PODCAST

Weekly Earful

Lesley Lotto

Rants and news bytes for Radio Station peeps all over the place! lesleylotto.substack.com

news daily news

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3:21

You Cannot Steal My Peace ✌🏽

Weekly Earful ·

2025/06/16

It’s been several years that I’ve been self-employed, but over the last couple, it’s become more evident that I am mostly a manager of humans, and not a full-time journalist. It’s really fine. I’m incredibly grateful - because it’s taught me how to be flexible, non-judgmental of other’s pain or suffering, and allow things to roll off my back (most days 🫤).Is it ever okay to talk back, or email or text back in the same tone, or to ask someone, “are you okay”, when you feel their snark? Damn straight

4:02

Print is Alive and Kicking

Weekly Earful ·

2025/06/09

I was so excited to read about a group of teens way out east on Long Island ("The End") who started their own newspaper. The Ditch Weekly is aimed at the crowd in Montauk, a funky, yet weirdly upscale community, where I would live in a New York minute. 📰Without the help of their parents, and really any adult, this group of 15 year olds spent last summer building a brand, before heading off to High School. 👯The Ditch Weekly even made some money (something some of their parents were apparently

4:58

Futuring

Weekly Earful ·

2025/06/02

What's this you say? What does my future bring, what is the future of media, of radio, of television and of print? 📻 📺 🗞️If you're to visit the many forums (is that even a thing anymore?), or groups or pages on social media, it's all doom and gloom, "radio is dead" or "consolidation killed the medium". It's like the old man yelling "you kids get off my lawn!".With years, comes change, with change comes advancement, with advancement comes the possibility of consolidation. It's not the Mary Tyler

3:29

Service

Weekly Earful ·

2025/05/26

It’s not really the first day of summer, but for many it IS.Memorial Day is the last Monday of May every year and the green light for so many to light up the barbecue or get on the road for their first trip of the season.But another time-honored tradition (and the main reason for the holiday) is to visit the grave of a fallen soldier. After all it’s a federal holiday in the U.S. where we reflect on the lives of those who gave theirs, for us.The holiday used to be called Decoration Day to honor Civil

2:58

Team Playin'

Weekly Earful ·

2025/05/19

All Hands-on Deck.That was the email I sent to some of our team last week when we had nearly a third of our anchors out. Some were pre-planned days off, and some had to be spontaneous because they were sick or having technical issues.Sometimes it’s really, really quiet and I hear nary a word.Other days, it’s calling, texting, sending Slack messages and chasing every last person down that I can. That’s not to say they’re unwilling, this is to say, I’m sometimes inpatient. (Hey, I’m working on it.)But

5:17

What the Canadians Are Getting Right

Weekly Earful ·

2025/05/12

I was invited to a panel on the dearth of local news operations in Canada and America. And, after talking to my fellow panelists ahead of the event, I found they were way ahead of the curve than the U.S., even though they said it was the other way around.I'm not even talking about radio and television studios per se', I'm talking about newspaper operations too. Canada is working to beef up local news. America feels like its not interested in bolstering it.Last week at Radio Days (North America) I

3:47

It's Not What You Think

Weekly Earful ·

2025/05/05

It all started with one lawyer, a member of an Indigenous tribe who was elected president of Mexico. Since the economy was battered because of infighting, the new president had to default on debt payments to Europeans which did not go over well.France, Britain and Spain sent forces to Veracruz, Mexico, demanding to be repaid, and Britain and Spain worked it out with Mexico and withdrew. But France decided to cut some land from Mexico for themselves, then stormed Veracruz, leading the new Mexican

3:21

A Novel Idea

Weekly Earful ·

2025/04/28

A radio station in the Pacific Northwest did what many do, flipped their format. But when Inland Northwest Broadcasting moved from Hot AC to Classic Hits on 102.5 KRPL for Pullman, WA and the Moscow, Idaho markets, they did something unheard of, they promoted local businesses around the clock, for free. Yes, it can be difficult to get advertisers, but what if you did one better than “a dollar a holler” to help your people?KRPL came up with their "3 Months to Thrive in Downtown Pullman" campaign

4:35

I've Got You

Weekly Earful ·

2025/04/14

One of my favorite things to do each day at work is to read the trades. I see a lot of people retiring after so many years in the business. And on LinkedIn, I see folks touting longevity in their positions too. But what happens in 5 -10 years? Will we still be seeing this exceptionalism, or will we see so-and-so retired because A.I. was cheaper or, they were burned out after being a utility person for 25+ years and they thought an early retirement was the way to go instead of the alternative.I used

2:52

Saving AM: Emergency Help on your Dial

Weekly Earful ·

2025/04/07

Not just for news talk or oldies, AM Radio could be saved. A bipartisan effort to keep this important information source in all new vehicles, which is crucial, especially for those in an emergency. A filibuster-proof majority in the U.S. Senate is supporting the “AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act”. 60 senators (and 129 House representatives) endorsed the bill, which has strong support across party lines. The act notes how AM radio is critical to continue delivering emergency alerts and to maintain

3:35

MAYBE IT’S WORTH IT AFTER ALL?

