In sports, there are team coaches and there are coaches for specific players: In baseball for pitchers, and in football for the defense and offense. It’s a good system. In Radio, the program director has traditionally been the coach for the on air talent. Unfortunately today, many PDs don’t have the time to even have regular air check sessions with their jocks.

Wouldn’t it be a good idea to have someone who specifically worked with up and coming air talent at your station—and even with your veteran jocks? You might think a programming consultant could do that, but really, they’re more concerned with the overall presentation of the station.

And if you’re a jock yourself, wouldn’t it be valuable to have someone with years of experience on air and in programming, who could help direct you, give you feedback, help you understand how the business is changing and how you fit in as a personality? Someone who would truly teach you?

Well, there are is someone. Sam Weaver recently started a website and service called RadioCoach.biz, specifically to help radio’s most valuable commodity—the radio personality. He’s a veteran programmer and jock himself, with over 30 years of experience. He’s worked in multiple formats, including CHR, Urban, Country, and Gospel, working on air in markets like Chicago, San Francisco, Detroit, St. Louis and New Orleans; and he’s programmed in Dallas, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Memphis, New Orleans, and Greensboro.

I spoke with Sam about his new endeavor, why he started it and who it can help.

RI: Why did you start RadioCoach.biz?

SW: I believe in knowing your strengths and weaknesses. Coaching talent has always been one of my strengths. Over the years, others have encouraged me to turn coaching talent into a business. Working with talent is a passion of mine. I am a radio coach consultant that specializes in air talent.

RI: What are your goals with this website?

SW: To share my accumulated experiences, help others network, try to encourage new talent, and aid veteran contemporary music air talent Jocks from various formats and shifts share in the quest for an objective ear and some direction. I have worked with jocks in Top 40, Urban AC, Country, and Rock.

RI: Who is this for? On air talent, programmers, companies, etc?

SW: I have packages for all three and have been contacted by jocks that want to be PDs and by young programmers wanting to learn more. As a by-product, I have even had discussions with record companies concerning their artists and how to conduct themselves in interviews.

RI: In a way you’re kind of like a mentor for hire—is it more difficult these days for young programmers and on air talent to find mentors, and if so, why?

SW: The availability of time has affected young programmers and air talent. Many of today's young PDs haven't had the seasoning. They didn't have the opportunities to work the small markets and move up through the ranks. Times are different. These people have to do the job right now. They're qualified, but haven’t had a chance to acquire enough experience. While gaining on the job training, they are also responsible for training others. Due to the new demands and responsibilities for programmers, there is little time to mentor. I know some folks that try and help those that reach out, but, you have OM’s and PD’s in top 50 markets that are doing airshifts, programming music, and spending time in too many sales meetings.

RI: You have a long history in radio programming and on air—you’ve seen talent come and go. What are some of the attributes of the talent who make it big and who have longevity?

SW: They are simple:

• Comes to work on time
• Is adaptable
• Has an ego but is not egotistical
• Open to learning
• Their on air presentation is word efficient
• Has the verbal ability to tie the content of a talk set together and make it one
• Is observational
• Knows how to do show prep
• Can display personality and work within a format
• Is aware of personal limitations
• Are creative
• Participates in community events on their own and for the company
• Attempts to mentor others
• Always leaves their supervisor and company in a defendable position
• Might disagree with management off the air, but not on the air
• Gets along with others
• Stays relevant

RI: What are the most common mistakes personalities make in this business (on air an off)?

SW: On the air:

• Talk sets are too long
• Phone bits are too long. They lengthen requests and contest winners because they are not happy with the responses
• Don’t back sell the music into commercial breaks
• Talk excessively on the phone during their shift
• Can’t stay focused because of being on the Internet reading their e-mail or my-space
• Confuse vulgarity with being hip or relevant
• Sound mechanical or forced in their delivery
• Talk too fast. Have no flow with there speaking style
• Think personality means talking endlessly
• Do not do any kind of show prep prior to going on the air
• Inconsistent energy levels within a talk set
• Verbally throwaway a station’s call letters or frequency to get to what they want to talk about
• Only read the headlines of newspapers or the Internet
• Never learned how to do production
• Lacking a sense of timing

Off the air:

• Gossip about colleagues at work
• Get involved with cliques at work
• Become egotistical and self absorbed
• Get involved with things that are not their concern
• Never take responsibility for their actions
• Spread unsubstantiated rumors
• Never try to understand how their actions or lack of action effect other departments
• Suffer from tunnel vision and forget that radio is not the most important thing in life
• Do not seem to apply life occurrences to work situations
• Do not complete assignments on time
• Daily run out the door as soon as their shift is over
• Constantly complaining
• Always trying to get away with something

RI: Networking is something jocks are always told to do. But it’s a lot more difficult today to connect with some of the movers and shakers in radio. What is the no. 1 thing aspiring jocks should do when trying to “network”?

SW: The number one thing is picking up the phone or e-mailing the movers and shakers for advice. What you email them, or ask them, also makes a difference. Be specific. Say, “I have one question I was hoping you could answer for me.” That way, they don’t think you are going to take up too much time. See how the conversation flows from there. If they seem open to talk more, than proceed. If not, step back and at least you now have an opening to reach out to them again in the future. Just be careful not to reach out too often—then you become a nuisance,
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RI: Programmers rarely have time to sit down with their jocks and do an air-check session. It seems like such a little thing, but how do you think it’s impacting our industry overall?

SW: It is hurting the product. What goes over the air is what’s important. As I mentioned, Programmers have so many more responsibilities than they once did, the quality time for critiquing is hard to come by. There are not enough hours in the day. Everyone does what they can, but the sad thing is that the current system has created new Program Managers without enough experience to meet all the new challenges. It is not fair to them. Their actions will have an impact on the future of the industry. With PPM lurking and new forms of competition, stations need all the help they can get to steer the ship. I see my role the same as a baseball hitting coach or like Tiger Wood’s golf coach, instruct and educate, so talent can be the best they can be. Also to translate what management or the PDs are is trying to communicate to them. I will facilitate and assist programming.

RI: What are you biggest concerns about the radio industry, in terms of the future of the radio personality?

SW: My biggest concern is losing so many talented announcers and experienced programmers. The other problem is a lack of forums for personalities to learn the necessary information to proceed with their chosen profession. Our industry is still using cookie cutter 3rd party companies to create station web sites. I am hoping that there are enough visionaries to realize that a return to compelling radio will occur when companies retool to improve the airwaves. The landscape is rapidly changing and radio needs to adapt and use all its weapons to compete.

RI: Overall, what do you think radio needs to do to help foster talent?

SW: Realize that OM’s and PDs need help with talent development. Traditional consultants do an excellent job with overall goals, but dealing with talent is a specialty area of it’s own. Have the part timers get in more practice by doing simulated shows in the production room. Create more internship programs and use them to groom future air talent. Above all, recognize radio is a part of entertainment, and that idea is not just for morning shows. The presentation of other shifts do not present as many windows of opportunity to perform, but they still need should learn how to entertain, inform and assist in highlighting the music. Infuse past strengths of the industry with a new approach to energize the sound of radio.