By Bob Burnham
The title sounds like a daytime soap opera, but it’s not.
Everyone goes through “phases.”
Some are good, some are difficult or bad in other ways, while others are just “different.”
Your parents give you a place to live and feed you as a kid, then you become an adult and all hell breaks loose!
We get married (or not), have kids and pets (or not), lose jobs, change jobs and get new jobs. In fact, all of the above are “subject to change” at anytime, occasionally when we would rather NOT change.
Sometimes we get in a rut that we’re really not very happy with. We are forced to take multiple jobs to pay bills. The jobs may not be exactly enjoyable either. I have been there; I know what the drudgery is like.
Fast food? Been there. Production line with horrible working conditions? Been there. Self-employed? Been there a lot and still am to a degree.
The main goal is to wrench your life into a position where your job really doesn’t seem like work – that you’re actually doing something to make money that you actually enjoy doing. Often it takes extra effort on your part to get yourself into that position, and sometimes the “dream” job turns out NOT to be permanent. Been there and did that as well!
Then you have to re-invent yourself AGAIN, and go out and sell yourself to someone else. This is life.
Jobs that start when you’re a teenager that you never change until you retire for the most part, don’t exist anymore, but that’s part of what keeps life interesting.  I started out as an AM disc jockey. Well guess what!?…such an occupation really doesn’t exist anymore! In fact today, AM radio (as we used to know it) itself barely exists. To fill in the gaps, I took many odd jobs as I re-invented myself including self-employment. This I parlayed back into full time work in the radio business.
My line of thinking was: What can I do or learn that would be MOST valuable to a broadcast corporation that I already know how to do or can learn? In the early 1980s, I was full time air talent and a Production Director. By the END of the decade, I was a Chief Engineer.
Realize you’ll have to learn a LOT as you go through a transition like this, and if you don’t have certain inherent skills, it will take longer, or you may need to re-think your goals. Along the way, you will get frustrated, disgusted and feel impatient, but hang in there. A positive attitude will get you through.
With any luck, you will (hopefully) encounter some amazing people who will give you a nudge or an otherwise encouraging word or from whom you will learn things. Never forget those people. They might also be a future lifeline, aside from the fact that one can never have too many friends, especially those with common professional interests. It doesn’t happen overnight, but if you are relentless in your pursuit of whatever your goals are, you will survive and find yourself into a rather enjoyable PHASE. This evolution of life repeats itself over and over. Enjoy the ride. It never ends until you’re dead! -Bob Burnham January 22, 2011 A SPOT FROM MY EARLY DAYS IN RADIO FOR “ANN ARBOR PET SUPPLY”
(written/produced by me and I was one of the voices). http://dl.dropbox.com/u/19032620/WAAM_ANN_ARBOR_PET%20%282%29.mp3
REMOTE BROADCASTS
An Introduction & Some Memories
By Bob Burnham
The concept of remote broadcasts has become almost obsolete. The fact is any cell phone can “put you on the air” – maybe of not “broadcast quality” but certainly of “reasonable” quality for a short duration.
The type of Remote I’m referring to, however (which are also still done), are more of an “event” where all the talent involved with the show is on-site and appropriate equipment is set up to deliver broadcast quality from that location.
There’s lots of different ways to do it, depending on the nature of the show. Talk shows, for example, with listener call-ins are more complex. There are separate producers/call screeners back at the studio who have to manage that portion of the program and constantly communicate with the on-site talent and on-site producer.
Typically laptops with some sort of digital connection back to the studio call-screener’s screen AND the phone system are common tools to help talent coordinate what’s “coming up next.”
A “sponsored” remote (meaning an advertiser paid the station extra money in order to bring you out to his site or the event) usually has the biggest budget to do whatever you need to do, as well as pay for any extra support people.
A Promotions person sets up the station banners, hands out bumper stickers or whatever the freebie item of the day is, and coordinates any special activities during the show.
At a smaller station (or those with small budgets– which today is MOST stations), that person may also double as the on-site “engineer” who sets up the equipment.