Weekly Earful ·

2025/03/31

A group of broadcasters representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico have gathered to bring a pair of “significant resolutions” forward at a conference in DC.The first gets behind the Local Radio Freedom Act (LRFA) so that new performance fees for local radio stations are quashed. The act showcases how stations provide free, trusted news and entertainment and says they’re already paying existing copyright and streaming fees.The other resolution brought to the fore, is a

5:11

Where Do We Go From Here?

Weekly Earful ·

2025/03/24

I’ve known many journalists during my long career in radio. I've worked in what I like to call tiny town radio, medium and major markets and network radio. I've been on formats that were liberal or conservative, music, talk, and so many in between. I recall just a few people in my years in radio who were rabid believers in what they were reporting. But is that important to be an apolitical reporter? Or do we have to know that what we are reporting is the truth? Does it mean it's true to us, or true

2:04

A Different Kind Of Ghosting

Weekly Earful ·

2025/03/17

I lost a client who will go dark in coming days because they couldn’t collect debts owed to them.So, when is it time to go Alec Baldwin on the Paparazzi mad? Or do you just stay chill, demand your money and hope for the best, like the Democrats ;)I’ve spoken to other entrepreneurs who just worry and say nothing. But seriously? Where does that get you? (Not to be bleak, but early death from stress?) I believe there is a way to do this with care, but when someone straight up ignores you, then what?As

2:09

18 Years Ago...

Weekly Earful ·

2025/03/10

It was 18 years ago today, well almost, more like 18 years, 3 weeks and 4 days when I took a gamble to remotely send news to radio stations and not try to get another corporate gig. This was before COVID, so it was not a necessity, but the name made sense.I was living in Montana where finding a job was a challenge because of the amount of people who just wanted to live there and would literally take any job, professional, trade, hospitality, or otherwise, you name it. I had my dream job there, and

2:08

Alternative is the new Real

Weekly Earful ·

2025/03/03

Are you interested in veering away from so-called Mainstream Media?In 2017 a list was released by a non-partisan organization noting every news outlet and which way they leaned politically. I’m old enough to remember when news was not about politics all day long.A few years ago, we started a free national newscast that was entitled “News that Matters”, because we felt like we were being inundated with news from DC. And now we're back there again.I have spoken to friends who are completely tuning out

5:09

I'm Just Not That into You

Weekly Earful ·

2025/02/24

What is the appropriate response to a potential employer or hiring committee when they are just not that into you?As my company grows, I have had the privilege of needing to hire more people. I try to respond to every potential hire. Sometimes there’s not enough time, so I do send a quick note with an attachment about how our company operates to gauge interest. If they respond, then, away we go for a potential Zoom interview and meetup.Since a major component of my company is talent management, it

4:38

Bots, Bullies and Trolls…. Oh my!

Weekly Earful ·

2025/02/17

When did we all get so angry? When did we find time to troll people on everything from help wanted posts to pictures of their favorite pet. Don’t get me started on political or general news posts. Since when did it become okay to attack someone in public? I mean, that’s what social media is, a public forum. Unless you are all dog and cat videos, chances are you will be trolled or a bot, or farm of them (botnets) will come for you.I must admit, I am guilty of trolling right back. When I see a news

3:49

The Beauty of Streaming

Weekly Earful ·

2025/02/10

Oh winter! The joy of freezing your bottom off AND getting sick, really, really, sick. There are so many things floating around, and I’ve been oh so careful.As someone who has worked at home for most of my adult life, it’s rare to be exposed to anything. But one does need to venture out of the home office now and again. It wasn’t COVID, the Flu or RSV that took me down, just a plain ol’ virus. I’m usually good after a day or two, and hardly see the doctor, minus the yearly checkups, but when you

3:53

You've Gotta Be Special

Weekly Earful ·

2025/02/03

When I started to work outside corporate America, it was because I was a new mommy and wanted to be home with my little daughter. I had been a radio journalist and traveled to tiny town America to do so, and I had worked temp jobs as an administrative assistant, transcriptionist or whatever was necessary to help support my family.Since I had worked in radio, I got a temp job working for an agent, and not to bore you with too many details, I ended up starting my own talent agency a year later. My

3:39

What Happened to Everyone?

Weekly Earful ·

2025/01/27

As a company grows, they need to continually look for stellar talent. And as larger companies consolidate to save money, stellar talent are lost, some forever, others into the ether. But where do they actually go?I keep seeing posts on social media about folks entirely leaving the industry as consolidation has pushed them out. I’ve had a few leave here too, but I have somehow managed to lure some of them back (or keep them around).I’ve written about this countless times, as more experienced talent

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