Related Resources • DJ Slang • Opie and Anthony Fired! • Radio Personality Profiles

From Other Guides • Job Searching Site • Ins and Outs of Unemployment

Elsewhere on the Web • The Corey and Jay Show • Radio Jobs

I get email from people all the time looking for tips on how to break into Radio. I always set them in the right direction but usually warn them of a few constants: Radio is competitive, you move a lot and you get fired a lot.

Your Radio Guide has been a professional Radio personality for some years. Being on-the-air is generally a fun job. It's an occupation that provides you with a paycheck, some freebies from time-to-time, and a little fame. Not bad for a day's work - if you want to call it that.

The downside is, people get fired for all sorts of reasons. Usually it's because of ratings, which is understandable. Low ratings means fewer listeners and that means a station has a product that is worth less. Hence, ad rates are lower and revenue falls.

Then there are those people who get fired because they're successful and have good ratings.

Huh?

Yep.

When my partner and I got off the air this past Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, we were escorted into the General Manager's office and told we had been relieved of our duties.

How can this be? Afterall, in our latest ratings we were #1 in Men, 18-34 and #2 in Persons, (men and women) 18-34. For a Modern Rock station, that's exactly the target demographic it strives for. Ratings "Nirvana", so to speak (excuse the pun).

Well, it all came down to money. My former station was sold about three weeks ago. The new company thought we were paid too much and made the decision they would not renew our contract when it expired.

To my partner and I, it's ironic and comical: like everyone in Radio, we've been fired at least once in the past for failing but being sent packing for succeeding? It's flat-out bewildering. Instead of destroying a good product, most Radio stations in this position would raise ad rates. That is the normal cycle of things. That's what Radio stations LIVE FOR! It doesn't take a genius to figure out the higher the ratings, the more money an advertiser can be charged for commercials because the cost-per-thousand makes it worthwhile to the buyer.

Of course, I'm not a businessman. I'm just a DJ. What do I know.

So, now we're "on the beach" as DJs say, looking for a new job. Hopefully, it won't take too long. Sure, the economy still isn't what it should be but I'll bet there are still a few Radio companies out there who believe you get what you pay for.

- Corey Deitz

Previous Articles