Week of September 7, 2009

I know many of you are new managers or will be new managers in the future. I'd like to share a story that could help when you get that big job/promotion.

I had been a successful program director and VP/Programming for several years and was very fortunate to be given my first GM position at a failing radio station that desperately needed help from a programming-oriented manager. I had been working toward that goal for years and suddenly it was thrust upon me because I had done my homework and lots of people in high places knew it. One of the people I had worked for years before heard from a CEO friend that he was looking for someone fitting my professional description. The interview went perfectly and I was hired.

Unless you're a narcissist there is no amount of preparation that sets you up for that first day alone at the top. The station had been owned by an oil company previously so oil company standards were used in the design. The manager's office was the size of a football field with a huge desk, plush side chairs, a full conference table, and a couch that folded out into a king-sized bed (God only knows the stories that couch could tell). Oh, and a full bathroom with tub and shower.

My first day, the CEO introduced me to the staff and left as I made my prepared remarks. After that I walked into the office, sat down behind that huge desk, put both hands on the desk top, and said to myself, "What the heck do I do now!" I felt like a little boy in first grade sitting at a desk made for 4th graders. No matter how much you think you're prepared, that first day is internally tough. My new assistant came in and asked if I was okay. I smiled and was honest with her that I was feeling like the dog that finally caught the car! We became good friends, probably because we continued to be brutally honest with each other.

That day I decided the most powerful thing to do was to be myself while I observed and evaluated them. Interestingly, the staff was pretty good and the station thrived without many personnel changes. It was just a matter of direction and motivation.

People (mostly you yourself!) try to mold you into the vision of what a manager should be. The real secret is to never forget who you are. I am reminded of a quote from the poet e. e. cummings: "The hardest challenge is to be yourself in a world where everyone trying to make you be somebody else."

Always remember, the person you have to be most careful of is yourself. Your urge to change when you become a manager is almost overpowering as you get unlimited advice. The good managers never forget where they came from.

Good luck as you move forward and remember your roots. They made you who you are.

I am disturbed by some of the rhetoric about the new world for radio caused by the PPM. There is no doubt the game has changed as we move into the new world of passive measurement. The PPM more accurately measures listening than the diary simply because the diary relied on memory and top-of-mind recall.

The rhetoric that disturbs me is the same that disturbed me when the only measurement was diaries. Actually it is an omission that disturbs me. While I agree it is important to understand how people use the PPM and use any number of "tricks" to affect listening, with the PPM you are actually affecting listening rather than perceived listening.

The omission is a concern for the product coming out of the speakers. PDs and GMs are responsible for more stations and are consumed by paper work and politics. It's bad enough they have to deal with that, but now also are trying to enhance PPM listening.

What follows is not a trick question.

What is the omission? The answer is obvious. Just like with the diary, we are consumed by science and tricks and not with the basic product. Without a great product, no amount of fast dancing is going to build a consistently great radio station that people are going to find and stick to when scanning and recommend to their friends. I hope you realize those are the two most prevalent ways people find stations. In research (when we were actually

doing research), most people said the found radio stations by tuning around or by recommendations from friends. Marketing is an important third way people find stations.

This week, take a look at your product. Is it something compelling enough to stop on when scanning? Are people going to recommend it to their friends? Oh, by the way, be honest with yourself. Look for blemishes on your baby.

Web video time spent watching is growing according to Comscore. Their latest research indicates 158 million Americans, slightly over half the population, watched online videos in July.

When are people watching them? Most viewing -- 27.3% of all minutes occurred Monday through Friday while people are working, between 10a and 5p; yet another spike in the side of at-work radio listening. Is web video the new solitaire? What does it mean to radio?

The new solitaire? Nope, probably just another way to avoid work! Its meaning to radio is growing. People can work and listen to radio and they can watch a video and leave a traditional radio on that will be picked up on a PPM. But, it's pretty difficult to watch a video and listen to the radio online at the same time.

Another disturbing finding from Comscore's research is that early morning video watching (7a-10a increased 171% in the past year.)

I don't have answers to radio deflecting this thievery of our audience, but we'd better work on it along with everything else eating away at our audience. Just remember, we need to be product producers that can provide what people want to hear and see. Keep in mind your ultimate job is to provide entertainment and information products. Go where they want to find it and give it to them. Expand your horizons and use your fabulous radio platform to send people to something you produce. Don't let Google, Microsoft, Hulu, Yahoo, and others steal your audience. Find ways to provide them what Google can't.

Same-store sales for Target and many other retailers are expected to improve over last year ... and are expected to improve as they look to the holiday period. Target's executives say marketing spending would be up compared to a year ago and other retailers will probably follow suit.

Carefully delegate retail stores to your local sellers to find those all important local discretionary dollars. Always remember, traditionally national advertisers frequently have some local money. It is important to have your sales department visible with the right people in large national retailers to feed on the discretionary dollars.

LABOR DAY!