10 MISTAKES PDs MAKE

Chris Byrnes

We had several phone calls and e-mails following our August article about what we look for when hiring a Program Director. One common theme ran through some of the e-mails as people described "the PD from hell" they at one time had worked for. One person asked if we would share some thoughts about the common mistakes we see PDs make, so that he might avoid the pitfalls as a new PD starting out. So here are a few of the common mistakes we see Program Directors make:

1. Fails To Understand the Station/Market: A PD who arrives in a new market and does not bother to study the history of the market and the radio station may be doomed to failure. What works in one market may not work in another. For some unknown reason PDs often feel the need to place their mark on the radio station which results in major changes to "fix all the things that the previous guy mucked up" before the PD fully understands the market and the radio station. Peter Drucker, who some regard as the pre-eminent business philosopher of the 20th century, advises that it is a mistake to buy a successful business and then make any changes until you fully understand that business. The same is often true when you come into a new job.

 

2. Gets Caught Up In Tasks: A station owner I work with has a great way of putting this. He calls it "getting caught up in the thick of thin things" which describes perfectly what happens to lots of PDs. They start out their day with the best of intentions, perhaps by writing out a "to do" list, but quickly their day falls apart as other people re-prioritize their day. The General Manager needs to have an urgent meeting, the Sales Manager needs some quick ideas, and the drive talent calls in sick. Before he knows it the PD is running around trying to trouble shoot the small stuff, and doesn't get to work on the things that will increase ratings. The PD needs to ask a simple question at the end of each day "What did I do today to either increase my TSL or generate new listeners?" If he goes too many days without an answer he is failing to do his job.

 

3. Fails To Treat Talent As A Priority: With all the sophisticated tools available to PDs in even the smallest markets, the difference between one radio station and the other is often the talent. The job of a PD is to motivate and coach talent to improve their performance. The major mistake made by PDs is failing to meet regularly with each talent to talk about their performance, listen to a few voice-breaks and offer suggestions or words of encouragement. The one thing that upsets talent more than anything else is a PD who is very generic in his praise or criticism of a talent's performance. Always be specific and ideally have tape to play the talent so they know exactly what is expected. Sometimes I find when a PD is not bothering to meet with the talent it is because the PD does not know how to air-check properly or is intimated by the talent. Remember even Tiger Woods has a coach and Michel Jordon spent two hours a day with his coach when he was at the top of his game.

 

4. Does Not Listen To His Station or the Competition Carefully: Most PDs today wear many hats, and may also be responsible for more than one radio station. However this is no excuse for not scheduling time each week to carefully listen to what is being broadcast on the air and looking for opportunities for improvement. For a few hundred dollars you can purchase a Media Logger from OMT which allows you to instantly call up any audio from any hour of any day for your radio station[s] as well as your competition. And while a PD needs to invest most of their energy in improving and "bullet proofing" their own product, they also need to set up a system to easily monitor their competitors so they can track what they are doing. If they are moving stop sets, or have changed elements of their programming you need to know in case the change presents an opportunity for your radio station. I was looking at some audience figures during a station visit recently and noticed that one of our client's direct competitors had lost a lot of audience in a major age cell. I asked what had changed about this radio station, and no-one in the meeting could tell me. PDs who fail to monitor their competition are flying blind.

 

5. Does Not Understand the Importance of Music: On a radio station that is running a music based format, the songs will make up 75 percent or more of any hour. So if the music does not appeal to the target audience, if it's burnt or not rotating properly it won't matter how good the jingles are, how entertaining the talent is, or how clearly the station is positioned. PDs who don't worry about the music, add what ever the record companies send them and feel they can wing it without any music research "because they know what their listeners want" are likely to see their TSL drop, and over time their radio station will become less and less relevant to the target listener.

 

6. Disregard For the Listener: Even if the PD knows the market, and has a clear understanding of who the target listener is, it's amazing how often PDs allow things on the air that drive listeners away from the radio station. Before you say that this would never happen on your radio station, let me share with you two examples I heard recently where radio stations clearly had forgotten about the listener. I was monitoring a very successful female targeted radio station recently and was shocked to hear a spot for a raunchy "Gentleman's Club" which played several times during the period I was listening. Every time they played the spot I'm sure female listeners were tuning away from the station. I was listening to a morning show last week and heard the talent making fun of a women who had phoned in to win a contest. I doubt she would ever call that radio station again and probably won't listen to it. The PD needs to be the "gate keeper" who protects the product, making sure that everything the radio station does appeals directly to the target listener.

 

7. Poor Communication: Some PDs are the world's worst when it comes to keeping everyone informed as to what is happening on the radio station. This often extends both up and down the line. A good PD develops systems to ensure appropriate information is passed along to those who need to know in a timely manner. Technology has made this easier and today most staff have e-mail so the PD can setup group e-mails and instantly send the same information to many people with the click of one button. More and more people are carrying cell phones so they can be contacted where ever they are, and some radio stations use "intra-nets" to allow staff to log-in from any computer to keep in touch. Poor communication is often near the top of the list when people criticize an ineffective PD.

 

8. Fails To Delegate: Even the best PDs are very busy and must be highly organized if they hope to keep on top of things. They are responsible for a number of staff in programming, promotions and air talent, they need to attend all the important meetings inside the radio station, and they are often the person people from outside the radio station want to talk with the most. There is no way one person can effectively carry out all the tasks properly. PDs who fail to gather around them talented staff and then delegate appropriate tasks end up being ineffective.

 

9. Fails To Upgrade Skills: Another mistake made by some PDs is that once they make it to "the big chair" they stop upgrading their skills via education. PDs need to network and find mentors they can learn from. They need to take night classes, read books, join appropriate on-line chat groups or attend a broadcasting conference from time to time. I've just come back from the NAB in Seattle, where I not only learnt a lot from the sessions, but I also connected up with a number of amazing radio people. Most radio stations have the budget or ability to trade out a course or seminar if they feel it will help a PD become a better people manager, or gain a better understanding of the business side of the operation. This is perhaps one reason why so few PDs move on to become General Managers.

 

10. Fails the Attitude Test: Some PDs wander around the radio station complaining and moaning about how bad things are, and how tough their job is, and that is a major mistake. The PD is the coach or the drum major and their style and attitude sets the tone for the entire radio station. The PD is often the last person a talent will encounter before they go into the control room. If they see a PD with a gloomy look on their face do you think this might have an impact on the show? The great PDs understand the importance of campaigning in the hallways and they often get "voted back into office" depending on the Arbitron or BBM results. Attitude can play an important part in that "re-election" process.

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