It occurred to me that there's a lot of negative things being said about the media these days and that I may have been guilty of saying some of these things myself. I think it's important to make something perfectly clear. I love radio and TV. I've toiled in the fields of broadcasting my whole life. I've raised a family thanks to the opportunities that I've had in this business.
If you're new to broadcasting, it must be discouraging to read some of the things that have been written recently; how the conglomerates are consolidating and homogenizing the industry, how traditional broadcasting companies seem to be making creative mistake after creative mistake all in the name of short term profit, how new media is poised to clean traditional media's clock. Well let me tell you that all is not doom and gloom. Much of what is written won't happen and what does happen might actually make traditional media stronger.
We're a business that loves drama. I'm not talking just about TV. Radio is a giant soap opera...trust me. There's always some behind the scenes melodrama going on...even at the smallest station. It's the nature of beast. At every station along my career path, there has been gossip and speculation...be it WKFD in little old Wickford RI or the legendary WCBS-FM in New York City. Read some of the trade magazine and Internet sites. They exist on rumor and side stories...many of which never come to fruition.
If you're new to the business let me reassure you that there has never been a more exciting time to be joining our ranks. Things are good and getting better. If some of my industry articles seem pessimistic then I apologize. Those of us who have been in the business a long time have a tendency to look at situations from a different perspective and sometimes it's a narrow one.
The industry is as it's always been and that's just fine with me.
