SEARCHING FOR GREG ALAN...

The emails are still pouring in from those of you wondering what happened. I was kind of curious to know why it was I was getting such strange emails from people. Asking why I left...asking me how I could do such a thing...telling me that I should have stayed on in the mornings...all sorts of stuff.

It’s amazing what you find out about yourself after doing a random search. Google is a wonderful thing. First there was this nifty little thing from a local paper…the Waterloo Courier. Since no one has actually asked, I thought I’d clear up some things:

Q. What happened to radio personality Greg Allen that was on WMT radio?

A. Officials from WMT Radio said they have no idea about Alan's employment status.

Of course they have no idea. None at all. Finding a clue would be tough too. And still, people ask me why I spelled my name on the radio all the time.

Then there’s this on a local off-shoot of the station, I guess. From something called the Open Line Forum. I’ll make my comments and corrections after each segment:

"...did you hear the JJ Cook has pulled another JJ cook? Remember an on-air talent by the name of Greg Allen? he used to do mornings (which i felt he was fairly good at) at WMT. now granted, this guy was in a TOUGH spot, having to follow a local celeb like Tim Boyle...that was like Mike Davis trying to follow Bob Knight. Time has shown that THAT didn't work, so greg was in a tough spot to start with..."

First of all...anyone still want to ask me why I spelled my name on the radio a lot? Good.

Tough spot indeed. Tim is an excellent host. I never really got a chance to listen to him in his glory, but he left of his own accord and it opened a possibility for me. With all due respect, the station gained audience and ratings improved after I took over. I’m NOT saying I’m better than him – and one or two ratings periods don’t prove anything – but there clearly was an audience for what I was doing. The post continues:

"...but back on topic - he was OK in the mornings. then he made a mistake. when bob bruce left for st louis and his "dream job" of being with the Cardnials, Greg naturally assumed he could fill bob's shoes in the afternoon. Sorry greg, you weren't that good in the afternoons. some people told me you sucked, but i haven't been in the local area to listen that much, but from what i heard, you were a better fit in the mornings..."

I never chose to do the afternoons. I was TOLD to do the afternoons or walk. You might say I was in a tough spot. I had mouths to feed and I needed time to figure out my next option. And with only one day notice, I don’t really think I ever got into my groove. I even said my goodbyes to a lot of people when I found out I was being moved to the afternoons. I knew it was a move to force me out. I was in the business too long to know better. Let me explain it better:

If you were the head waiter at a great restaurant every Friday and Saturday night - the tips were fantastic - and they told you to stop doing that and work Monday’s at 10am until 12noon…what would you think? You see, it’s very expensive to fire someone these days. So the idea is to make them as miserable as possible so they leave on their own. I couldn’t. So I stayed put and did what they told me to do.

"...bob found out he didn't like what he was going to be doing in St Louis (too bad, he would have been very good at it - and to work for the cards, you can't be a cubs fan like me) so he came back to Cedar Rapids. Now a program director should have shrugged his shoulders and said "I'm sorry Bob, your slot is now occupied by someone else and we have no full-time openings". But we ARE talking about JJ Cook here and he has shown in the past (i.e. Karen Shulte) that YEARS of loyalty to working for low wages and becoming local favorites means NOTHING to him, so he found another sacraficial lamb (greg) and got rid of him to make room for bob..."

That part is true. I wasn’t working for too low of a wage, but I did ask for more money after the first successful ratings numbers came out. I asked – no, begged – for a meeting to determine my future. I was put off and put off and put off until finally I demanded a sit-down to formerly submit my qualifications for increased income. I had the proof – documented proof of ratings results…itemized and outlined key things I did for the station, and a goal for the next year.

For instance…you know all those creative promos for weather, traffic, my show, and other things? I did every one of them. Wrote them…produced them…and put them on the air. I figured no one else cared enough to advance other programming on the station, I felt someone had to do things right. I was extremely proud of virtually every one of those. They were creative, flashy, and they worked.

(I still have some of them. Listen to them HERE. Or right-click and download them yourself)

We saw ratings improve all across the different time slots of the station. Hearing anything like that these days? I didn’t think so.

I fixed the website too. It has since fallen in disrepair (still on a 20-city tour Tom? Still giving away $10,000 every morning?) and they’re missing a golden opportunity to make a good reflection of the station. Now - the website sucks. Barely taken care of…just like everything else. It’s a billboard on the internet for thousands of prospective listeners and they're leaving it mostly blank. Go there and see for yourself. It’s okay…but it’s just…well…it’s just there. Heck, I even signed up to be a "member" of the station listening club. That was 4 months ago and I haven't had one email to ask me to listen. What's the point of having it?

It was shortly after their decision on a raise - which was a big fat NO - that I was told ratings were down, and everything I was doing was wrong. The exact opposite of what they told me when the ratings came out in August of last year. In fact, just weeks after my meeting...we had a station party to celebrate the success. I was there. People bought me beers.

"...now bob IS GOOD. VERY good. and i am not saying he is a suck-a$$...but JJ has a reputation for taking care of those who bow down before him...and since greg wasn't doing that well in the afternoons and since his morning slot was now full - well i am sure he saw the writing on the wall..."

Correct again…but I saw the writing on the wall a looooong time ago. And besides…there’s no real way to quantify how good or bad I was doing in the afternoons. The next ratings on the Spring 2006 period come out later this month. Since I left before those ratings were surveyed, I won't be included. But it'll still give a general direction of the station after the changes.

(by the way...the ratings are percentages of total audience (10.2=10%, etc.) and they're read from right to left. SP05; FA05 means Spring 2005 and Fall 2005 and so on.)

It should be interesting to see.

I thought I was doing okay while looking over my shoulder the whole time. Maybe I didn’t do everything I could have…who knows. Finally, there’s this…

"...now all of this is from an inside source - but you decide for yourself..."

I wonder who that inside source was…hmmm.

Now all this sounds like sour grapes, I know. It’s not. I’m happy. I’m content. I’m solid in my decision to leave radio. I just hate seeing people get the wrong impression about me, and about what happened.

You might say I'm trying to erase my name and number from above the bathroom stall.

OFF THE AIR

I am done with radio.

I have decided to put my communications and management skills to better use. I hope to find time in the next couple of weeks or a month to explain my decision and everything surrounding it, but for now I have accepted a position outside my general field of experience...meaning, no radio.

I can't say much more beyond that for now, but through the miracle of networking and being the generally smart guy that I am, a person whom I am in very good standing with offered me a job today - catching me by complete surprise. After considering it for 48-hours, and researching my backup plans, I have accepted.

When it rains - it pours. I had two other solid offers for employment this week. Not the greatest employment, but something I know I could excel at and make a decent living as well. So it's been a rather hectic week of interviewing, second interviewing, negotiation, conferring, researching, balancing, etc.

Suffice to say, I am going to be in business with a person whom I respect, admire, and generally want to learn from in order to achieve my personal goals.

And the best part is, I'll make more money than I ever did in radio. It took me 12-years to make the kind of money that I will as a starting wage with this guy. I'm not trying to brag, but simply explain and reinforce the old adage...

Good things happen to good people...and good people do good things.

More soon, but for now I'll borrow a phrase from a great broadcaster:

"Good day..." - Paul Harvey.