Getting the audio back to the studio (and back again) can be accomplished using a combination of methods.
The method of “off-air” communication can be handled using any number of schemes:
Those methods include cell phones, a talk-back system (built into the broadcast equipment), a “chat” window on the laptop computers (or in the “old days” a 2-way business band radio-transmitter combination similar to what is still used for dispatching in taxis and police and fire departments).
A copy of the station log is normally required at the remote site. Alternately, the same log can be shown on the on-site laptop screen, though it is common practice to manage the “official” copy by the Producer at the studio site.
Normally, all programming elements are played from the studio site (except for what originates from open mics) although “in a pinch” (assuming support equipment is available), a special segment can be played back from the remote site.
MEMORABLE REMOTES
I had a routine to set up a remote each and every Friday morning for “Fat Bob” Taylor at various Ann Arbor Kroger stores. These were “paid” remotes obviously, and I was the “combination” person on staff – (both Engineer and Air-Talent) responsible for making sure everything worked and was set-up correctly.
That went on for many months in 1979. Nothing bad ever happened and Taylor and I became good friends. (“Programming,” however, claimed all of me full time as their Production guy. After that, the only remotes I was involved in at that particular station were as talent.)
The most incredible memories I have doing remotes were at Detroit’s North American International Auto Show. Those were exhausting adventures that stretched usually over a 10-day period. It was me who planned and managed those events on-site for most of the 1990s.
I was usually the one who drove the station vehicle loaded with equipment, furniture and supplies, and the one who waited for hours on loading docks (freezing) while (sometimes rude and bitchy) unionized workers unloaded us and took our gear to our display site. The process was repeated in reverse after the show (often on a late Sunday night – that was fun Not.).
I usually had someone from the station with me, but sometimes I was alone. We eventually built a very high-tech remote customized furniture rig. It was on wheels and had everything pre-wired and equipped with a small console. I don’t know what happened to that rig, but it was terrific for what we designed it for.
There were a lot of details that went into these events like riser carpeting, table drops, banners, signs, furniture, color coordination etc. We also even had a small baby-grand piano at our remote site. The goal was to compete directly with other stations and out-class the best of them!
I was also the one whom every night fashioned heavy duty towing chain and padlocks through our furniture and equipment. Nothing was ever stolen. Details. You’ve GOT TO BE detail-oriented to pull off a successful Remote!
We had furniture stores sponsoring as well as a music store who provided the piano.
I was usually part of selecting the furniture, and always part of the physical moving it to our studios, then out to Cobo Center. Yep. We went through that routine EVERY year starting in late December!
One of our sales dudes was also the Italian program host, and he brought live musicians to our stage during his broadcasts!
But frankly, there were some years I ABSOLUTELY DID NOT look forward the Auto show remote! I dreaded it, in fact. As mentioned it was (usually) exhausting, our tempers got tried, and there were SO many details thrust upon basically only two or three of us.
Some of the years, I was part of the “black tie event,” and I remember the last-minute fittings at President Tuxedo! We had people on-air like Bob Lutz on our stage.
In later years, however, our management people and I decided to turn it into an unofficial staff “party event” in Detroit.
For the one year we were part of "RADIO AAHS" network (similar to todays' Radio Disney) I COULD NOT BELIEVE the huge crowds we had attracted. Well... it was kind of a cool concept at least for a LITTLE while.
Even though it was hard work, those became years some of us will never forget. It was entirely the people at that station who ended up making those Remotes among my career highlights. Thank you to all.
To name just a few: Jack Bailey, Scott Greenberg, David Wallace Johnson, Jerome Lott, Susan McGraw, Dino Valle, and behind the scenes, Kathy Carrington, Marylou Janiga and Carrie Abdo among others…oh yes, I can’t forget our beloved station “handyman,” Steve Fapka: Steve helped keep me sane during those trying moments on Cobo Center’s loading dock!
We all kept each other from going crazy and watched each others back.
