February 04, 2003 10:30 am
Cotton Cussing
I drove up Saturday afternoon and saw him for an hour or so, went on up to Mom's, brought her back Sunday and we all met at the hospital to celebrate Dad's 75th birthday. He didn't seem very celebratory (I don't even think he smiled at my sister's singing hamster, with drumsticks, performing "Birthday"). We all had our visit a while and then went on to Chili's without him for a nice afternoon lunch. I took Mom on home and then returned to Austin.
I am now broadcasting at night in San Antonio. I did my first shift for them Saturday night. I recorded it Friday night and I may as well have driven to San Antonio and done it live for all the time it took me to do it. I felt like a first-timer again. This was the job I did for two years and have done it plenty since then, but with a whole new computer system I had to re-learn everything I once knew. What a pain. I did it again Sunday night and last night and I am finally getting the hang of it and speeding up a bit. Last night I was really regretting having taken this job on. I took it because I was flattered to be asked and because it is a challenge to work in a top 30 market. Now that I'm into it, I think the program director is resentful that the operations manager was the one who hired me, I don't like the music at all, and I don't like some of the ways they've asked me to structure my show. It isn't very "me" on that end when it comes out. Oh, well, it is good money and it will come easier soon, I hope.
I am full of pent-up frustration with my co-worker that I share an office with. We have our jobs to do and mostly, they don't overlap or conflict. I had specifically requested not to be a "people manager" when I accepted this job. But, as it has gone along, I have been asked to be the "relayer of information" to the other jocks and let them know what the boss wants. This co-worker, he needs a name, let's call him "Cotton" since he reminds me of Cotton on King of the Hill, was with me at one meeting where the boss laid down a few of his rules for on-air presentation. He used one term and defined it and it was very clear to me, having been on the air 25 years. The term is "crush and roll." The "technique" is to start the record and talk over the intro. That sounds simple, but the point it to not start talking as the previous song is fading and winding down and then continue to talk as the new song starts. You start the new song and then start talking. It's just basic "good radio." Cotton was in the meeting where the boss (he also needs a name besides "good boss"--I'll work on that) defined and clarified his terms. Sunday night I'm driving into Austin listening to Cotton on the radio and he's doing almost exactly what the boss said not to do. He was waiting until the song was over, but then he was backselling it, saying what it was, then saying the call letters, and then moving on into the next song. Plus, he wasn't talking over the intro of the next song, so everything he was saying was between songs. That kills the energy of the station and makes things sound dull.
Yesterday, I brought it up to him to remind him what "crush and roll" meant. Well, he had a completely different definition for that term and thought he was perfectly right in what he was doing and wouldn't take my word for it on how he was to do his show. I wouldn't bring it up at all except that the boss had asked me to work with the weekenders on their presentation and help improve the sound of the station.
I know Cotton is threatened by me a lot already, since I got a job he was vying for and neither one of us has authority over the other, but everyone in the building treats me as the higher in command of the two of us. I specifically asked not to be the boss, but I do have such control issues, I want things to be run right. It is frustrating. I will let this blow over and I will let it lie. Fight, flight, ignore? I'll choose ignore this go-round.