The Straight Skinny

 

Outside, Looking In: Pt. 1

Like Alice, former format programmers step through the looking glass, follow the genius down (white) rabbit holes

 

By Carol Archer

 

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No doubt, passionate and accomplished PDs remain among Smooth Jazz's over-the-air ranks today: Lee Hansen, Carol Handley, Mike Vasquez and Paul Lavoie, among others, on the commercial radio tip. But without question, some of the format's best, brightest and most effective programmers have moved on, for one reason or another. Many were swept away by a tsunami of consolidation that set off a chain reaction of hacking and hewing at the bottom line that decimated radio and continues to this day. The result: a gaping chasm in Smooth Jazz, a collective brain-drain, and a narrower gene pool.

 

Thinking of the array of Smooth Jazz programming talent lost in recent years, you may see your former peers' faces flash before your eyes that unleash a torrent of memories or a lump in your throat. Perhaps you feel a sense of déjà vu just reading their names: Frank Cody; Steve Williams; Nick Francis; Michael Fischer; Ralph Stewart; Carl Anderson; Maxine Todd; Bob Kaake; Anne Gress; Bernie Kimbal; Michael Tozzi; Lori Lewis; Samantha Pascual; and Blake Lawrence, among others. I contacted several to learn their current thinking on Smooth Jazz, viewed through the lens of time and distance, and intentionally didn't assign a topic or theme; rather, simply asked them to speak to Smooth Jazz. Uncharacteristically, I step out of the way in this, the first of two columns, about being on the outside looking in at Smooth Jazz. Who needs editorial context when the likes of Michael Fischer and Blake Lawrence step forward?

 

Triton Media Senior Interactive Solution Specialist, and former PD of LFM's KJCD/Denver; CBS

Radio's KOAI (the Oasis)/Dallas; SW Networks syndicated Smooth FM; and WNUA/Chicago APD/MD, Michael Fischer

 

We've all experienced the proverbial crossroads in life, and as broadcasters we have been standing at an

intersection for more than a year now: radio at a "tipping point." While there are several external factors affecting all aspects of our lives, the economy is taking its toll on the medium.

 

The tipping point I refer to involve our thought processes on how to run radio as a business in a down-economy, and how to strategize and put in place our best thinking to find new growth opportunities and

minimize collateral damage due to loss of traditional revenue streams.

 

 

 

 

 

“We need to surrender fear and risk and zero-base our

decisions based on the future, not fear of the past.”

– Michael Fischer

Have you reconciled what it will take to move forward, past your tipping point? Are you thinking of the future or settling for the past? What would it take to push you over the edge into creative thinking?

– Michael Fischer