The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum / Morale problems

**Posted by Aytononline** March 31, 2025 1:47 pm

I've been reading here with greater frequency about mistakes that might have happened in the smaller media companies back in the day, but not in the big cities. So what is the underlying issue today with stuff that should have been caught. Is it lack of staff, lack of staff with life experience, or is it a Moral issue, the owner of the company does not care so why should I. What ever it is, with basic stuff like this happening, its getting harder to get people like me that have moved over to podcasts in the Audio and video format to have a reason to come back.

My guess is that the media companies that are owned by the Jon Poles of the world are having better staff engagement ( staff that take pride in there work ) then big 3 in Toronto.

**Posted by torontostan** March 31, 2025 2:38 pm

Aytononline wrote:
I've been reading here with greater frequency about mistakes that might have happened in the smaller media companies back in the day, but not in the big cities. So what is the underlying issue today with stuff that should have been caught. Is it lack of staff, lack of staff with life experience, or is it a Moral issue, the owner of the company does not care so why should I. What ever it is, with basic stuff like this happening, its getting harder to get people like me that have moved over to podcasts in the Audio and video format to have a reason to come back.

Fewer staff because of fewer viewers.... the staff that remain are doing parts of what used to be three or more jobs, and the systems that allow for this work to be done by one person require a lot of attention to detail if you want to have the same high standards as you once had. Fewer cooks in the kitchen can still make the cake, but the odd one may come out rushed. Salaries are down and cost of living is higher than ever.... add to that there's no up-and-coming generation of young people interested in broadcasting, especially on the technical/engineering facet of the business, so the smaller talent pool leaves room for a lot of error.

Aytononline wrote:
My guess is that the media companies that are owned by the Jon Poles of the world are having better staff engagement ( staff that take pride in there work ) then big 3 in Toronto.

Completely subjective, unless this is Pole's secret account? I'm sure the people who work for the smaller broadcasters would love the renumeration and benefits that the big players offer. If you're going to paint with one brush, then I will play devils advocate....

Last edited by torontostan (March 31, 2025 2:38 pm)

**Posted by JON POLE** March 31, 2025 6:43 pm

LOL. Not a burner account.

You can read what our team has been saying for years here:

https://www.mybroadcastingcorp.com/join-our-team.html

We're not perfect by any means, but we do our best.

I guess you make more in Toronto than in Renfrew - but then you have to live in Toronto. I'm pretty sure most of our staff would take a pass on that deal.

Last edited by JON POLE (March 31, 2025 6:47 pm)

**Posted by Aytononline** March 31, 2025 7:01 pm

I only used Jon because I know he is part of this group. When looking at podcasts its easy to make reference to Toronto Mike because he part of this group.

I was going to make reference to Blackburn Media and CKNX or Bayshore in Owen Sound, but I referred to Jon instead.

**Posted by torontostan** March 31, 2025 7:46 pm

Fair enough! I just know quite a few people in this business... and it seems as though the main thing people dislike about the big guys (that's unique to them) is the ever present threat of cuts.. but at least their packages sound more than fair. The little guys complain about lack of advancement or feeling stuck and less than desirable renumeration, and everybody complains that "things aren't the way they used to be" ..... the moral of the story is some people would prefer the big city big conglomerate model, and others would rather the smaller market family run employer

**Posted by Walter** April 1, 2025 3:35 am

Isn't it spelled 'Morale', not that there haven't been examples of moral problems in the past?

**Posted by Shorty Wave** April 2, 2025 7:55 am

Walter wrote:
Isn't it spelled 'Morale', not that there haven't been examples of moral problems in the past?

You got it Walter!

**Posted by RadioActive** April 2, 2025 8:34 am

I've officially changed the subject header - just to boost moral - er, morale!

**Posted by Dial Twister** April 3, 2025 2:32 pm

RadioActive wrote:
I've officially changed the subject header - just to boost moral - er, morale!

Maybe we need you on the tariff file, RA.

**Posted by RadioActive** April 3, 2025 2:46 pm

That would be tariff-fying.

**Posted by Female Voice Over** April 3, 2025 6:47 pm

I don't think I've read what you've read but I've worked for smaller broadcasters and I've worked for some of the big three. I have experience dealing with them all.

The problem with most of them is that they simply don't know how to manage their people. There's too much red tape in the bigger, more progressive companies and a lot of dead wood in the smaller companies. Big companies have cut their staff down to nothing and provide no direction on what to do when there's only one or two people left in their medium and small market stations.

Broadcasting, while super fun, overall is a terrible industry. I'll bet most of us have gone through long periods where we've felt undervalued and not appreciated. It's the only place I've worked where people are afraid to let their employees shine and tap into that.

**Posted by mic'em** April 4, 2025 6:44 am

As much as I loved being on air, and being proud of my time doing so, the best thing that happened to me was the station I was under employed at in 1986 , being sold and everyone laid off. I realized then at age 30 it was time to take life seriously and find a new line of work. As I have always liked driving and vehicles, I took the big rig driving course and have never been unemployed since. At 69 years old, I still work 40 hours a week delivering parts for the Napa store in Sudbury, and listen to radio all day.

Last edited by mic'em (April 4, 2025 6:44 am)