Don't Touch That Dial

The world of radio is in chaos. I say that with sadness, because, man, do I love that industry. I have been a guest on two podcasts recently, and the first thing they wanted to talk about was what I thought was happening in radio. The second was, will it go away?

Change is a part of life, not only a part, but necessary. Riley Green sang a song about “I Wish Grandpas Never Died.” Nice sentiment, but totally undoable from a societal standpoint (never mind that whole mortality thing). I never knew either of my grandfathers; they both passed before I was even born. I have heard good things about one, and horrible things about the other. But the truth is, they probably each had things I would have thought admirable and horrible.

In their defense, they were a product of their time. And please understand me: that in no way excuses most of their views and some of their actions. I would hate to have my friends come over and have my grandad say something that made me want to melt away faster than a popsicle under The Rock’s armpit. We all would.

In the same song, he lamented that he wished they still played George Jones on country radio. Well, if we did, there would be no room for new artists like Garth Brooks, George Strait, Shania Twain, Jason Aldean, and Riley Green. There are only so many songs you can play in an hour, and without repetition, none of them become hits. I was friends with Johnny Lee, who was huge in the 70s with hits from the Urban Cowboy soundtrack. He was complaining to me one day about how we didn’t play his new song. I told him I can remember having Conway Twitty, a country star from the 50s and 60s, and some 70s, having the same complaint. I told Johnny that he wouldn’t even have a career if we didn’t make way for new artists. I also reminded him that he still made a handsome living playing those hit songs to appreciative audiences, so I think the business has been pretty kind to him. Change has never been comfortable for anyone in this business — but it's always been necessary.
I was always intrigued by radio and the whole theater of the mind. I grew up listening to Connor Vernon and Chuck Leonard; you don’t know them, but man, they were great. They were my local radio heroes. I actually ended up working at the station they were on when I was 17, doing weekend overnight shifts. I went into the station one morning, which was a 45-minute drive from my house, just so I could go into the station at the same time they were there. When people get excited meeting me cause they have spent so much time hearing me on their radio, I totally get it. And my friends would ask me all the time if I had met them, and I showboated by saying, “Well, of course, we work together!” That was a bit of an exaggeration. Connor knew me, cause he hired me. Chuck didn’t know I existed. I found him on Facebook, sent him a message…………and nothing. It’s ok, better to not hear and keep my dreams than have him be less than I hoped.

I have recently started reaching out to legendary radio names and inviting them to join me on my podcast. The best thing about old radio people is that we have some amazing stories. Coming up soon will be Mark Thompson from Mark and Bryan, who owned LA for a long time, and Garry Meier, who teamed with Steve Dahl to be THE guys in Chicago. Honestly, the best stories.

The hardest part right now is seeing how many people have had their radio careers ended in the last 3 years. Corporations tried to grow and paid too much for stations. They were attempting to grow a chain of stations in a number of huge markets and then sell the chain for billions. The problem was that the only buyers were other corporations trying to do the same thing. The industry got top-heavy, and the talent became expendable.

I have had a number of conversations with veterans who have been unceremoniously let go after successful careers. The industry has always had a tenuous grip on job security; it wasn’t uncommon for people to have anywhere from 10 to 50 stations on their resume. I’m a weirdo cause I have only 8 stations, and the last one was for 30 years. But there was always another station looking for someone with our skill set, so you were never too worried.

That’s simply not the case anymore. If you get fired, you undoubtedly will be replaced by someone working for much less than you did, sometimes less than half your wage. And they will also be recording multiple shifts on stations throughout the chain, for no extra money. You almost feel sorrier for the person who keeps the job than the one who doesn’t.

When I do have those hard conversations with folks who are facing what they think is the end, I just try to share my story. I have only been fired once in my life. I was the program director and morning man. We were #1 in the market, and the ratings came back, and our numbers had actually increased. I had the General Manager reach out and ask me to come in that afternoon at 5:15. I figured that maybe a raise, or at least a bonus, was heading my way. I entered the meeting, only to be introduced to the new owners. The now former owner had a bit of a checkered past and kind of lost the ability to fund it. The new guys wanted a meeting with me to tell me that “Gary, you’re too talented for what we have planned for this station. So we’re going to have to let you go”.

Did that make you feel something? Yeah, me too. A lot.

But thank God the story doesn’t end there. I ended up taking a job in San Jose, and it changed the trajectory of my life. It has been beyond anything I could have imagined. If I had not been fired, I would not have met the love of my life. If I had not been fired, I would not have my two wonderful children. If I had not been fired, I would not have had this career that I could not have dreamed of. What I thought was the worst day of my life was actually the most important. And in many ways, one of the best.

Then, KRTY, the station in San Jose, was sold after our owner died. He was 98 years old, which wasn’t a tragedy or unexpected. But the sale did catch me by surprise, because we were very successful, with historic ratings, and most importantly, making money. But a corporation sure did want a signal in San Jose, so they offered well over the value of the station. The employees tried to buy it, but we could not compete with that offer.

Let me throw in one caveat: Those new owners, EMF, were nothing but truly kind to us. They are a Christian broadcasting network, and they do more than talk the talk; they walk the walk. No bad blood here.

But here I was back with a big change happening in my life. I reminded myself that every time this had happened, it did turn out in ways that I didn’t expect, and always good. Nate, Julie, Al, Michael, and I started KRTY.com. We are going on our 4th year of operation. My podcast has grown every year, expanding my personal horizons and expertise.

Change is hard. Even when it works out in the end. It took me a year to get over the firing that brought me to San Jose. It was many months after KRTY left the radio signal to realize that I still mattered, that the job was what I did, not who I was. I have tried my best to share that with people who are wading into those waters. If you’re going through it, please know this is not the end; this is just part of the journey. And if you know someone, it’s hard to know what to say, just remind them that you value them because of who they are and not what they do, or did.

In the immortal words of Captain James T. Kirk (in a nod to Peter Pan) “second star to the right, and straight on till morning”. Enjoy this trek.