I like Jerry McGuire.
Not the movie, necessarily.
The whole premise is pretty formulaic and the “you had me at hello” stuff is the kind of thing that comes back to haunt every guy who ever forgets an anniversary and/or doesn’t have the training to know that when you ask “what’s wrong” and she says “oh, nothing”, that you never, ever leave it at that.
So I can take or leave the movie, pre se’.
But I do like the character itself.
At least that quality in the character that gets him thrown out of his cush job as a sports agent and sends the plot flying on down the road toward the Hallmark card stuff at the end.
If you’ve never seen the movie, the quick summary of the set up is that, in a moment of humanness one night, he writes a memo that spells out, in no uncertain terms, that being an agent should be about taking care of people and looking out for their interests and not, as it is so much of the time, about self interest and doing whatever it takes to up the commissions and/or save one’s own job.
It’s a stunning piece of writing that every single person who reads it finds insightful, even brilliant.
And, naturally, he gets fired for it.
I always thought a catchier name for the movie would be “The Truth Really WILL Set You Free.”
But nobody asked me.
In the movie, Jerry is, as we know, a sports agent.
But he could just as easily be an accountant, a politician…
Or a radio personality.
Because the underlying moral of the story is interchangeable with any number of professions and is, I think, the real poignancy of the story.
That telling the truth may be the right thing to do.
But it’s most usually not the smart thing to do.
A good friend and colleague of mine in the broadcasting industry got fired from his gig a few weeks ago. And in a fell swoop, joined me and thousands of our peers who are currently “on the beach” in the industry, looking for the next place to ply our trade and entertain our audiences.
He’s a very talented fellow with years of chops and an engaging on air style that entertains without pandering and informs without boring.
Much like me.
Hey, that’s why they call it shameless SELF-promotion.
But he and I, among others, share another quality in common.
We have a tendency to say bullshit when we see bullshit.
And neither one of us have been able to get it through our thick heads what Jerry McGuire teaches us with every HBO replay.
Telling the truth is the right thing to do.
But not the smart thing.
And the truth I'm talking about isn’t petty stuff like why are there no lounge chairs in the jock lounge or why is there a big sign on the water cooler that says “Don’t Use This For Coffee” (I personally never could wrap my head around the idea that it’s okay to drink the water, you just aren’t allowed to run it through a filter and some grounds first)
The truth I’m talking about is the same truth that is, and has been for some time, being discussed industry wide.
Conventional radio is in a state of transition, primarily because it is not a growth industry anymore.
People are tuning out in large measure because they are turned off.
And with the advent of podcasts, Iphone, satellite radio, Internet radio, et al, conventional radio no longer has the luxury of simply shoveling out the same old same old every day and expecting any kind of return on their investment.
Because listeners have too many other places to go to be entertained without being pandered to and informed without being bored.
With apologies for mixing the movie metaphors…in large measure, they’re mad as hell and they’re not going to take it anymore.
Well, if you’ve ever worked in broadcasting, you already know what I’m talking about without my having to waste your day by preaching to you as you stand in the choir.
And if you haven’t worked in broadcasting, you certainly understand the premise without me having to waste your day by making and remaking the point.
Suffice to say that I think that what’s required to stop the exodus of conventional radio listeners is the time honored “return to fundamentals”, engaging and entertaining programs offered up by live, not prerecorded, personalities who love what they do, work hard to earn their listener’s trust and loyalty and who, more importantly, don’t insult their listeners intelligence by dumbing the shows down to attract the lowest common denominator.
There’s less and less of that happening in conventional radio these days.
And if you, like me, grew up listening to and loving what was on the air, you’ve got to miss it.
Or even be a little sad.
Or maybe, if it means that much to you, a little pissed off.
This just in from the AP……
PORTLAND, Ore. -- An angry listener may be responsible for a car that crashed into Portland radio station studios Friday afternoon.
The driver backed the car into the studios of Newsradio 750 KXL and Jammin 95.5 on Bancroft Street at about 1 p.m. and then drove away.
Employees said the car came within feet of the receptionist. Workers at the radio station managed to get a license plate number and police were able to track the driver to Vancouver.
Officers took the man into custody at his home and towed his car away was evidence.
Neighbors said the man responsible has a vendetta against the radio station Jammin 95.5.
Police said the driver is receiving a mental evaluation. He was not charged with a crime Friday.
I think Jerry McGuire would offer us that the guy isn’t crazy at all.
He probably just heard one too many boob jokes on the morning show.
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