On the beach

[K2PG]

My employer, Citadel Broadcasting, was acquired by Cumulus Media in September. They eliminated seven positions here in Wilkes-Barre, including mine. It's nice to have all this time to work on projects and get on the air...although I have been rationing my airtime to save electricity.

As for the stations where I used to work, they now have no local engineer on site...they do not plan to hire anyone to replace me. If there is an emergency, they have to call in an engineer from Allentown (60 miles from the studio and 85 miles from the farthest transmitter site) or Harrisburg (over 100 miles away). I guess they'll like broadcasting static and white noise when we get one of our famous winter storms! Their AM station, WARM, is licensed for 5,000 watts on 590 kc. Since they have a directional array, the common point value is 10.43 amps. My friend, who is still working there, tells me the common point is now 5.59 amps! That corresponds roughly to 1,500 watts and the audio sounds terrible. The brass at Cumulus would not approve a purchase order for new transmitter tubes when I still worked there and apparently the guy from Allentown hasn't done anything to correct the problem...or his bosses won't let him buy the tubes!

If any of you know of anything, preferably in PA, NJ, DE, NY, or MD, please let me know. I really don't want to have to pack all this stuff up and move it across the country!

Meanwhile, I will be on 1885 sporadically, with some CW on other bands.

[k4kyv]

Man, that sucks!  Especially in this job economy. Didn't your previous engineering position fall from under you the same way, when that company was bought out by a larger corporation? I'm glad I didn't pursue broadcast engineering as a career following my first paying job ever, as part-time engineer at a local 1 kw daytimer.

[W3LSN]

My employer, Citadel Broadcasting, was acquired by Cumulus Media in September. They eliminated seven positions here in Wilkes-Barre, including mine.

WARM 590 used to be a powerhouse back in the day from those big towers alongside I-81.  I thought I read some time ago that Citadel simply turned it off and was going to give back the license.

I feel for you. I got out of radio engineering after 15-years just before the big wave of consolidations began in the mid-90's. Even then the pressure was intense to downsize and do more with less. I was tired of living like some clerk out of Dickens, so I switched to video and never looked back.  I see a bunch of mid-Atlantic TV/video opportunities at the moment,

I've always maintained that broadcast engineering is more a lifestyle choice than a job. If it's really in your blood I read that CBS is looking for an AM chief in NYC. Check out their website.  Townsquare is also looking for a market chief for its Albany, NY stations.  A friend of mine just turned down the job to work for CBS here in DC.  

Good luck in any case.

73, Jim
WA2AJM/3

[K5UJ]

As for the stations where I used to work, they now have no local engineer on site...they do not plan to hire anyone to replace me. If there is an emergency, they have to call in an engineer from Allentown (60 miles from the studio and 85 miles from the farthest transmitter site) or Harrisburg (over 100 miles away).

Sounds like kids in suits and ties who don't know jack s*** about radio making decisions.

I wonder if the 590 station's pattern is still legal.

[KL7OF]

Geezus...those beancounters are gonna screw themselves and all the other employees out of a job by being that way.....Good luck Phil.....KL7OF Steve...

[WA3VJB]

Phil check your PM for a message.

Good luck, sorry to hear of another upheaval for you.

[WA2TTP Steve]

Sorry you lost you job. It just so happens I was at the ABC TV affiliate here in Albany NY today visiting with the Chief Meteorologist who was giving my grand children a studio tour. I’ve known him for long time so asked him how much the staff has been reduced since he started there in 1987. He said 50%. The station used to employ 120 and it now at 60. They just went to HD for the news and all the cameras are remote controlled and most of moves are preprogrammed, no set full of camera operators anymore. One guy in the control room handles them if manual moves are needed. I peaked in the control room and there were only three guys working in there.

He said that when technology comes in the front door people go out the back door.
The remaining people are very busy wearing multiple hats.

Good luck with your job hunt.

[K5UJ]

Let's hope the broadcasting industry isn't sucked into this idiotic job interview fad I'm hearing about that came out of Google:  You are sitting there being interviewed and discussing reasonable items like your past experience when the interviewer suddenly asks:  "If you have a number sequence 40, 66, 109, 23, 5, what comes next?"  Or, "What do you think is the way to eliminate world hunger?"   

