Week of June 2, 2008

Friday 6/6, 2008

Remind the Department heads (at the weekly meeting ... you DO have department head meetings on a regular basis, don't you?) that vacation schedules for staff need to be scheduled IN ADVANCE! Let's not get caught short-handed this summer. Note to PD: Has all the air staff signed the payola/plugola policy? They must have it ... AND HAVE SIGNED IT BY THE END OF THE WEEK.

Thursday 6/5, 2008

Review the monthly P&L. The business manager should have May almost done by now. How did we do? Review each department with the appropriate department head. Any variances will be noticed by corporate -- especially expenses. Have the reasons in advance ready when they call. Make adjustments for the following month/quarter/year/career.

Wednesday 6/4, 2008

National business is down YTD. Are your national people updated with the latest station information? Call the N.Y., L.A., S.F. and Dallas offices to get an update from the market manager. You do it, not the NSM this time. (The squeaky wheel gets money. Otherwise, out of sight, out of cash.) Check the NSM's expenses from the last market trip. (The rep should pay for the dinners.) It's time to set up a lunch with the summers top-three advertisers. (Golf, maybe?) Thank them. Check on 2007 fall spending from these three.

Tuesday 6/3, 2008

I was speaking with a business associate tonight regarding the importance of being local in everything we do. How important will local matter when the internet is available in the car/everywhere?

VERY IMPORTANT! I said. Stations without a "local soul" will become a generic music/talk box competing against thousands of other stations on line. Yet, in many companies this is exactly the place where cutting back is the rule, not the exception. Does that make sense? The only thing worse might be local staff not sounding local in the first place.