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Upward Mobility

Discussion pertaining to Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Muskegon, Battle Creek, Big Rapids, and Michiana
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Reese K Rickards
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Upward Mobility

Post by Reese K Rickards » Fri Jun 19, 2020 8:53 am

Eons ago when I came out of college It was generally understood that a new radio personality owed a new employer about a year and a half before looking for a new job in a larger market. That was especially true when moving expenses were paid.
When I moved to Grand Rapids from Milwaukee in the early 90's, I expected to stay at B-93 for three, but no more than 4 years. I believed at the time my career would not be a success until I worked in Chicago. But as I came to love B-93 and the lifestyle I enjoyed in West Michigan, I realized what i had would be impossible to duplicate in Chicago. I had a 16 acre hobby farm and was very well compensated. So I stayed more than 20 years.

I wonder/think my mentality, or at least my reality of upward mobility is a thing of the past.

Questions: Do jocks in GR stay put because there are no upward mobility jobs?
Do jocks in GR stay put because they aren't good enough to move to a larger market?
Do any jocks in GR make 6 figure salaries?
Which jocks in GR are good enough to move to a top 25 or top ten market?
Are any jocks in GR hanging on by a thread and lucky to be in radio at all?
Would you encourage young people to seek a career in radio? Why and why not?
Thanks for your insight.


If I Heart GR really wanted to save money, it would sublet two of it's three floors at 77 Monroe Center.

CK-722
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Re: Upward Mobility

Post by CK-722 » Fri Jun 19, 2020 11:16 am

Reese, people have asked, is that your father doing news on WJJD in the movie "Somewhere In Time", when the lead character played by the late Christopher Reeve, returns to Chicago from Mackinac Island?


Is THAT where they got the idea for the 486-SX?

Same (x, y, z), different (t)

Your bullet missed my trial balloon.

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Reese K Rickards
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Re: Upward Mobility

Post by Reese K Rickards » Fri Jun 19, 2020 2:05 pm

In an un-credited role, that is my Dad. He first is heard on a car radio as Reeve is driving north on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. As I recall, Dad reads a forecast then jingles out into a jazz format. But the jingle is country and very twangy. Dad is heard again when Reeves awakens in the Grand Hotel near the end of the film.


If I Heart GR really wanted to save money, it would sublet two of it's three floors at 77 Monroe Center.

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TC Talks
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Re: Upward Mobility

Post by TC Talks » Fri Jun 19, 2020 2:08 pm

Traverse City has a more than a few personalities in TV and Radio who could be in much larger areas. Carrie Carlson was at WCSX in Detroit during the launch of the format and chose here because it's an awesome place.


“The more you can increase fear of drugs, crime, welfare mothers, immigrants and aliens, the more you control all of the people.”
― Noam Chomsky

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CK-722
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Re: Upward Mobility

Post by CK-722 » Fri Jun 19, 2020 3:02 pm

Reese K Rickards wrote:
Fri Jun 19, 2020 2:05 pm
In an un-credited role, that is my Dad. He first is heard on a car radio as Reeve is driving north on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. As I recall, Dad reads a forecast then jingles out into a jazz format. But the jingle is country and very twangy. Dad is heard again when Reeves awakens in the Grand Hotel near the end of the film.
I had relatives in Park Ridge, about 3 miles SE of the towers. It really boomed in there. I liked that sounder with the horns (toot toot toot toot...toot). My Father and My Uncle used to joke about it being WJJD Mooseheart. I visited the WJJD TL on Ballard Rd. a few times, the last time they were putting up the two new towers for 5 kW Night. It was all mud from construction. I think they also replaced the radials for the old towers then.

You should edit the IMDB article and put your father's name in there. There's a whole bunch of uncredited actors. I don't understand why they wouldn't have listed it. It should be in there.


`


Is THAT where they got the idea for the 486-SX?

Same (x, y, z), different (t)

Your bullet missed my trial balloon.