- Bob Burnham
November 28, 2010
Reunions and Recollections
A Means to an End
by Bob Burnham
Fall of 2010 will go down in my personal history book as the time I hung with lots and lots of people who’ve known me or at least OF me for at least 30 years.
It seems 30+ years ago was a milestone in many of our lives. We got started with common interests related to radio, and those interests never went away.
I have already written about the Friends of Old-time Radio conventions.
One of the first stations that broadcast “old-time” programming that I had an association with (I was overnight Air Talent), was WSHJ, Southfield, Michigan’s “public” station with a format that competed directly with commercial stations in the Detroit area.
A recent WSHJ Reunion brought to mind a few things: We were all older, much wiser, but we still hadn’t forgotten those years nor lost our passion for what brought us together in the first place.
The same is absolutely true of the “old-time” radio conventions, of which I’ve been to many. I know how to “do radio” the way I do wearing either “hat” only because I’ve constantly compared notes with those involved.
You can’t survive doing what we do without having that network of people. Along the way, I’ve been lucky enough to be associated with some of the absolute best in the business – both technically as well as programming. It helped, because I wanted to be the best I could be.
None of us “hard core” people do what we do to make a lot of money. In fact, it’s quite the opposite in that all of us have actually made personal sacrifices of time and money in pursuit of those interests. Some of us were also actually clever enough to have found related niches with which we can earn a living sharing our knowledge, skills or acquired resources.
WHO THE HECK AM I?
I am essentially a product developer and technical service provider to the broadcast industry as well as people interested in its history and its programming.
I am also an audio perfectionist! I can make a radio station with a minimal budget sound better to the general public, but I can also take recordings made with primitive technology before I was born – sound like they were broadcast yesterday.
Yet I also know programming and what it takes to put it together! I have worked deep in the “trenches” of various radio stations in many capacities. The past is in the past, but having that background has given me much insight as to where its going.
But remember, I didn’t develop this “stuff” in my mind overnight.
This “radio thing” and I go back 30 years. I've "dated" RADIO longer than anyone else. Just ask any of the people who were there with me near the beginning.
It’s true, I can (and have) physically built broadcast facilities from the ground up – but I can also assemble a complete “day of broadcast” on a modern broadcast automation system.
Next, I’ll turn around and assemble a collection of “old-time” programs then layout a brochure using Adobe In-Design that markets it (I’m not really “good” at In-Design, but know enough to be fairly dangerous marketing my own stuff).
All of this to me, is merely a means to an end. I originally built radio stations because I just wanted to BE ON THE RADIO.
Today and back then, basically, I just wanted “do” radio (not merely "date" it!), and perhaps celebrate the way it USED TO BE before my existence was even thought of.
Next month marks the 35th Annual Friends of Old-time Radio Convention. Through some quirky twist of fate, unless I get run over by a bus, I’ll be there.
Just look for the kid from Detroit with a newly-assembled-digitally-restored package of “old-time” shows – that originated from Detroit.
-Bob Burnham
September 26, 2010
OLD TIME RADIO CONVENTIONS
From a Dealer’s Perspective
by Bob Burnham
FROM THE OLD RADIO TIMES, the Official Publication of the Old-Time Radio Researchers (www.otrr.org)
Conventions for the old-time radio fan have a long heritage. I have been lucky enough to experience many of them first hand.
I have long been a writer in the OTR “hobby” – something I began doing in another decade – along with being a broadcast engineer. The two interests or professions for me have always been linked together, along with the conventions.
My introduction to OTR conventions began as one of the editors of Collector’s Corner in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Collector’s Corner was one of the leading OTR hobbyist magazines of its time. It was a joint project of (then) convention Co-Chairman, Joe Webb, Bob Burchett and myself.
After producing the magazine a couple years, we finally all met in person! That happened in Bridgeport, CT (before the Friends of OTR convention was moved to Newark).
By 1983, I had established a dealer presence at the convention.
