From the MCRFB NEWS archive: 1964

The Bill Gavin Newsletter June 13, 1964

Radio Manager 7 Point Essentials Defines Station’s Objectivity, Success and Destiny

From the Desk of Bill Gavin  Billboard Contributing Editor

A RADIO STATION is people. Its impact on listeners and advertisers is the product of a number of people, doing a number of things. Engineers, secretaries, salesmen, disk jockeys, accountants, supervisors, switchboard operators and managers all combine to produce profitable programming.
Of all the people who make radio what it is, the one who stamps his personality most indelibly on a radio station is the manager. Not only does he control a station’s destiny, but his personality and character are often reflected by his employees.

THE MAN WHO achieves managerial status most often does so by demonstrating ability in the business aspects of broadcasting. More often than not the manager lacks experience in programming, or in any of the performing or production phases of show business. While he can direct his salesmen and accountants with the voice of experience, he usually relics heavily on his program director to plan and supervise the actual programming. There are times, however, when only the manager can make critical decisions about program policy. At such times, a lack of program experience can produce decisions that do more harm than good. All too often a manager’s decision to make drastic changes in program policy is made without proper awareness of consequences.

THE PURPOSE of this Newsletter is to suggest certain qualities that all managers should have in making their program decisions effective.

OBJECTIVITY: A manager may he coldly analytical about such things as overhead, taxes and profits, but he is often apt to let his own personal tastes get in the way of good programming judgment. He forgets that the music that he, his family and friends enjoy is not necessarily the music most preferred by most radio listeners. A careful study of ratings, as influenced by various programming patterns, offers the only safe guide on this thorny path.

OPEN-MINDEDNESS: We need to look back only a few years to remind ourselves how radio continues to change. New ideas bring new successes. New ideas are not necessarily good ideas, and they frequently fall short of their goal. No capable manager will try out every new idea brought to him. but he will at least he ready to explore its possibilities. There are few surer methods of failing in radio management than a stubborn adherence to the past.

CONVICTION: Some managers embark on a new program policy with obvious reluctance. Their doubts and cars are contagious. The entire staff is infected by uncertainty. When program planning lacks directions and
When a manager finds it necessary to submerge his own personal tastes in order to follow objective logic, he should keep his feelings to himself.

COURAGE: A conservative station that switches to a top pop music policy is bound to become the target of adverse criticism. Listeners will protest. Local newspaper columnists will poke ridicule. The manager’s golfing cronies will express their objections. Every manager who takes his station into the pop music field for the first time should expect such abuse and be prepared to discount it. Eventual gains in ratings and revenue will be sufficient rebuttal for the critics.

CONSISTENCY: Once a program policy is embarked upon, it should be followed without deviation until it has been thoroughly tried and tested. This is simple common sense, but sometimes it is overlooked, and confusion is compounded. Consistency also should be the rule for successfully established operations. Overconfidence can lead to tinkering with the program structure to the ultimate damage of the station’s ratings.

AWARENESS: A good manager should learn all he can about the sources of his program material. He should know the news services, the record distributors and their promotion people. He should know about his production material, who produces his jingle packages, and why they cost so much. Being thus well informed, he will be better fitted to work closely with his program director in handling special problems.

SENSE OF COMMUNITY: Most managers belong to service clubs or the chamber of commerce. They sec to it that their stations carry public service spots in support of community projects. This is not enough. A station’s strongest safeguard against sudden swings of public favor is found in its community roots. Every employee should be encouraged to he a part of its community activities: churches, schools. clubs, etc. Friendly contacts should be maintained with civic and philanthropic leaders. The station’s voice should not just parrot “me too.” It should at all times speak with prestige and authority on community matters. There is no reason why constructive community roles should he reserved for the network stations or for the conservative independents.

The progressive, contemporary music stations can play an equally significant part. Radio generally has lagged far behind as a representative medium of mass communication. In such a policy, community interest and self interest go hand in hand.

It is a wise manager who knows when and how to take an active part in his station’s programming. He is even wiser who knows when and where to leave it alone. END

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(Information and news source: Billboard; June 13, 1964)