RTN Price. Not guaranteed. As of 12:30, 157.71 Down 0.22.

Artificial Intelligence is a Child that needs a Parent to guide it through.

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MWmetalhead
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Re: Upward Mobility

Post by MWmetalhead » Fri Jun 19, 2020 9:03 pm

Questions: Do jocks in GR stay put because there are no upward mobility jobs?
I think some stay put because they are paid well, enjoy their existing jobs, and have families they don't wish to uproot (Steve Kelly on WOOD Radio is probably such an example).

Other than a couple folks on LAV, "L.T." (Larry Taylor), Dave Taft, maybe some folks on non-commercial stations, and people like Scott Winters who recently returned to the air, there really aren't too many "lifers" left.
Do jocks in GR stay put because they aren't good enough to move to a larger market?
Those that "stay put" fall into one of three camps, mostly:
- They are long established and are paid well
- They are relatively young and may or may not have move upward at some later date
- They do radio as a "side gig," and make the bulk of their living from another occupation.

In other words, each case is different.
Do any jocks in GR make 6 figure salaries?
Without question, Free Beer and Hot Wings do. I'm sure it's a safe bet that Tony Gates, Michelle McCormick, Matt on B93 and Steve Kelly make six figures as well.

Connie on WLHT deserves to be well compensated, but I cannot say with complete confidence that she is. I would hope that she is being paid at least $75k a year in base salary (she deserves six figures, though). Ditto Rachael Gray at 105.3 Hot FM. Of all the local personalities, that's the one that surprises me the most (in terms of not moving on to a much larger market by now).
Which jocks in GR are good enough to move to a top 25 or top ten market?
Michelle McCormick. Rachael Gray. The morning team on Star 105.7 (management should've come up with a better name for that show; the current name does not roll off the tongue easily at all). Some of the folks at WCSG. The afternoon drive jock at WLHT. There may be others, but those are the folks who come to mind. So many airshifts are voicetracked these days from out of market.
Would you encourage young people to seek a career in radio? Why and why not?
Thanks for your insight.
Radio companies remain in financial turmoil and ad dollars are migrating away from radio to other forms of media (mostly digital) in droves.

Of course, skills learned in radio sales can be parlayed into other sales careers (look at how many personalities became car salesmen, realtors, or account executives for other non-radio businesses), and on-air radio experience can open doors to TV, community relations jobs, etc.

Do not plan on being in radio either in the programming or sales side for the long haul; that would be my advice. Want to use it as a springboard for something more sustainable? Fine.

Eventually, we're going to see the K-Love model used for commercial secular music formats. That's my prediction. Heck, such a concept has been done before. Remember Z-Rock?



Trophyhead
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Re: Upward Mobility

Post by Trophyhead » Mon Jun 29, 2020 11:49 am

Sorry, posted twice, kept the one where her name is spelled correctly, thanks for playing.
Last edited by Trophyhead on Mon Jun 29, 2020 11:54 am, edited 2 times in total.



Trophyhead
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Re: Upward Mobility

Post by Trophyhead » Mon Jun 29, 2020 11:50 am

As to the question, “Remember Z-Rock?” Yes, I do!

Was it not used in an interlude by the Waters family when 105.3 WCXT was still beaming out of Oceana County, about the Spring of ‘87? I enjoyed the team they had on air prior to that, and believe that crowd was gassed to accommodate the satellite feed, full on.

Having the opportunity to cite the jock name of “Boobie Bondage” is a worthwhile endeavor, indeed.



zzand
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Location: right here

Re: Upward Mobility

Post by zzand » Mon Jun 29, 2020 12:33 pm

Shameless Susan Slade is the only other jock name I remember from Z-Rock



option1
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Re: Upward Mobility

Post by option1 » Tue Jun 30, 2020 12:43 pm

MW answered the question 100% correctly. The attitudes of most talent has become based more on job security rather than upward mobility. Sure, you might not make 250k working at a union shop in Chicago, but the trade off of making 100k in GR with stability and less pressure is the way the game is played now in many cases. For most, getting to a top 10 is not a goal. I’ll add that GR’s highest paid talent is more than likely deep into the six figure range, especially with bonuses and endorsements. They have agents who negotiate. They have contracts. And most if not all established job security well before the the recent bloodbath the industry suffered.