During that decade, I never missed a convention. I ran workshops and helped to record the events while also transporting thousands of cassettes, books and videos and equipment back and forth from Detroit to the east coast.
Bob Burchett would later be the guiding force behind the Cincinnati conventions, although he credits his local radio club for providing the incentive to start it in the first place.
Cincinnati was a half days’ drive from Detroit (compared to Newark’s 12-hour trip) and I was happy to make the trip, especially if there was some longevity and success to the event. Twenty-four years later, I think that question has long been answered.
Nonetheless, we all STARTED pretty much in Newark. My greatest successes as a dealer were in Newark back when people were listening mostly to cassettes and the larger collections were on reel-to-reel tapes. The highlights of those events have always been seeing people who have supported my efforts throughout the year.
I remember the phone conversation Joe Webb and I had when Collector’s Corner was eventually sold to Ron and Linda Downey of “World of Yesterday” publishing fame. Their new old-time radio publication, “The Golden Years of Radio & TV.”
Dr. Webb and I thought we would continue to write for the new publication, but it didn’t work out that way: “Golden Years” did not survive for very long, however, Bob Burchett started “Old Time Radio Digest,” and both Joe and I contributed a word or two, and I kept showing up at the Cincinnati and Newark conventions as a dealer!
There are always significant costs associated with being a dealer at a convention and we always hope that at least some of the costs associated with being a dealer are offset by on-site sales. This was never a problem in the earlier years. In fact, at times we would do so well, we flew out to Los Angeles the following month for the SPERDVAC convention.
Some years, however, attendance was down. We never knew whether or not we were attending “the last” convention. Most of the conventions for me by then had became public relations events, but I also had a successful broadcast engineering contract business which covered old-time radio if necessary.
I felt obliged to continue the dealer presence as well, although many dealers who were there in the early days had disappeared: People like Gary Dudash of “AM Treasures”, Andy Blatt of “Vintage Broadcasts,” Rudy Schwartz of “Burlington Audio”, and Don Aston “Aston’s Adventures / Avpro” no longer attend these conventions.
The economy in general, put a strain on my business and my ability to attend these events at all. The most difficult part for a dealer who is not within short driving distance of a convention is the cost of transportation. Having the right selection and quantity of products is the only way to have any success, however, the cost of transporting by U.P.S. ground (for example) 2,000 CD’s and other products was my single largest cost. So how could I afford to offer those CDs at the 2010 Cincinnati convention for $1 each? Simply because I didn’t have that cost.
At the last couple conventions, I was pleased to have one of the largest selections of titles on regular CDs (you don’t need a computer to play them), however, there is cost associated with that selection.
When the “professional” side of a business -- shall we say -- isn’t doing as well – it takes creativity in order to even make it to a convention in any form. Nonetheless, I associate
these events with some of my best friends, and the programs themselves (and what they meant to my life). If there’s anyway I can put a trip together, I do it.
Old-time radio at one point changed my life for the better. I will always do what I can to improve, promote and preserve the shows and what they have meant to so many.
The reason I attend these conventions is NOT to Make Money As a Dealer. Those days are long gone. The reason I’ll show up is because there are 20 years of Suspense, and a lot of years of Jack Benny, Gunsmoke, any many other detectives, comedies and mysteries literally flowing in my veins. Apparently, there are a bunch of people out there who are feeling the same way who represent my “other” excuse for attending these conventions.
A “niche” hobby? Yup.
Many eccentric people involved? Absolutely.
Make a lotta money with a mail-order OTR business? Not any more (that was never the prime motivation in the first place).
But to NOT support efforts of events led by people like Bob Burchett and Jay Hickerson? It ain’t happenin’ in this lifetime with OTR flowing in the veins.
I can’t guarantee I’ll never miss a convention, nor that my selection will be as large every year, but if I can, I’ll be there.
- Bob Burnham
BOB’S SPECS HOWARD UPDATE
August 14, 2010
Recent Specs Howard grad, John Dam, is our Operations Department intern. With the rapid growth in the complexity of our studios, the day-to-day maintenance and problem-solving had also multiplied.
