot of Country stations the past week in several markets and there are some great format jocks - That's the ones who tell us whats on the web site, how we can win Kenny tickets and what Jennifer Nettles is up to. What about the community, the gang at Shooter's (local made up watering hole), Jim can't plow today because a part didn't come in because of the economical conditions, Mary telling a story abut how the local mechanic takes advantage of single women when working on cars, Sgt. Ramirez who was celebrated at the base last night for bravery in Iraq and more. Who put the chains on you, the programmer or did you chain yourself up?

THE GREAT BALANCING ACT - THE IMAGING MATRIX

Today we provide you with a great tool, especially with the start of Summer and getting ready fo Fall programming changes. The imaging matrix shows you how to roatate sweepers, jingles, whispers, promos, kick-offs and more. Enjoy this example and let me know how it works for you?

FALL MATRIX BIG COUNTRY 1027				16-Aug
C-1				C-1
:00	LEGAL				LEGAL
P				T
:04	QUICK JOCK BRAND				SELL NEW SONG
A				C
:08	PROMO SWEEPER QUICK				PROMO SWEEPER QUICK
G				P
:12	SELL NEW SONG				LISTENER SELL
C				A
:16	FAST SWEEPER				QUICK JOCK BRAND
T				G
:20	POWER ARTIST DROP				FAST JINGLE
P				T
:24	QUICK JOCK BRAND				FAST SWEEPER
M				P
:28	BACKSELL
	PROMO
	STOP-SET ONE
	FAST CLOSER
A				B
:35	FAST JINGLE				QUICK JOCK BRAND
G				T
:39	QUICK JOCK BRAND				POWER ARTIST DROP
T				M
:43	LISTENER SELL				FAST SWEEPER
B				A
:47	BACKSELL
	PROMO
	STOP-SET TWO
	QUICK HOUR STARTER
T				P
:56	FAST SWEEPER				QUICK JOCK BRAND
M				G
:59	QUICK JOCK BRAND				FAST JINGLE
T				M