Production 212: On–The–Job Therapy
by Dave Foxx
believe that I am the luckiest person I know. Even after 23 years at the flamethrower in the number one market, I very often wake up and pinch myself, wondering how in the world I ever pulled this off. Every month, as I sit down to write this column, I'm amazed that I have the chance to rant about something I love so much to thousands of other broadcast professionals. Every time a call pops up inviting me to speak to a group somewhere about radio production, I always have to check myself to keep from exclaiming, "You want me? To do what?" Whenever someone wants me to be involved in the creative process for a product or service, I get giddy. The absolute magic of doing this has never worn off. I really hope it's the same for you.
As much as we love the job, there are some irritants we deal with too. On the commercial side you have clients and Account Executives. Need I say more? Well... all right, I'm planning to later in this article. On the imaging side, you only have one client, but for many it's almost as bad with a PD who simply doesn't get it, or a GM who's so tight-fisted he cries when he gives you money, or throws a temper tantrum when you make a budget request.
Q It Up: The RAP Network Speaks - What are some of the biggest time wasters you deal with?
Q It Up: These days, it seems we are all being asked to do more in the same amount of time. The last thing you need is wasted time. What are some of the biggest or most common time wasters you've experienced in your work environment (answering Q It Up questions does not count!), and how have you dealt with them? What are some of the little and not so little ways you manage your time at work so you can get home in time for dinner?
If you have a question for the RAP Network, email it to
Technology: Backup Strategies For BIG DRIVES
by Steve Cunningham
Lately I seem to be surrounded by hard drive failures. It started a couple of months ago when a client, whose production machines I maintain, called to report that one machine had locked up. When he tried to reboot it, the hard drive made grinding noises and refused to boot. Two weeks later another client called reporting that two external backup drives from the same manufacturer just refused to spin up. Then there were the two laptop drives that failed, each of which issued clicking sounds instead of spinning up.
In all cases, the hard drives involved were simply toast. No amount of software diagnostics, recovery tools, or voodoo rituals worked, and I tried 'em all. This included my favorite trick which consists of putting the dying drive in a sealed baggie and then into the freezer for 30 minutes, in an effort to get the spindle bearings to shrink up for long enough to get the data off the drive. That didn't work either.
Radio Hed: Authority & Association
by Jeffrey Hedquist
Authority: Associating your advertiser, his product or service with someone the audience knows, respects, aspires to be like, or trusts can get attention, add cache, and possibly help him sell more. Using a famous celebrity can be a tricky path. A certain segment of your audience will respond positively to the endorsement. Another segment will distrust the brand, perceiving the endorsement as paid-for hype. With celebrities, the public's opinion of their personal lives can change rapidly, dashing a successful endorsement on the rocks of exposure. Certain sports figures come to mind.
Technology: The Year Of The Penguin - Part Four
by Andrew Frame
One popular selling-point used by Linux fans is that it works well on older hardware. "Older" is at best, a relative term. Bleeding-edge gamers think anything without multiple-core CPU's is obsolete. But, a copywriter could still find a perfectly good workday on a '486 running ProWrite. SOHO servers are often built on older hardware and Linux running without a GUI. Many a Linux based firewall is a '486 chip machine. But really, in the audio production business, if you have a machine that old, perhaps it's time to reconsider a new, less technologically driven line of work. For the purposes of this series, we're staying with a SOHO desktop machine that runs current versions of web browser, LAN browser, e-mail, office suite, and audio editor.
...And Make It Real Creative - The Creative Tap Room: Third Round
by Trent Rentsch
The party shows no sign of slowing down in the virtual Creative Tap Room, as Creatives from a variety of disciplines gather to ponder the question, "Where does your Creativity come from?" If you've read this column anytime in the past few years, it's no secret to you that one of my passions is magic. I've always felt that, at its best, it's one of the most Creative entertainment arts. So it will come as no surprise that I've invited a couple of Wizards to the party. Although, it KIND of surprised everyone else when they appeared in a flash of light and a puff of smoke...
The first to step up is Jay Sankey. I've talked about Jay in the past... a "magician's magician," who invents magic effects that have been performed by about every contemporary magician you can name. He's a gifted performer in his own right, both as a magician and a stand-up comedian. You can find examples of his work at his website, sankeymagic.com. He has more energy than any 10 people combined, and when he puts his sharp mind to something... stand back! When asked where his Creativity comes from, there's no hesitation in his answer, even as it begins with questioning the question...
Personal Computing: You Can't Always Hide Online
by Reid Goldsborough
Have you ever been tempted to let loose online on some loud, arrogant blogger without revealing your identity? What about a public figure? Or someone in your department you're having a beef with? Venting harsh criticism anonymously is a long Internet tradition, and for better or worse it's part of the culture of the online world. Many dislike it, and some "moderated" forums try to discourage it, but it's difficult to completely eliminate it, and it would probably be unwise to do so. A recent court case sheds interesting light on the issue.
The Monday Morning Memo: The New Language of Effective Ads
by Roy H. Williams
Most women can tell at least one funny story about a tragic first date. In most of these stories, a misguided man spends the entire evening saying, "Here's an example of how wonderful I am..." "Let me tell you what I can do..." "...and that's what makes me special." Although we're rarely drawn to people who begin all their sentences with "I," "Me," and "My," this first-person perspective remains central to mainstream advertising. And it's why most Americans detest mainstream advertising.
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