Re: [IRCA] Censoring ourselves (was KXEL, etc. etc., etc.)

["Les Rayburn" <les@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Scott's posting is right on the money. Engineers and often even station 
managers
are really a nice group of folks, and have been wonderful to DX'ers...and to 
me
in particular during the past several years.

I gave a talk at Society of Broadcast Engineers meeting last year, and the 
folks
there really opened up to me. Many stayed behind to ask questions, offer
support, and we even snagged some Alabama tests out of it.

Someone mentioned wanting insight into the broadcasting business...I think 
this
posting of Scott's really provides that. We need to be patient with our 
requests
and understand that "no" often comes from someone well above the CE.

Well said, Scott.

Les Rayburn, director
High Noon Film
100 Centerview Drive Suite 111
Birmingham, AL 35216
205.824.8930
205.824.8960 Fax
205.253.4867 Cell
http://www.highnoonfilm.com



> kevin redding wrote:
>> Well, I can honestly say that I have never written an engineer for
>> anything in at least 10 years if not more. I don't QSL because I
>> record everything. Last time I asked an engineer for anything was to
>> run a test when I was with Lynn Hollerman doing the job that Les does
>> now. I do have to give Les kudos though. His ability to schedule
>> tests is better than mine was.
>
> Les is indeed doing yeoman work, and deserves to be paid at least twice
> as much as he's now getting for it <g>...
>
> I want to clear up a misunderstanding here about engineers: I know a lot
> of them. I deal with them frequently in a number of contexts - as a
> consultant to them on various issues, and as a journalist covering their
> industry for Radio World and other publications.
>
> While no generalization is perfect, I can say with confidence that the
> vast majority of engineers are anything but thin-skinned. Most of the
> engineers I know are delighted when ANYONE takes a real interest in what
> they do, because it so often goes unappreciated, even (especially?)
> within the walls of their own stations. I've been consistently impressed
> at how many have opened their doors and given generously of their time
> when I've come calling for a tour. (On the way out to the convention
> last year, there was one engineer in one Oregon market who didn't have
> time to go out to his transmitter site with me, so he actually gave me
> the code to the lock on the gate and to the transmitter building door so
> I could have a look around - now that's a generous bit of trust!)
>
> Most of the engineers I deal with are hams, and many do at least a bit
> of DXing in whatever spare time they can find for themselves. A fair
> number of them first developed an interest in the business through
> DXing. A few are still in one or another of the clubs.
>
> A lot of what DXers perceive as resistance from "station engineers" is
> really coming from higher up the food chain. Like most businesses these
> days, radio stations are increasingly corporatized, and that's put all
> sorts of new strains and demands on engineers. Something as simple as
> getting a new batch of QSL cards printed can turn into a nightmare trip
> through corporate bureaucracy, and it's the engineer who still gets the
> blame when the cards don't go out. Les is quite correct to note that it
> doesn't help our case as DXers at all when the engineer then gets abuse
> from DXers as a result.
>
> My point here is pretty simple: there's no reason for DXers to avoid
> contact with engineers, or to treat them as some exotic species of
> thin-skinned alien who spits fire whenever he's spoken to the wrong way.
> Treat them with courtesy and respect, and understand that they're
> sometimes limited by factors (time, finance, intransigent upper
> management) beyond THEIR control, and most engineers will respond in
> kind. That's not so complicated, is it?
>
> s
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