This new jackass job interview "method" is probably why there's high unemployment now.  I hear all the big companies are starting to do this crap.

[k4kyv]

I was at the ABC TV affiliate here in Albany NY today visiting with the Chief Meteorologist who was giving my grand children a studio tour. I’ve known him for long time so asked him how much the staff has been reduced since he started there in 1987. He said 50%. The station used to employ 120 and it now at 60. They just went to HD for the news and all the cameras are remote controlled and most of moves are preprogrammed, no set full of camera operators anymore. One guy in the control room handles them if manual moves are needed. I peaked in the control room and there were only three guys working in there.

He said that when technology comes in the front door people go out the back door.
The remaining people are very busy wearing multiple hats.

That partially explains the sluggish improvement in employment figures, despite all the fanfare that we are slowly eking our way out of Great Depression II. I just heard a discussion on the (broadcast) radio this morning, in which the topic was how "recovery" no longer translates automatically to a rebound in job growth.  One of the points mentioned was that employers have used the recession as justification for permanently cutting their staff.  As things got slow, they laid people off, but as the economy improves, they are counting more on automation, increased productivity and better efficiency using staff on hand, rather than re-hiring more people.

Makes sense from a company's perspective, since most are in business to make money.

Another factor is the exodus of jobs to South of the Border and to Asia.  Remember the famous  Giant Sucking Sound?

Regarding broadcast engineering, station equipment has become more reliable and requires less maintenance than it used to, much as has consumer grade equipment.  Up to a generation or so ago, the era when stations were required to have an FCC-licensed engineer on staff, equipment was largely tube-type and  required frequent attention...  just as TV sets constantly broke down, and most of the old black-and-white TVs needed service one or more times a year. Radio/TV repair shops could be found in nearly every little town across the country.  Now TVs run for years without a problem, and when they finally do fail, most are dumped in the trash and the owner goes out and buys a new disposable TV.  How many radio and TV repair shops have you seen open for business lately?

The days of the paid engineering staff at all but the largest stations are pretty much numbered, if not already gone. It is more cost effective for broadcast engineers to work independently and offer engineering service to stations on a contract basis, since there is no longer enough technical work at a small station to keep an engineer employed full time. The broadcast engineer has become analogous to the plumber and the electrician.  Only the largest estates keep their own plumbers and electricians permanently on staff. Most just call someone in the business as we need him.

Unfortunately, the bean-counters dominate at enterprises like broadcast stations, and needed maintenance is often deferred until the signal quality degrades to the point of losing listeners/viewers, or until the station is visited by the FCC inspector - just as individuals often defer needed home maintenance until a great deal of permanent damage is done, when an early call to the plumber, roofer, exterminator or chimney sweep would have nipped the problem in the bud before more expensive repairs were needed or the house burnt down or was destroyed by extensive water damage.

I would think that an experienced BC engineer with expertise and adequate test equipment would still be in demand, particularly in larger metro areas.  So Phil, if I were you, I'd print up a set of business cards and make the circuit to every station within reasonable travelling distance, as well as placing ads in the BC rags and other media likely to grab the attention of station managers and owners, or else look for employment at a contract engineering firm, instead of seeking out a staff position at some small radio station, where the same thing is likely to happen over and over again, as owners "consolidate" and larger corporations continue to buy out smaller companies, or smaller stations continue to go dark.

[Pete, WA2CWA]

"If you have a number sequence 40, 66, 109, 23, 5, what comes next?" 

32

Or, "What do you think is the way to eliminate world hunger?" 

Shorten food expiration dates

[Jeff W9GY]

Sheesh!  The usual more with less.  Like taking laminations out of transformers, how many can you remove before it burns up?  Man, what are they thinking!  Sorry, Phil. 

[KB2WIG]

" If you have a number sequence 40, 66, 109, 23, 5, what comes next "

1 800 Law Suit


klc

[Steve - K4HX]

This sucks for Phil but let's face it, this is nothing new in radio, especially smaller market stations. Terrestrial broadcast is on its way out. Ask anyone under 30 the last time they listened to FM radio, let alone AM radio. As Don Meredith used to sing on Monday Night Football, "Turn out the lights, the party's over."