For the Radio department alone, with 21 practice studios, 4 on-campus radio stations and a dual-workstation audio Production studio (and basically only one of “me”), it can be challenging to stay on top of things.
Radio now has heavier dependence than ever on the audio computer network. With Specs’ phasing out of older technology like MiniDisk and CD as well as deeper integration of Enco Systems’ technology (including cutting-edge products like “Presenter”), the chances of something going wrong are multiplied.
Today, all major stations in top 10 markets are relying on voice tracking, and advanced automation technology seven days a week. Specs Howard is of course, part of that evolution and John is gaining (and sharing) some advanced knowledge that we don’t normally have time to teach students in the regular program (and the students may not have the interest in this aspect of the industry in the first place).
What I do requires a little traditional broadcast engineering along with just a little IT computer knowledge, as well as knowing what it takes to put together a radio show.
I do that plus solve problems and in the process, coach everyone on how to use this technology (some of whom may have started their careers playing records and editing with razor blades and reel to reel tape!).
There are also students who come to us who may have never set foot in a studio anywhere. Our job is to turn these people into radio superstars. Plus, I plan for the future on top of all this!
Today, “RADIO” (at its very core) is a bunch of hard drives spinning at up to 10,000 revolutions per minute controlled by a microprocessor or two that you could hold into your hand. On screen (for us humans) are friendly icons and shapes that resemble older technology. These virtual “devices” do things required for radio like play and record on demand, control (and be controlled by) other equipment and manage and organize large collections of audio.
The concepts, however, are the same as they have always been! A student who works on and excels at Performance and Professionalism relentlessly (AND develops a comfort level with Technology) has the best chance of succeeding at a very high level in whatever they do.
-Bob Burnham
A few too many kamikazes!
A BEHIND THE SCENES ENCORE BLOG
The one and ONLY time I was drunk on the air
(DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I DID!)
By Bob Burnham
As some of you know, part of my radio career was spent on the air.
A certain station that still exists in Ann Arbor was my hang-out in the late 1970s and 1980s. I was among the last of the ‘music’ jocks before the station evolved into an all-talk format.
For most of my time there, I worked the 6-10 nighttime shift Monday through Friday, and was the Production Director during the day. It was a great job with average pay but money has never been my real motivation in this business anyway.
The jock who followed me, who went by the name of Dave Dugan, was my partner in crime, although HE was the one who always got in trouble, and ultimately, he lost his job over his “extra-curricular” activities. But he was an incredibly talented guy, and we worked on a lot of Production projects together, including one that was a recurring comedy skit relentlessly poking harmless fun at the afternoon drive guy
(Fred Heller, where ever you are, you were a great talent as well, no matter how many times you strangled yourself on headphone cords in our skits).
Anyway, Dave was friends with all the waitresses at the local Ann Arbor eatery and pub called The Red Bull. If it’s still there, I hope it is still as great a place it was over 25 years ago!
Depending on my workload at the station, I would often grab a quick McDonalds meal, but if I had more time, Dave might drag me to the Red Bull. Actually, he never dragged me. I always went willingly, and we didn’t go THAT many times.
Anybody who knows me from my band playing and more recent broadcast activities knows that I rarely drink adult beverages. In fact, I will specifically order a “pitcher of water” at some gigs where I’m playing (unless as I say, it’s going really GOOD, or really BAD, I might nurse a rum & Coke or two).
I was the same back then, too. But Dave must have caught me in a rare moment. As we ate our lunch, he encouraged me to try a kamikaze, which has a very high alcohol content, but tastes a lot like lemonade or limeade. In other words, they go down like water.
I don’t remember what the topic of conversation was, but it must have been awfully interesting, and we ordered more kamikazes…and more…. and more…. and more. At least I did. The interesting thing is that it did go down like lemonade, and it was incredibly tasty. The scary part is they seemed like they were doing nothing to my brain cells.
