Week of November 20, 2006

Friday 11/24, 2006

Turkey Recovery Day!

Thursday 11/23, 2006

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wednesday 11/22, 2006

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. Look for a station in your market to go Christmas. If it NOT you, do you have a holiday music plan from the PD? All stations should be addressing the weekend. Football, black Friday, heavy traffic are all a part of it. Business as usual, should not be. Have a safe holiday weekend everyone! - Joe

Tuesday 11/21, 2006

In our column yesterday we spoke of the sale of the many stations Clear Channel is selling. If you work at one of these stations, what can you expect? (see yesterday's Joe GM.)

Can you buy the stations yourself? After all, who knows them better than you? Can you afford them? What are they worth? How will I get the money? These smaller markets are made for GM/Owners if you are smart about it.

• Are you prepared to put up some of your personal money?
• Are you ready to take a pay cut for awhile?
• Can you run the stations for less then the corporate overhead they are charging you?
• Are you ready to work your ass off for the first 2 years? No vacations, no raises, no help from corporate? (you pay the lawyers and medical).

If you answered yes to all of the above, you could actually be the owner of the stations you now run. Hey! you never know, write me at joegm@allaccess.com and I'll give you "next step" advice.

Monday 11/20, 2006

Today and tomorrow we will focus on the (almost 500) Clear Channel stations for sale and what you can do if you are working at one of them. As a GM, YOU must keep the troops motivated throughout the sale process. How do you do that? Here are a few tips,

• Remember, the audience doesn't get the memo on the sale. They don't care who owns the station. Remind your staff that the first obligation is to the audience and the advertisers. Don't let a sale distract your staff. Do great radio.
• Keep your staff informed. Be honest with them. Information will be hard to come by. Rumors won't. Your competition may be starting them. Don't let them feed on it. Knock down the rumors fast.
• Stay calm. The staff will look to you for strength. If you freak, they will too! You may be required to show prospective owners the stations. Be honest about the potential. Remember, you may have to operate under the new ownership's budget.
• Don't be surprised if it's harder to get answers out of the company. In many cases, they don't know either. Many regionals are in the dark as much as you.
• The best job security is performance. No one will lose their job if they are performing. (and if they do, they will become more valuable "across the street.")
• Buy the stations yourself!!! Yep, details on this little idea tomorrow.