[W4AAB]

Sounds like that idiotic "job fit test" I took at Bellsouth before it was bought back by AT&T. I figured they were looking for someone who had no conscience the way the questions were worded. I am trying to get at least one more year where I am so I can cash in the 401K and pay off the house, then the politically correct crowd can cram that place.Mid-level managers have caused 95% of the places in this country to fail(the ones that have failed). Good luck in your job search, Phil. Maybe I will get started soon on my conversion of the Gates BC1-T to 160( and maybe 75).Thanks for your efforts doing that, OM.
                                      Joe W4AAB
            

[K5UJ]

Terrestrial broadcast is on its way out. Ask anyone under 30 the last time they listened to FM radio, let alone AM radio. As Don Meredith used to sing on Monday Night Football, "Turn out the lights, the party's over."

Is that right.  In the December Arbitron PPM ratings for Chicago, 3 AMs were in the top ten.  In fact, AMs were no. 2 and 3.

If you have programming people want, they'll listen regardless of age and mode.  

[Steve - K4HX]

For sure, good programming helps. Chicago is but one small part of the country. AM stations do well in many big cities. Go to a place like Scranton, PA where Phil worked. Things are much different outside the big cities. I would also suggest that you look at the demographics for those PPMs. And compare the numbers and sales to that of iTunes and other internet music sites. It's not even close.

Why would anyone in their right mind tune in on a crappy sounding AM radio with noise and interference when they can get what they want (sometimes the same radio station) on their cell phone with no noise and interference?

If radio was doing so well, guys like Phil wouldn't be looking for a job. I don't like it, but that's the way it going.

[K6IC]

Phil,

Very sorry to hear this.  Does seem to be the way things are going.
Good Luck,  hope you can fing a better situation than your previous one.

HNY,  Vic K6IC

[K5UJ]

Go to a place like Scranton, PA where Phil worked. Things are much different outside the big cities. I would also suggest that you look at the demographics for those PPMs. And compare the numbers and sales to that of iTunes and other internet music sites. It's not even close.

Why would anyone in their right mind tune in on a crappy sounding AM radio with noise and interference when they can get what they want (sometimes the same radio station) on their cell phone with no noise and interference?

If radio was doing so well, guys like Phil wouldn't be looking for a job. I don't like it, but that's the way it going.

Layoffs often have less to do with lack of profits than it does with management thinking they can trim expenses due to automation, computerization etc. and make stock holders happy. 

You have what seem to be opinions--let's look at facts.  In the no. 71 Wilkes-Barre Scranton market there are two AMs in the top ten rated stations in the Fall Arbitrons dated 12/12.  The no. 4 station is a news-talk format.  Again, independent of market size, content matters. 

The death of radio has been reported many times before.  But radio seems to keep on trucking.  It remains to be seen whether or not the younger demographic will "grow into" broadcast radio as it ages, and searches for content more in keeping with the interests of middle aged people.  Sooner or later people realize the limits of stuffing podcasts into teeny plastic baubles and discover live programming.  With a lot of young men around here at least, an appealing format is sports coverage and sports-talk.  And as they age, the broadcast industry will program to appeal to them to be sure. 

AM hardly sounds "crappy."  My AA5 with a 17 or 18 kc passband sounds fantastic.  You just need to get a decent rx, and listen to a decent sounding station.  I recommend WSM if you can get them at night    It's Grand Ole Opry night tonight!

However, I once worked at a 3 KW FM that barely hung on, and eventually was bought up by a big company (Entercom? can't remember).   Our problem was a very risk averse GM who basically starved the station into the ground.  As with any other for-profit business, bad management can wreck anything, even Apple and iTunes (It will be interesting to watch Apple post-Jobs and see where they are in 10 years.  I bet broadcasting is around then, even if Apple is not.)   

[WQ9E]

Broadcast radio is also suffering from the same "I can manage anything" professional managers who have little understanding of the company/product/market.  The auto industry went through this (still is for some companies) and the classic historical example is International Harvester which was effectively destroyed by bringing in executives who had little understanding of the company and its customers.  Combine this with the short term orientation which has infected many companies and it is no surprise at the poor results.

Intelligent change and evolution is an ongoing necessity of business but simply trying to cut your way to happiness and profits is not a path for long term success.

