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Don't Use PPM "As Punishment"
IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE ANY TIME WHEN VALERIE GELLER would have condoned boring radio-it's one of the things she specifically crusades against. But Geller, who will receive the Conclave's 2010 Rockwell Award at Noon on Friday (16), has seen the need to "never be boring" take on new urgency in the PPM ratings measurement era. "Every minute that you're on the air, the question has to be - in neon letters - why should I listen to this?" 
The last year has seen PPM, combined with the economy and radio's ongoing consolidation, all further complicate the relationship between stations and air talent. Here are some of the veteran programmer, consultant, author and talent coach's thoughts on the current landscape.
In many ways, it seems like a tougher time for talk hosts and other air talent. How are they responding to PPM? Talent is much more willing to look in a mirror and see how they were perceived by others, because they really see the old way isn't working. We tell talent that everything they've done so far has been great - it's gotten them from here to here. But we're in a technological shift, [with an unprecedented amount of competition] and you have to cut through. Authenticity will break through, sincerity will break through, but you have to do the work. And they're more willing to do it now. People want to win and they really want this to work.
Every veteran talent seems to be under greater scrutiny. And sometimes it seems like PPM is being used as a wedge in an already adversarial relationship. Or to justify what's going to be done for economic reasons anyway. It scares me that people are willing to pull the rug out after three months of a program and not give the three years it needs. It takes a thousand days and as many repetitions for the brain to rewire. That's why it's always taken three years to build a radio station. Stations are not going to give talent a runway to develop . . . There's an awful lot of people that wouldn't be on the air today if they had to depend on the results from the first 3-6 months.
I also think that PPM should not be used as punishment. If you want to get rid of somebody, if you don't believe in a show or they're not doing a good show, and PPM is also part of the story that's one thing. But if you know it's a good show, you need to give it time to grow. I don't think a bad PPM should be used as bullets in the gun.
Personalities on music formats are under even more pressure to tighten up than talk hosts. For a while, we thought it was having a morning show in every daypart that was going to save radio in the Pandora age. What will save us is a really good show in every daypart . . . For a long time, people came to talk radio [to have something] to talk about with their friends and family. Now they're looking at that from their sources of entertainment as well. [As far as the value of personality on a music utility station], every day I hear people say 'we can't stand the music, but we love that guy.' I hear that in focus groups all the time.
Are GMs still willing to make the investment in talent development? I've been working more than I ever have because PDs are so stretched. I've also been hired by personalities out-of-pocket because they want to get better and grow and they want to secure their jobs. And they realize they need a coach and need to be airchecked. And that's the big difference between this year and other years. I've never had it happen on this level. And that's very indicative to me that people want to grow.