6-19-2013
Kelly Orchard thinks the stress of our biz has made us crazy...the wrong type of crazy.
We've all joked from time to time about the mental state of the radio workforce, yet Kelly feels it's for real. She's currently creating and refining a series of presentations, webinars, and consultations on the issue of stress management, anxiety, and productivity, all in the hope of giving positivity to a mental health perspective.
Kelly Orchard is a second-generation broadcaster who has worked not only with her family's radio stations but also (with her dad) operated an FCC compliance consultancy.
From there came a turn in the road for Kelly. "A few years ago I began a journey to pursue a Master's Degree in Psychology and have been working as a therapist, maintaining Orchard Media Services from the sidelines hoping that the economy will turn around or radio would figure out what it's going to do and so on. I followed the trades, maintained relationships within the industry, even graduated from the NABEF's Broadcast Leadership training program.
"As I continued to consult with stations about their FCC compliance plans, I couldn't help but become extremely aware of the stress, anxiety, and general frustration and discouragement at the state of the industry. I'm on a mission to provide peace of mind, mental wellness tips, and help my friends in the industry because I see it all of the time. I'm a media and mental health advocate."
Kelly not only feels our relationships in the building need work but also our relationship with our audience. She feels that the "take a walk in their shoes" approach is an important process to take a staff through. She equates it to Marriage Counseling 101 and has some questions that a therapist would tell radio to think about when considering counseling with
the audience:
1) "How much does radio know about an audience on a personal level? Aside from the raw research what do they really want?"
2) "How much does radio identify with the audience? Are you, as in a relationship, compatible?"
3) "What worked in the past? How did the audience first fall in love with radio and what has changed?"
Kelly feels that radio needs to stop chasing audience and that the real work should start within the walls of each and every radio station. She believes there are evidenced-based practices in the mental health therapy industry that can help and it all starts with positive thinking. "Consider the laws of physics, broadcast engineers love this as do sales managers. Whatever you put out will come back to you. For every action there is an equal reaction."
For Kelly, it's about reconsidering your mindset as you go to work. "If you are thinking negatively and you hate your job and you hate the business, your audience will detect it. Radio won't be able to change the audience perception unless it changes from within."
Buzz Knight is the Vice President of Program Development for Greater Media and he can be reached at bknight@greatermediaboston.com. Knight was named among ?Best Programmers? by Radio Ink Magazine in 2007 and 2010. He has served on the programming subcommittee of the National Association of Broadcasters(NAB) and is currently a member of the Arbitron Radio Advisory Council and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) COLRAM Committee.
If you want to recommend an "Expert in the Wings" reach me at bknight@greatermediaboston.com
(6/19/2013 2:38:42 PM)
An honor to be featured here with some other great "experts"! Would love calls or emails from readers. I can be reached at kelly@orchardmediaservices.com or 760-887-4444
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