A number of studies and publications starting in the 1970s, including the entertaining and wildly successful book "In Search of Excellence", noted that most MBA programs were producing graduates who were too focused upon financial aspects while neglecting those other operational functions which ultimately determine financial performance.  It was further noted that many of these same graduates were so strongly focused upon self-protection that decision making was paralyzed until it could be "proven" that the decision was correct.  One example of this is the tendency to engage in a series of market research projects attempting to prove the proper course of action and by the time this proof is achieved the decision is no longer relevant because other more agile firms have dominated the market.

[K1JJ]

Phil,

Here's a wild idea, but it might work for you...

What if you made up a short brochure of highlights of your career in broadcasting work. You can do it on the computer. Show pictures of places and transmitters you worked on and brief summaries of your duties and accomplishments.  

Then put on a suit and spend a few days driving to all the radio stations, AM, FM etc within 200 miles to talk with upper management and owners. If you do your homework, you will find where these people are and drop in in person, unannounced.  Maybe there are some industry-related businesses around to see too.

The objective would be to meet as many of these people as possible to get the word out you are qualified and looking. Do this a few times during the month and you may be surprised that it may turn into some consulting biz on the side. Stress that you are a troubleshooter who can be called in during emergencies and when they are stumped.

Set yourself apart from all the others who email in resumes, etc.   Making in-person visits just like a salesman (selling yourself) is still the most powerful way to get business or a brand new full time job.

I'll bet this would stir up some interesting opportunities for you over time.

Good luck, OM.

T

[Steve - K4HX]

No cherry picking allowed. 

 Let's look at ALL the facts. How big is the audience? How many listeners do these stations have compared to 10, 20, 30 years ago (normalized to the size of the total population for the given time)? What are there advertising rates? What is their cost of operation? If you don't look at this kind of data, market rank is meaningless.

WTOP, 1500, a top rated news station in DC added several FM simulcast outlets years ago. That was a smart move on their part. Most people I know who use the station for traffic reports, etc. tune in on one of the FM outlets. Several did not even know they were on AM! These were not youngsters and most were in technical jobs.

I never claimed radio is dead. It's dying and the layoff of people like Phil is proof. The size of the audience is proof.

You do not have to sell me on how good AM can sound. I've been listening and AM band DXing since I was 12. I still listen to a number of AM stations and use hi-fi receivers to do it when I can. My point was that the average person (even old timers like us) are not likely to have a receiver that will do justice to a good sounding AM station. They just aren't putting SP-200s in cars these days. Add in noise and its seemingly ever increasing nature (even EMI from all the electronics in cars can plague reception from a vehicle), and AM is not going to appeal to most people. We hams don't have a problem with noise and our brains tend to tune it out. This isn't true of most others.

Apple has been declared dead countless times. It's now one of the most valuable companies in the world.

http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/death_knell/

Even if Apple dies, the Internet will not. The concept of music downloads was around long before iTunes and will be around even if Apple goes away. The concept of Internet broadcast, user driven content delivery, a pethora of options, and ubiquitous service/connection are not unique to Apple. There are dozens of competing services and concepts. Other than local content, most radio stations have little to offer in comparison to the vast array of options available on the Internet. The concept of the listener accepting what the broadcaster offers is limiting and outdated. Younger people have grown up with the concept of listening or watching what they want, when they want, and now with the wireless explosion, where they want. You can watch video/movies on your cellphone. You do not get this with broadcast radio or TV. Services like Hulu, Slingbox etc. exist for this very reason. Most cable TV providers offer a DVR option to allow time shifting for the viewer.

Yes, broadcast (especially AM) is dying. But broadcast will continue to exist, possibly for a long time. Unless the industry changes its ways, it will be an also ran in the content delivery market, if it's not already.

Go to a place like Scranton, PA where Phil worked. Things are much different outside the big cities. I would also suggest that you look at the demographics for those PPMs. And compare the numbers and sales to that of iTunes and other internet music sites. It's not even close.

Why would anyone in their right mind tune in on a crappy sounding AM radio with noise and interference when they can get what they want (sometimes the same radio station) on their cell phone with no noise and interference?

If radio was doing so well, guys like Phil wouldn't be looking for a job. I don't like it, but that's the way it going.

Layoffs often have less to do with lack of profits than it does with management thinking they can trim expenses due to automation, computerization etc. and make stock holders happy.  