Dave had driven and it was only a few miles back to the station, and I don’t think he had any more than 1-2 of these tasty drinks.
I polished off 4-5 of those things. I felt completely in control, until I stood up. Let me assure you, I was GONE from that point on!
So we made it back to the car and the station. Vaguely I realized I had to be on the air in less than a half hour.
I had to remind myself DON’T SWEAR, play lots of music and public service announcements. The commercial load was also particularly heavy my first hour, then it lightened up after that. That was the norm and I was used to it. It was a very busy log, but I actually had enough experience to pull it off.
I DON’T recommend anyone attempting this because it may be the last show you ever do in your career. But I was always willing to live on the edge back then.
I stayed late after the show (as I often did) to finish some production that needed to be on air the next morning. By the time I headed home, the effects of the alcohol were largely gone, but the next day, I remembered almost NOTHING of what went on during that show. Did I put any callers on the air? Don’t know. I apparently did not miss a single spot including the live ones, met all the network breaks, etc.
I was talking to our News Director at the station the next day. He had heard that Dave and I “had a few” the previous afternoon and he had heard my show.
It is likely that he tuned in specifically to hear the fun!
Anyway, “Mr. News Director” didn’t notice much difference
(apparently I was NOT slurring words too noticeably).
We did have a contest called “Easy Street,” which was basically a 30 second live read a few times an hour. His only comment was that I “did a FIVE MINUTE ‘Easy Street’ spiel!”
Of course, I remember NOTHING of that! The whole airshift was a blur.
I just know when you work in radio for a while at a busy station, you think on your feet. Show prep is important, but knowing how to be a “host” and keep the show moving, completely off the top of your head – is something I did know how to do, because otherwise you DIDN’T EVEN GET HIRED back then.
I had listened to (and been hired by) the best in the business. If the equipment malfunctioned, we knew how to IMMEDIATELY jump in and often the listener never even knew.
In my drunken stupor (don’t ask me how), I STILL (allegedly) managed a professional demeanor because doing my job was second nature. I could “wing it” skipping show prep, because I constantly listened to other stations, read newspapers (including supermarket rags) and there was ALWAYS something to talk about. I especially knew the music inside and out, and if I wanted, could hit the post on every single song without even looking at timers.
I had a “spiel” and a “schtick” that was a little different from the way I am in person, but (apparently) I could also operate on “auto-pilot”, and almost no one was the wiser.
I got through an airshift undetected completely smashed and oblivious to my surroundings because radio was – and still is – my passion.
I’m not particularly proud of those moments. That was in fact, the ONLY time I was ever on the air intoxicated on an FCC licensed station, but it is one of many amusing times I lived through.
At the time, Art Versnick was our Program Director, who has since been in broadcast management for several years in Ohio. Overall, Art was a really good guy to work for.
Thank you Art, for not finding out about my “kamikaze” incident, but especially for putting up with and encouraging my creative whims during those years.
Yet another drunken moment engineers would appreciate, that did NOT involve me:
A good friend would be at the transmitter twisting dials, completely and hopelessly drunk. “I can tune the plates no matter how drunk I am!” he would brag…and the tubes inside would be going through various shades of orangey red. He knew if he blew them, it would be money straight out of his pocket… but he never did.
R.I.P. Tom Fitzek.
The lesson here is to have as much fun as possible, but do as I say, not as I did!