MW mentioned several names that have no doubt at some point been offered opportunities in the majors but more than likely decided the big city life wouldn’t work for them. GR is a great place to do radio, it sits between two major markets, and its a great place to live. Taking those things into account with the addition of the instability of today’s radio environment, staying put is the way to go for many.

And MW, I can assure you Connie from LHT is making more than 75k. She wouldn’t get out of bed for that amount.



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Reese K Rickards
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Re: Upward Mobility

Post by Reese K Rickards » Tue Jun 30, 2020 6:11 pm

I think Option 1 may be mistaken about salaries etc. I topped out just a smidge over 100 K ten or 12 years ago. You live within your income and I prayed for remotes. Around 2008 I Heart didn't offer anyone (that I know of) any kind of a raise. That includes office staff. Contracts went away and the last time I made bonus (8k #1 25-54) Skip Essick was a real pr*ck about coughing up the cash.

And make no mistake about it, Neal and I were still #1 in the target demo till the bitter end.

Speaking of remotes, Until I Heart took over, it was 300 bucks on the barrel head before we started a 3 hour remote. Once I Heart grew tentacles, we had to pay taxes, and we had to pay I Heart a fee for "handling". No more cash in advance either. You often went 3 or 4 weeks before the money showed up in regular payroll.

If you swung a trade deal with the client, I Heart tried to make us pay tax on fair market value of the trade.

Endorsements were valuable too.. But I Heart took it's skim on that too.

Oh yeah, my Dad worked in a union shop in Chicago (WAIT) (WJJD) for more than 30 years. HE NEVER CAME CLOSE TO $250. Hell our house only cost $27.5 In the mid 60's. But at 90 he is still collecting his AFTRA pension, and health care.

Job Security? (cough cough) Neal and I had 24 years in, and Conrad something like 28. I DO NOT KNOW THIS, but I will go to my grave believing I was let go to be replaced with talent that cost much less. (No knock on her.)

Again, I don't know, but WLHT is pulling a 3.4 right now. I don't think the morning show is pulling any kind of numbers to justify that (75K) much money, unless remotes and endorsements are flowing like manna from Heaven, Just my humble opinion.


If I Heart GR really wanted to save money, it would sublet two of it's three floors at 77 Monroe Center.

TeleCine
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Re: Upward Mobility

Post by TeleCine » Wed Jul 01, 2020 8:42 am

You guys need to totally reset your thinking. The highest paid TV-radio personality in recent years in this market was barely making $100K although there were some nice perks thrown in.



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MisterGoodrich2U
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Location: West Michigan

Re: Upward Mobility

Post by MisterGoodrich2U » Thu Jul 02, 2020 3:50 pm

I haven't been in radio since '98, so take this with a grain of salt. But Reese certainly knows what he's talking about, confirming what I thought: Option1's salary guess is a bad guess. I doubt anyone in radio in Michigan (that includes maybe a couple of exceptions in Detroit) make six figures these days. The revenue even before the pandemic was a fraction of what it was 10, 20, 30 years ago.



Mega Hertz
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Re: Upward Mobility

Post by Mega Hertz » Sat Jul 04, 2020 5:48 pm

TC Talks wrote:
Fri Jun 19, 2020 2:08 pm
Traverse City has a more than a few personalities in TV and Radio who could be in much larger areas. Carrie Carlson was at WCSX in Detroit during the launch of the format and chose here because it's an awesome place.
Good Lord. There's a name I haven't heard in forever and a voice I miss.


"Internet is no more like radio than intravenous feeding is like fine dining."
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