In 2007, I launched Radio Espionage as a part of Mark Elliott Media,
to provide multiple format programming content for clients and offer continued education for programmers and personalities nationally.
As you have probably experienced, the industry has changed to be more digitally focused. Today the industry is more sales driven than ever but less product conscious. I believe this will eventually have to change in order for radio to gain and retain clients.
The question is, where will the radio industry go to educate future programmers and personalities? Over the past twenty five years, the radio industry has done a magnificent job of downsizing itself to where the best of the best have left the industry.
I've spent a lifetime gaining knowledge from my own experiences and working with some of the best in the business. In my opinion, it would be a shame to let it go to waste by taking it to the grave. Therefore, I am going to chronical all of my programming and morning show experience and share it here on Radio Espionage.
I am one of the few who can link radios past to the future and willing to offer a wealth of knowledge and experience. Most of it will still apply today and some won't but take what works for you and discard the rest.
The plan is to develop a digital book so that you can read as I write it.
I'm not sure how long it will take but when it's finished, it will remain in the cloud for future generations to read and hopefully appreciate.
Mark Elliott's
PAST. PRESENT. FUTURE.
CONTENTS
Introduction: My Background
Chapter 1: It Starts With Culture
Chapter 1: It Starts With Culture
INTRODUCTION
My Background
On April 14th, 1979, I opened the mic for the first time and for the next 43 years I embarked on a radio career I never thought possible. My journey like everyone else who chose radio for a career was filled with ups and downs but what made my journey different is I was never out of a job or "on the beach" as its called within the industry. That was until June of 2022, when I decided it was time for a change.
I originally got in to radio to become a sports play-by-play announcer and like most radio talent, I started on my hometown radio station in Weirton, West Virginia. In August of 1979, my General Manager, asked if I had ever thought about becoming a DJ on the radio? Afterall, I was already working as a Club DJ, how hard could it be? At 19, I was up for anything and I said, yes. The overnight personality was leaving and midnight to six seemed like the perfect daypart to start polishing my ability to become a skilled personality and consequently, my career went in another direction.
When I was coming up, market size mattered. I was in a small market 35 miles from Pittsburgh, and I was led to believe the only way to get a radio job in the Steel City was to spend several years working my way up a from a small market to a medium size market and then if I was good enough, I might eventually get hired in a market like Pittsburgh. Historically, nobody ever went from Weirton to Pittsburgh. I'm not sure if I was the first, but I did it and parlayed the opportunity into a job in Phoenix and later to Los Angeles in 1986, where I have remained since.
Believe it or not, my first programming gig was in Los Angeles. I never considered becoming a programmer until around 1988. My only previous programming experience was as the Music Director for 21 months in Weirton. My main focus in getting to Los Angeles was as a personality but in 1988, I started reaching out to network with programmers and consultants nationally to begin the education process. While doing mornings in Anaheim, I was given the opportunity in 1991 to interview for a programming/morning show gig at Buckley Broadcasting in Los Angeles. They were looking for something new that could not be heard in the market and would standout. After hearing a dozen pitches from other experienced programmers who kept offering formats that could already be heard, I pitched an idea called Hot AC. At the time it was only on the air in San Diego and Houston and was showing signs of connecting with audiences in those markets. Thirty minutes later, I was hired to be the first programmer to launch Hot AC in Los Angeles. It also helped that I could execute a morning show too. The format did so well, I was promoted to Buckley's West Coast Group Program Director to launch the format in their other California markets. I owe a great deal of gratitude to all the programmers and consultants who took the time to mentor me and helped with landing the Buckley gig. That is where my love for programming was born. From there I went on to work with over 100 stations in my career as a programmer, consultant, and Group Program Director. After twenty years, I left being a morning personality to focus exclusively on programming. In 2007, I decided to start my own consulting firm working with programmers and morning personalities. My first client was Point Broadcasting, the company I was leaving.
The one constant throughout my career is the majority of the opportunities I was offered were based on reputation, not my resume and demo. The benefit of networking and forging relationships along the way is what helped sustain my career. The key to surviving in the radio industry is networking and building relationships. Once you're given an opportunity, you still have to get results but it's your ability to network and forge relationships is what will determine your longevity and level of success.
This blog is not intended to be my biography but I wanted to set the table to give you an idea about how I carved out my career. You can read my full bio at markelliottmedia.com and you'll pick up the rest as I write this programming and personality rewind.
I. IT STARTS WITH CULTURE
When it comes to creating a successful organization, leadership first has to determine what kind of culture they want to implement and then hire personnel that best matches the criteria to develop it.
Establishing a chain of command and how each manager is expected to operate within this command is essential when developing culture. Know what management positions you require and establish a criteria each manager must meet before hiring them. When developing a management team, its essential to be thorough with your background checks. It's always money well spent to not only vet managers but all personnel. Trust red flags and make no acceptations to your criteria. I've found it's best to wait on the right person who fits the company culture than take a chance on someone who comes close but has red flags. At the end of the day, it's not fair to the person you hire if you're not sold on them one hundred percent. It can do serious damage to a companies culture and to the livelihood of the person who wasn't a perfect match. If a hire is made and it turns out they don't fit the culture of the company, you have to remove that hire immediately. Too often managers waist valuable time trying to fix bad hires only to have to make a change anyway and by then the damage to a companies culture has been affected.
The radio industry is an entertainment medium full of creative people which brings with it multiple types of personalities. The challenge is getting multiple personalities on the same page and working together to achieve one common goal. This is why management needs to feature strong managers who deliver clear and consistent messaging and behavior. It takes time and patience to build a successful culture because it requires developing trust from the top down to make it work and I'm not talking about top down management.
I've worked in both top down management and bottom up management situations and without a doubt, bottom up management culture has always worked best. Leadership is trusting the people you hire to do there jobs and offering them the tools to be successful and then managing their success so it fits within the culture of the company.
When dealing with creative people, you want to offer an environment conducive to creative thinking, where ideas are encouraged and openly shared without fear of ridicule. Too many times I've heard managers say, 'there is no such thing as a bad idea" only to ridicule someone who offers up a bad idea. How do you think this impacts the creative process? If you create a culture where it's understood there are no bad idea's, then you have to live up to it or risk destroying a creative culture. My way of thinking has always been and it's been proven, many times the best ideas come from building on what started as a bad idea. This is why you need managers that understand how fragile a creative persons ego is. I've found mangers who have a nurturing nature tend to work best with creative people.
Management style is extremely important when building culture. The best managers are the ones who don't get too high or too low but are consistent. They praise in public and correct in private. When chaos ensures, they are the coolest person in the room. When exciting accomplishments are achieved, they celebrate everyone's success while accepting personal achievement in private. It can take months to develop trust, but an inconsistent manager will destroy trust and culture almost overnight.
The best Operations Managers have a unique understanding of programming, sales, digital, marketing, promotions, and engineering. They have the ability to think logically and creatively. Because an Operations Manager has a lot to deal with at the same time, they must also possess a tireless work ethic and have tremendous organizational skills. Their demeanor is even tempered and tend to be teachers while always displaying a positive can do attitude. A good Operations Manager, is eager and has a curious thirst for knowledge about a multitude of interests beyond radio. When necessary, they are willing to seek help and do so enthusiastically whether it's internally or externally. If it sounds like I'm describing Superman, I am. Next to the General Manager, an Operations Manager has the most responsibility for the stations they oversee.
To be continued
E: mem@markelliottmedia.com
P: (818) 259-0091
Copyright 2024
P: (818) 259-0091
Copyright 2024
