For the Love of Radio

Robby Bridges

By Robby Bridges

As this tumultuous year comes to a close, it will be remembered not only for a bitter election season, a novel virus and the fallout from it all, but for broadcasters, and maybe some listeners who pay close attention, as the year so much air talent lost their jobs. In radio, 2020 has been an absolutely brutal year for cost-cutting, staff reductions, layoffs and furloughs. It’s been more than a trimming, but deep, painful cuts and the elimination of positions of many veteran talents, programmers and some individuals in other departments. It seems like a lifetime ago now, but back at the start of the year before COVID upended life, I wrote an article reacting to the shocking cuts at iHeartMedia at that moment, saying simply that, while hard to swallow, these sorts of cuts are never personal, few of us are privy to the business objectives of the company at the highest level and that they were not an indictment of the radio industry’s health or fortitude nor the relevance or viability of the profession. Or, I argued, they shouldn’t be. I got a varied reaction to my thoughts then and I imagine the temperature of radio’s professionals is more shaken and volatile now as iHeart, our business’ largest operator, has just processed their deepest cuts. This comes after many, if not most companies, went thru similar moves earlier in the year.

Here’s what I think we all need to keep in mind: 1) Radio as a medium and the need for the content creators (air talent) that populate it are as important as ever. Call us the cockroaches of the media echo system but with the disruptions in listening because of COVID changing audio habits in the crowded field, radio has bounced right back and managed to be a normalcy of life that got Americans thru this nightmare of a year. 2) COVID has hurt the economy, which like radio itself, has bounced back from the apocalyptic numbers of April and May. But it’s left many advertisers jumpy, particularly local ones, prompting cuts by operators, perhaps understandably. 3) The arguments I’ve made before about radio’s place in the media sphere are healthy and were on par for 0.2% positive ad revenue growth pre COVID this year. 4) 2021 will be a new opportunity and radio should be investing in its future which is, content i.e. talent and promotions.

I am not in the boardrooms of major operators or the minds of their leadership or stockholders but I believe COVID only sped changes that were already afoot. Some are dealing with debt, some are transitioning altogether to digital and or apps/podcasting and are using terrestrial’s cash flow to power that, but without investing back in. Others still are consolidating and streamlining operations. So I’d offer this, perhaps now is the time to sell. If a company doesn’t see itself as a broadcasting company with a portfolio of radio stations/brands staffed by content creators who also create supplementary content for social media and podcasting, plus are active members of the community they serve, why are they holding terrestrial radio stations? If the objective is to simply draw down debt, to transition out of terrestrial, to be a national network only or to be lean as possible to sell off, then fine. But why burn down the industry in doing so and why be an operator at all? The answer is complicated but largely comes down to multiples possible for sales to happen. But they will happen and my fear is the longer radio goes without investing in and marketing itself, the harder the battle for ears will be in the future and the smaller the pool of talent.

While it is no longer the Top 40 gorilla it was in its heyday, look at WABC/New York: a heritage brand, a $12 million sale and now a local owner investing in the station from new studios to hiring new staff and even innovating by trying out a mix of talk, music and entertainment programming. In a different way, WABC is still showing the rest of radio the way forward. I suspect they will struggle to be New York’s number one rated station again but they have created a positive buzz for advertisers, are building relationships on the air, in the community, among said advertisers and super-serving them. I’m pleased to be working for a broadcast group in Northern Michigan, MacDonald Garber, that operates much in the same vein and has been for decades; I was surprised and delighted when our VP told me it was not acceptable to use out-of-market trackers and to find new talent so we could be live and local in all dayparts (though we run American Top 40 and a few other weekend shows). Investing in brands and talent, what a concept!

So, my hope is the cuts and “do more with less” or worse “do less with less” attitudes pass and operators move to where they want to position their companies. And if that isn’t in radio, selling terrestrial properties to owners who want to be broadcasters in their communities for the love of radio. Let’s hope it happens.

Robby Bridges has been a programmer and air talent for nearly 30 years in New York, Detroit, the network level and elsewhere. Currently he is working for Entercom in Boston and voice over for multiple clients, including United Stations, Townsquare and Sun Radio.