[SBE] activating inactives

[A9xw at cs.com]

I agree on the universality of the issue. With stations having people do more 
for less, we are all stressed out and just don't want to extend our day, just 
get home and deal with home issues. Several people have mentioned to me they 
don't see any future in broadcasting, so why make any effort since we are 
retiring or being laid off (since 1987 when Ge took over NBC the ranks have been 
thinned). The MegaCorps no longer see a business future for OTA TV and are 
devoting resources to internet, cell phones, cable, satellite and have been 
milking the TV stations as cash cows to fund other media for well over a decade. 
ABC, NBC, CBS have fairly much folded their tents on the network TV model with 
NBC no going all news in NYC and obliterating channel 4.  Millions spent on NBC 
production facilities sit idle or are being demolished. Multi-casting, 
central-casting is ripping our local TOC's that are hardly more than remote switches 
from NYC. Local purchasing agents used to save the stations hundreds of 
thousands annually, were scrapped for central purchasing to exchange the people cost 
to slightly higher product costs but a net gain in cost reduction.  Most of 
radio is nothing more than a sat receiver pass through to a remote TX with a 
local PC playing .WAV files for local ads and computerized time/temp. The spots 
are loaded from a central production center.  Local nmews content is nil with 
packaged news from network a couple local blood leads stories a local wx and 
sports guy reading rip and read copy and maybe a couple local sportws stories 
(Yeah big markets have more, small markets have none). Add in hardly anyone is 
entering engineering today at the station level.  I remember inthe 60's 
Broadcastin Magazine had pages of technical jobs and over 100 page issues. Today its 
fish wrap thin and if it has a half page with 3-4 jobs in sales or production 
its a big week in classified.  A lot of us are hanging on becuase we need the 
medical benefits, or with the recent huge increases in cost of living, can't 
afford to give up and collect SS and what ever retirement we put away for 
ourselves. 

When I do presentations at schools, all the kids want to be DJ's or shooters. 
Good luck. No one told them there are about 200 DJ jobs inthe entire country, 
and shooters are a dime a dozen with every person with a DVcam thinking they 
are the next hollywood mogul with their own reality TV show. 

My little station grew 27% last year in revenue and pulls consistant Nielsens 
that beat about a third of the market and frequently beats teh other two PBS 
stations and CBS. OK< CBS is an easy knock off, they are so messed up. Its 
amazing how long CBS has hung on to loser Cate Couric, now the lowest viewed 
network news of all time. If it weren't for the CSI and NCIS programs and a few 
others there is virtually nothing of quality to watch on network TV. Swingtown, 
soft porn and so dull viewers would do better with HBO. The Tiffany network 
has sunk to Wal-Mart greeter. 

Virtually all technology is developed offf shore, made off shore and the few 
American facilities are hardly more than boards stuffed into frames by robots. 
GE's slogan used to be "Progress is our most important product." This week GE 
stock is about as low as it can go. Disney wonders if anyone will have gas 
money to get to D World D Land. NBC is self destructing in programming and news 
and MSNBC shrinks to a tie with "sign off" and "today's prayer."  FOX is 
riding high on a lean quick response management team. When NBC bought Telemundo the 
spanish netowrk was run by a former CBS president who openly stated "the 
party is over in network TV, its time to fold the tents." That was in 2000. 
Spanish radio & TV are now #1 in the two top markets. 

There seems to be no interest in innovation, quality or engineering in 
broadcasting on the big scale, only cut it to the bone for the few remaining years 
its a cash cow.  In Europe non broadcast ads are now bigger than broadcast ads 
in revenue and sales. 

Even Hollywood has gone to mostly CGI, annimation for its main revenue. The 
nest Star Wars has none of the original episode 3,4,5 talent, just a bunch of 
computer programmers doing wire frames, backgrounds, surface textures.  In a 
few years it'll be back to Rocky and Bullwinke/South Park level of annimation. 

So trying to get a fire buring to bring out inactives is a monumental task.  
Being a big market we are fortunate to have a lot of good programs in radio 
and TV to keep the candle lit. But in markets with 1 engineer or less per TV 
station and 1 engineer for 12 or more radios.... who has time?  There is no 
secret why chapter 73 is the most active, no one has to leave home. 

Henry Ruhwiedel   </HTML>