____________________________________________________________
Kamikaze recipe
(don’t be a jerk, use at your own risk, and never drive or operate heavy machinery after consuming this stuff)
Serve in: Old fashond glass
Alcohol (as typically mixed): 27%
1-3 ounces vodka
1 ounce triple sec
1 ounce lime juice
By Bob Burnham
New digital consoles in Specs Howard’s on-campus radio stations are being installed s tarting the week of June 14th.You might be surprised to know, ALL of Specs Howard’s “practice” studios ARE ALREADY digital technology, but ONLY ONE of the FOUR radio stations is truly “digital.”Operationally, the new consoles won’t be much different – so what IS the diffence?It is mostly “under the hood” allowing for better quality with fewer wires, more accurate meters, more flexibility as to the type of equipment we can use… and. better-sounding demo samples for our students.The famous “pink button” ‘Millenium’ consoles we have had in service for several years are going away and being upgraded with the digital version of the same basic console. “WSHS,” the very FIRST studio you see from our main campus lobby will be the first to get the new gear.See the consoles up close via this link:www.radiosystems.com/consoledigital.htmlThese are RADIO SPECIFIC consoles manufactured by Radio Systems, a U.S. company based in New Jersey. You won’t find this type of equipment in a recording studio or live music environment. Enco Systems’ (“DAD”) “Presenter” at Specs Howard is on hiatus! We were forced to re-evaluate our installation due to security concerns and virus problems. Enco Systems of Southfield is working with us on this issue and we hope to have it resolved shortly. Meantime, students are re-visiting playing CDs and MiniDiscs in our studios. Friends, this can (and has) happened anywhere, and further illustrates how at Specs Howard, you TRULY get a real-world, hands-on experience!
By Bob Burnham
New digital consoles in Specs Howard’s on-campus radio stations are being installed s tarting the week of June 14th.You might be surprised to know, ALL of Specs Howard’s “practice” studios ARE ALREADY digital technology, but ONLY ONE of the FOUR radio stations is truly “digital.”Operationally, the new consoles won’t be much different – so what IS the diffence?It is mostly “under the hood” allowing for better quality with fewer wires, more accurate meters, more flexibility as to the type of equipment we can use… and. better-sounding demo samples for our students.The famous “pink button” ‘Millenium’ consoles we have had in service for several years are going away and being upgraded with the digital version of the same basic console. “WSHS,” the very FIRST studio you see from our main campus lobby will be the first to get the new gear.See the consoles up close via this link:www.radiosystems.com/consoledigital.htmlThese are RADIO SPECIFIC consoles manufactured by Radio Systems, a U.S. company based in New Jersey. You won’t find this type of equipment in a recording studio or live music environment. Enco Systems’ (“DAD”) “Presenter” at Specs Howard is on hiatus! We were forced to re-evaluate our installation due to security concerns and virus problems. Enco Systems of Southfield is working with us on this issue and we hope to have it resolved shortly. Meantime, students are re-visiting playing CDs and MiniDiscs in our studios. Friends, this can (and has) happened anywhere, and further illustrates how at Specs Howard, you TRULY get a real-world, hands-on experience!
“Are You ‘IT’ ?”
by Bob Burnham
Technically, I’m NOT, but I wade in those waters more often than you might expect.
IT or Information Technology is a specialized group of techs with training and experience in computer-related matters.
But I come from a broadcasting background.
OK, so WHAT IS a “broadcasting background?”
I was the engineer at your friendly radio station. I worked on the emergency generator, the station van (or other vehicles including maybe yours, if you just had a dead battery)… otherwise, if you were friends with the General Manager, maybe he could get you a trade-out with a local shop to fix your car!
I came chasing after you when you screwed up the log binder or forgot to sign the station transmitter log, or missed noticing a tower light was out. That was me. I was THAT guy.
I was usually the one who was at all the major remotes at least at the beginning. When the station was off the air, I was also the guy who worked “miracles” getting it back on the air immediately, or sweating it out, when it took me awhile to fix it. But I also made sure the “back-up” transmitter was functional!
Like many in engineering (and there aren’t very many of us left), I started on the “other” side of the microphone, working On-Air shifts (loved every minute of it, but the industry changed). In later years they started calling me “Chief” in an official capacity. But if the morning guy got sick, I actually did the show in a pinch.
“IT” knowledge became more critical in “my” field as the computer-based systems replaced broadcast carts and reel-to-reel tapes.
When Apple first invented the Mac, I owned one. When Radio Shack introduced the “TRS-80” home PC (that used a portable cassette player to store data), I actually sold them (for a minute anyway).
