The Radio Apprentice

Gone, I fear, forever…

I doubt there’s one person in our business today who started out doing a primetime airshift, even in the smallest of markets.

Almost every one of us began in a fringe daypart on a tiny station, sometimes a college radio station, in a small town.

Some of us were lucky enough to get the 7p – midnight shift or overnights in a major market.

So where do we apprentice future talent now that everything is voice-tracked, automated or syndicated after 7pm?

Shouldn’t we be thinking about this?

When the largest consolidated radio companies claim they are offering a better product by refusing to use local talent after 7pm, are they considering the recruitment and training of their future talent needs?

Ohhh, that’s right…they’ll have cashed in their chips and moved on to the next deal by the time that’s an issue.

You know, if the top guy at Cumulus made $1 million this year, rather than $20 million, that extra $19 million would pay for a lot of local talent, don’t you think?

Well, just to give you a reminder that all of us have to start on the bottom rung of the ladder, check this out:

*Note: If bad language (F-bombs and the N-word) bother you, don’t start this video.

So, where did you begin? Who gave you your first chance? On behalf of all creative radio talent everywhere, I offer a huge “Thank You!”