You have what seem to be opinions--let's look at facts.  In the no. 71 Wilkes-Barre Scranton market there are two AMs in the top ten rated stations in the Fall Arbitrons dated 12/12.  The no. 4 station is a news-talk format.  Again, independent of market size, content matters.  

The death of radio has been reported many times before.  But radio seems to keep on trucking.  It remains to be seen whether or not the younger demographic will "grow into" broadcast radio as it ages, and searches for content more in keeping with the interests of middle aged people.  Sooner or later people realize the limits of stuffing podcasts into teeny plastic baubles and discover live programming.  With a lot of young men around here at least, an appealing format is sports coverage and sports-talk.  And as they age, the broadcast industry will program to appeal to them to be sure.  

AM hardly sounds "crappy."  My AA5 with a 17 or 18 kc passband sounds fantastic.  You just need to get a decent rx, and listen to a decent sounding station.  I recommend WSM if you can get them at night    It's Grand Ole Opry night tonight!

However, I once worked at a 3 KW FM that barely hung on, and eventually was bought up by a big company (Entercom? can't remember).   Our problem was a very risk averse GM who basically starved the station into the ground.  As with any other for-profit business, bad management can wreck anything, even Apple and iTunes (It will be interesting to watch Apple post-Jobs and see where they are in 10 years.  I bet broadcasting is around then, even if Apple is not.)    

[k4kyv]

We hams don't have a problem with noise and our brains tend to tune it out. This isn't true of most others.

Sounds like my wife.  She hears the receiver running in the shack and asks how I can stand to listen to "all that horrendous noise" even when the signal is good.  When we are travelling in the car, she complains and wants to change the station on the radio whenever she hears faint noise in the background that I find barely perceptible.

[K5UJ]

No cherry picking allowed. 

 Let's look at ALL the facts. How big is the audience? How many listeners do these stations have compared to 10, 20, 30 years ago (normalized to the size of the total population for the given time)? What are there advertising rates? What is their cost of operation? If you don't look at this kind of data, market rank is meaningless.

You're kidding me right?  You make a claim; I go get industry accepted data which shows you are mistaken, and then I'm "cherry picking."  Then you seem to expect me to go spend a lot of time gathering information when you are the one who has nothing.

You make broad statements, generalizations which seem to be based on your observations and subjective conclusions but the only fact you seem to have is that WTOP fired up some FM simulcasts.  That, and Phil got laid off.  You want to look at "ALL the facts."  But then you don't present any meaningful data or metric to back up anything you claim.  Go get some real, independently gathered data from a reliable source that shows something like more people in the U.S. listened to podcasts in a set time period like a month or quarter than listened to satellite and terrestrial radio broadcasts and I'll agree with you.  You can't just claim "radio is dying" because you happen to see a bunch of kids listening to iPods instead of broadcast radio, or "most people you know" do such and such.

Phil got laid off and I am mighty sorry and wish him fast reemployment.  But one guy getting laid off doesn't foretell the tanking of an industry.   You are rational enough to see this?  Well, screw it.  If I'm around in 10 or 20 years I'll get to see what happens.

If anything, broadcast will all be digital and I'll have to convert it to analog, and modulate my Meissner 150B exciter in order to use my AA5 receiver. 

[Steve - K4HX]

Your "industry accepted data" is not the issue. I accept the validity of those numbers, as far as they go. Besides the fact that they say nothing about the industry as a whole, they do not tell the entire story relative to the market and stations involved. Without knowing the total size of the audience relative to the past, and how those translate into profits, the rankings are meaningless. It's about the same as beating your chest about being the highest paid guy on the block when no one on the block makes more than minimum wage.

I'll admit my claims are anecdotal. Your claims are no less.

I'll buy you a beer in 30 years if your claim is correct. 

[KM1H]

AM hardly sounds "crappy."  My AA5 with a 17 or 18 kc passband sounds fantastic.  You just need to get a decent rx, and listen to a decent sounding station.  I recommend WSM if you can get them at night    It's Grand Ole Opry night tonight!

Geeez Rob, you need to get your ears cleaned out. An AA-5 doesnt have enouch of a speaker to get to decent highs nor enough iron to crack the plastic case with lows. Run a response test on those 4-5" $.10 speakers sometime.