I had an e-mail address and a dial-up modem before most people even knew what the internet was. I guess that made be a certified “geek,” but not an “IT” dude since the term hadn’t even been invented yet!
I was (and am) your Broadcast Engineer who installs any new hardware in the studio, tells you why it was better than the old and how to use it.
When you couldn’t figure out why the remote equipment stopped working, or you were taking calls on the air and the caller couldn’t hear you over the phone, I knew how to fix it.
When the transmitter blows a critical part, I MIGHT actually have something in my basement to get us back on the air in some capacity – while we waited for a FedEx part – or the General Manager to get approval for something Really Expensive that needed replacement.
If there was a fire, literally, I had the fire extinguisher in my hand!
This applied anytime day or night, weekends included.
Sometimes the after-hour calls were an annoyance, but often I didn’t mind. If I really had that station under my control, and it was put together the way I wanted….those calls rarely came!
Program Directors, General Managers and other local engineers I worked with became friends for life because we saved each other’s butts time and time again.
I was the guy the General Manager came to when the FCC called with a “surprise” inspection. I was also the one who celebrated with the staff when we passed inspection with “flying colors.” I was the one who rarely celebrated this hard, but had to be driven home that night!
That was me, and I was proud of that moment and our success.
During the 1990s, I was out of town for about three weeks designing and building a small AM station from the ground up. I installed my very first Enco System, although the radio station owner and staff weren’t very accepting, insisting the studios also be equipped with a turntable, REAL cart machines and reel to reel in Production.
Their morning man, said to me, “Ya know, some mornings you need to play scratchy records on the air.” So I gave them that ability!
In the meantime, at the request of the station owner, I held a couple of early “how-to” DAD Enco sessions (It was “DAD for DOS!” back then). Even then, Enco had a very nice on-screen look that for example, resembled a traditional cart recorder.
Little did I know, the great great great grandson of same system would travel with me another 15 years or so to the present!
I returned to the Detroit area after getting this station in operation, and faced another major project: My first task was to install an elaborate transmitter and control system that took care of logging a directional AM station. The station used 10 towers and the (then) new system allowed it to operate legally with no humans present. It changed power and pattern at sunrise and sunset without attention, and I could control it from home via dial-up modem. It satisfied FCC requirements because it would shut down or page me if something bad happened.
But I was also the guy who stopped the General Manager from laying off all the board operators (i.e. “Engineers on Duty”) before the system was ready and officially online and “legal.” I was the guy they all thanked for giving them a couple extra weeks of pay and we actually hiring some extra help on top of that.
In the meantime, at that same station, a computer-based automation system rode a live satellite fed network feed which replaced all the live programming that had previously been produced at this location. That station now also has its own “Enco” system. The industry was changing even further, and I was changing with it. Again.
“Am I in ‘IT’ ?”
'Technically,' no.
But I do know a lot about how to get a computer to do things that used to require a room full of equipment, or at least a rack full of equipment in more recent years.
Ask me about on-air audio processing, tonal balance, how to mix live or recorded music, as well as programming and performance-related aspects of what I do. Somewhere at one or more times I probably had a “taste” of it (or I’m doing it now) and can probably tell you more about it than you’d care to know.
When I may say “You’re One of Us,” to someone in broadcasting, I DON’T necessarily mean a techie type, but someone who is in the field because They Want to Be.
Of course, we need to make a reasonable enough salary to survive, but that’s not the real motivation. And that motivation CANNOT be because they are on an ego trip, either.
Anyone can actually do what “I” do given enough years of experience and some training.
The same can apply to most fields including “IT.” There is no substitute for experience, and if someone can’t give you that chance, you have to get it for yourself.
Whether or not ‘what I do’ for you is obviously for you to decide. Find something you enjoy doing (that someone will pay you for), that doesn’t really seem like “work.” That is the very hard-core secret of an extended fun-filled life.
-Bob Burnham
Saturday, 05/22/2010
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