Unemployment in Radio

[bobbybeth]

I just read that the national unemployment rate is 10.2%.  I bet the rate is much higher in the radio business.  I would also bet that a lot of people wishing they were full time are being restricted to voice tracking.  I hope one day that radio gets back to live, local personalities and that a lot of the talent sitting on the sidelines gets a chance to earn a decent living.  Any thoughts?

[trhodes96]

I just read that the national unemployment rate is 10.2%.  I bet the rate is much higher in the radio business.  I would also bet that a lot of people wishing they were full time are being restricted to voice tracking.  I hope one day that radio gets back to live, local personalities and that a lot of the talent sitting on the sidelines gets a chance to earn a decent living.  Any thoughts?

Lets hope you're right! Every person in radio right now with a decent salary thinks everyday could be their last right now. The only saving grace for some is that now they do 2/3 jobs for same salary. Good luck to my radio peeps!

Rhodes

[firepoint525]

I just read that the national unemployment rate is 10.2%.  I bet the rate is much higher in the radio business.  I would also bet that a lot of people wishing they were full time are being restricted to voice tracking.  I hope one day that radio gets back to live, local personalities and that a lot of the talent sitting on the sidelines gets a chance to earn a decent living.  Any thoughts?

Ain't gonna happen.

[JoshuaC]

While I must admit I too pine for the days "24/7 Live and Local," I am not sure it really will (until it can be proven to be not only profitable but very profitable).

When it comes to VoiceTracking, I have a similar opinion on this as I did digital distribution of music (i.e. MP3s):  During the heyday of Napster and Kazzaa and whatever, many people I knew in the industry shouted about how this technology needed to be stopped!  However... you can't uninvent something, whether it's good or bad.  Ultimately the industry realized that, while they might not agree with distribution (and while in a great many respects it may be technically illegal), they can't get rid of it.  If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.  Now you have a lot of Labels working hard on digital distribution strategies (what they will release, what they won't, the pacing of it all)... you even have TV networks putting content online to beat YouTube to the punch!  It's change of thought, but it's one you can't ignore.  As they say:  Adapt or Die.

Eventually, Radio Professionals will find ways of doing similar with a VoiceTracked world.  A few months back, I saw something in the help-wanted classifieds in a trade mag I subscribe to:  A guy was advertising his services as a professional phoner - He'd call you and do a phone call or conversation with you in whatever way you'd want and then you could air it as part of your VoiceTracked show!  Now... I know that faked phoners are nothing new, but it's a neat cottage industry to a VoiceTracked world.  I'm sure there are new ways to get a gig with this technology... and ultimately people will be willing to pay extra for that if it proves useful. 

It's all about how you market yourself.  I think the days of Radio Stations having staffs of dozens of engineers and producers are over and probably won't be returning, but there isn't reason that people couldn't find a way to make something new work within the model.  I think the future of jobs in the Radio Industry might be more in terms of Third Party content providers than a guys behind the board at the Station.

[bnaivar]

Keeping in mind that the 10.2% figure is bolstered by numbers like 900 jobs "saved" where only 500 people work,  I say any job is a good job if you can find it. 

[Mike Sheridan]

In that 10.2% unemployment rate do they count those who simply ran out of unemployment benefits or do they simply fall off the radar?  I always wonder about that.  Then there are those who work multiple minimum wage jobs to try to stay afloat.

Look back a few years, okay quite a few years.... There used to be 3 or 4 people on duty most of the time at the big stations.  There was the announcer or DJ, a newsman, a studio engineer, and a transmitter engineer.  Now we have stations that cry they can't afford to have one person on duty 24/7 365 days a year.

As long as the "lets do it cheaper not better", attitude prevails I don't think we'll see the return of live/local/24.

[jaxradidio]

The 10.2%, which by itself is the worst human condition America has been in for two generations, does not count the underemployed, freelancers (which is where your out-of-work radio people are), or people who have given up.  It only deals in unemployment benefits.

The practical unemployment rate I've seen quoted is as high as over 18%.  Add to that the only jobs added (or "saved") by the stimulus were not in the private sector, or are temporary and artificial, and we're being driven toward Third World unemployment conditions. 

If people whose careers aren't in an industry and technology that are dying anyway are worried, imagine how unemployed radio talent is feeling.  No alternate business model emerged in which they are needed, wanted, or can be paid a fraction of what they used to make in radio.

[trhodes96]

The 10.2%, which by itself is the worst human condition America has been in for two generations, does not count the underemployed, freelancers (which is where your out-of-work radio people are), or people who have given up.  It only deals in unemployment benefits.

The practical unemployment rate I've seen quoted is as high as over 18%.  Add to that the only jobs added (or "saved") by the stimulus were not in the private sector, or are temporary and artificial, and we're being driven toward Third World unemployment conditions. 

If people whose careers aren't in an industry and technology that are dying anyway are worried, imagine how unemployed radio talent is feeling.  No alternate business model emerged in which they are needed, wanted, or can be paid a fraction of what they used to make in radio.

Ha... so true. I'm dj'ing a club in NYC and I'm one of the lucky ones. I know many radio peeps that had to start a brand new career with no experience. I'm glad guys like Ditch, Alan Ayo, Rude, Southside Steve, Dekker, Toucher, Rich, Jimmy and other friends I know are still working in the biz. They are too talented not to be.

[RhubarbFan]

I just got laid off at WGFS in Covington,so I'am in the unemployed radio people line.

[Todd Veal]

I just got laid off at WGFS in Covington,so I'am in the unemployed radio people line.

So I was wrong on your true identity.