9 to 5

How have you set up the air shifts on your station?

Most stations still use the old Arbitron dayparts as the basis for their air shifts. Morning drive is 6-10a, middays is 10a-3p, afternoon drive is 3-7p, etc.

I'm not certain these definitions of dayparts were ever based in reality, but IF they were, they're not now.

If even a small majority of your listeners are at work by 8a, why does your morning show continue to 9a, or even 10a?

Because of Arbitron? Because it makes for easier bonus computation? Because we're paying them a lot of money and that's not for a two- or three-hour shift? Because your morning show rates are higher than midday rates?

Once again we're actually programming for us and not for our listeners and the ways they truly use us.

It's always about us, not them.

Honestly, the timing of air shifts isn't a big deal, but if you're not willing to do something as simple and logical as adjust air shifts to reflect your listeners' daily lives, I doubt you're willing to question why your station, or company, does most of the things that are done.

Look, it's never fun to hear things that shake our assumptions about the world, but if you don't have at least one person in your station asking uncomfortable questions, challenging you to do things that scare you because they sound so different from what every other station is doing, you're not growing, you're hanging on.

And you can't climb the ratings ladder when you're just hanging on for dear life.