WHO LET THE DOGS OUT?

By Ken and Kelly Orchard

What’s the point, you ask? It’s an aggressive song with one simple catch hook: "Who Let The Dogs Out? It has an ambiguous meaning, and if you’ve seen the video it features dogs escaping from a kennel and running rampant through town. All the people in town are calling out on radios, cell phones, and other forms of communication while hunting the dogs down, and asking, "Who let the dogs out?" Actually, it’s a silly song, but lately there isn’t anyone who hasn’t heard it. Recently, even NBC’s Today Show featured the Baja Men, with "America’s First Family" joining in the chorus as they introduced them.

Again, you are asking, "What does this have to do with Public Files and FCC Compliance?" Is this a metaphor for the FCC Enforcement Bureau Inspectors? (perhaps they dogs on the loose?) Is it a metaphor for current broadcasters running amuck? It could be both, but I wouldn’t offend you in such a way. Actually, the title and mention of the song was to capture the attention of readers. Everyone is curious about "Pop Culture" and current trends.

Broadcasters have to be aware of current trends in order to compete in a very competitive industry. And this doesn’t just mean the latest hit song. There are so many formats reaching out to so many different audiences. We’re also speaking about trends in advertising, marketing your stations, sales techniques, technology, and FCC Rules and Regulations.

There has been so much confusion in FCC policies and regulations since consolidation began, and the Communications Act of 1996. Some managers still believe the FCC deregulated everything, and they can operate as they please.

Yes, certain rules from years past have been relaxed, however recently the FCC has been adopting new rules of enforcement, including the most recent EEO Compliance Standards. Engineering and Public Safety issues have always been important to the FCC.

Part of the problem has been apathy on the part of the current broadcasters. Yes, consolidation changed the make up of the broadcasting industry. No longer do we operate just one or two stations, but five to seven in a single market, or dozens in multiple markets. In order to keep expenditures low and profits high, many are forced to cut back on employees. Turn over is tremendous, and many of the long time broadcasters have left the industry altogether. Radio is not what it used to be. That is true. But, it doesn’t mean that the industry is antiquated, on the contrary. We have been reinventing radio, which let me remind you is historically the very first electronic mass media industry. Everything else has been modeled after radio. Radio has survived a lot of growth and competition since its inception.

That is what brings me to my point. Recently, I attended a High School football game. It’s amazing, the excitement generated at one of these events. Especially when the game is between cross-town rivals. I’ll bet there is enough energy generated at a two-hour football game to power your radio station for a month.

Here is a scene I’m sure you are familiar with, but have probably forgotten about. The home team cheerleading squad begins a chant to challenge the opposing teams fans: "We’ve got spirit, yes we do! We’ve got spirit, how ‘bout you?" Once this chant has begun, the guest cheerleading squad repeats the same phrase, only louder. Pretty soon, the chant is so loud, with both sides enthusiastically expressing their loyalty, pride and "spirit" for their "team" that the voices can actually be deafening.

We are taught at such young, tender ages the benefits and honor in loyalty to our "team", and pride in a job well done. These attributes are taught well before High School, but really come to a boiling point by then. Well, when we enter the professional world, are we so jaded by corporate politics, or bad experiences in the workplace that pride and loyalty no longer matter?

I know, I’m on a "soap box" with this, but please bear with me. I often get emails from broadcasters commenting on my column found here. Recently, they have been encouraging me to continue to preach the value of FCC Compliance and maintaining your Public File for purposes of continuity when it comes time to renew your license. It’s just good business. A necessary evil when you hold a license and the right to broadcast to the general public. You wouldn’t feel very good about someone who was driving a vehicle and not upholding the law of the road, would you? How would you feel about a business not following the regulations of fair trade?

One of the emails I received was from a gentleman who was consulting for an AM station. He was a retired engineer, and was concerned that this station was over modulating their signal, wasn’t lowering their power at night, and generally throwing the FCC’s rules out the window. Not to mention, their disregard for fellow broadcasters in the area who are following the rules. When this gentleman would consult them on the importance of compliance, and encourage them to know how to take transmitter readings and sign the log in case the FCC should pay a surprise visit. They would just shrug their shoulders and say, "Who cares, the FCC isn’t going to come here anyway, they haven’t inspected this station for 25 years. Why bother?"

Other comments I receive are, "We’ll deal with an FCC inspection when we are forced to."

One of my long term clients actually had the unfortunate but eye-opening experience of not only experiencing a full-blown FCC Inspection, but the detailed violations and fines were enormous. As the "Chief Operator", he assumed he was in the clear. Afterall, he wasn’t the "licensee", he had no ownership claims; he was merely an employee of the station. However, the owner (licensee) of the station named several employees (including this Chief Operator) in a lawsuit, pursuing to recapture lost monies that they had to pay out in fines to the FCC due to the fact that they were the employees responsible for maintaining compliance with all rules and regulations mandated by the FCC. That’s a tough lesson to learn.

Back To Basics - Radio 101

Because of the tremendous turnover in the broadcast industry, your staff needs to constantly be trained, retrained and made aware of the ever-changing FCC Rules and Regulations. I was recently made aware of the dilemma’s many managers find themselves in at a seminar one of my clients asked me to conduct. Most of these employees had not yet learned what their station’s "City of License" meant. They were very unclear on how to maintain a Public File, and what Issues and Program material was important. EAS and EEO were other subjects that needed to be clarified.

These people aren’t stupid, they just haven’t been exposed the the business of "radio broadcasting", and the Federal Communication Commission.

So, its "back to school" time for many broadcasters. A lot of people decide to embark on a career in the radio industry because they’ve always been told they had a good voice, or they’ve heard they can make a lot of money selling advertising. They’ll get caught up in the glamour of the "prospect" of free concert tickets, celebrities, and other potential "perks".

Okay, most of us know those perks are long gone, especially for account executives. The perks generally go to all the advertisers in order to earn and keep their loyalty, so they’ll continue to spend their money on our stations, even if our ratings aren’t as good as last quarter.

The intricacy of FCC Compliance can at first appear daunting. "We leave that up to our attorneys", is a common remark. Yes, law firms are there to keep abreast of the laws, consult with responsible parties, but they will not come to your station and put these pertinent documents in your files, nor will they train your "receptionist of the month".

Once you begin complying with the rules, have updated and are sure your Public File is immaculate plus have all your engineering up to standards, EEO and EAS requirements taken care of, and weekly engineering logs properly signed, it now becomes a matter of pride. When it comes time to renew your license, or the FCC should happen to knock on your door, you won’t be asking, "Who let the dogs out?", you’ll be more like the cheerleading squad! "We’ve got compliance, yes we do."

Now, care to challenge your competition?

Lets just remember last months recap on the FCC’s issues. They’ll be closely looking at group ownerships now that the Enforcement Bureau is in full force. It would be wise to set up a department specifically dedicated to FCC Compliance Issues. One of my trainees asked a valid question:

"Is there any group ownership who is perfect in their compliance?"

That was a great question. One I could not truthfully answer. Are you? If so, we’d like to hear from you, and how you manage to do it.