Critique Me Please

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I was digging through the crates and I found this today. It reminded me of the ambition that I once had. At one point, my drive literally drove all of my friends away. They called me crazy. I dedicated almost 80% of my day towards researching the industry. Finding out who's who. My network game was tiiiiight. I have no regrets. In a little under 10 years, I was able to maneuver through some of the top radio markets in the country. Most importantly, I was able to go from $6 dollar an hour to a six figure salary in 9.4 years. I was humble yet hungry.

The above image is a snapshot of something that I created called it a critique sheet. I mailed them to Program Directors across the country along with my audition cassette tape. I simply asked various people in the industry to review my tape and them critique it. I included a self-addressed stamped envelope (this was before e-mail & MP3s) to try to make it easier for them to respond. It was also a way to introduce myself in a non traditional way. Unfortunately, I rarely received a response. I remember being so angry as most PDs wouldn't give me the time of day. Furthermore, a bitch was broke and I had wasted postage and perfectly good cassette tapes on some of these assholes.

I thought it would be cool to share some of the results from mailing these packages to some of the industry's alleged finest.

Terri Avery - Never mailed the critique sheet back. I called to follow up and her response was, "I usually charge people to critique them". >>enter a WTF face here<< >

Russ Parr - Actually responded. Showered me with compliments. Insisted that I would make it 'BIG' one day.  

Steve Hegwood- Ignored me in the worst way.

Vinnie Brown - Ignored me in a WORSER way.

Helen Little - Ignored my critique sheet..but eventually responded to my phone calls...but would never hire me.

Lisa Lisa (formerly of WKYS in Washington DC) - Crickets.

Lorenzo 'ICED TEA' Thomas - More crickets.

Toya Beasley (formerly of WRKS, NY) - Ignored me.

Tracy Cloerty (formerly of WQHT, NY) - Ignored critique sheet...but eventually met her personally. She told me that she only hired 'stars'.  >>there goes my self esteem<<

Tony Gray (consultant) - Ignored me but eventually responded. Gave me a lot of empty promises.

There are probably more...but I'm gonna head for bed now.  

SIDEBAR - I actually received a phone call today from a potential employer!  Being unemployed for so long has definitely done some damage because I wasn't even excited when the phone rang.  My heart told me that it was going to be about some bullshit.  And it ended up being exactly that..Bullshit. 

The Art of Being Difficult

...“I heard that she's difficult to deal with”.

I refuse to let those be the words to define me or my radio career. However, those were the words radio executive Steve Hegwood uttered to a friend of mine recently. I was stunned because I am one of the most non-controversial people you’ll ever meet. My friend continued to tell me all of the details of his conversation with Steve, but I blacked out and began to ask myself, “What kind of school girl gossip is going on here?”

In just 13 short years (from 1995-2008) I’ve had one of best radio careers in the game. My peers, both male and female, were amazed at how I was able to maneuver through the top markets in the industry. In between, there were many ups and downs, but nothing major. I’ve always carried myself like a professional. I NEVER slept with anyone to get a job and I never compromised my integrity. My talent and determination are completely responsible for my radio success.

So why is Steve Hegwood dirtying up my name and possibly preventing me from getting future employment? I’ve always looked up him...and always attempted to keep in contact with him no matter where I was located. What would make him utter the words, “I heard that she is difficult.”? Who told him this?

I’ve never had any shouting matches with my employers and I’ve never been insubordinate. However, I will admit that most of my bosses in the radio have been men and they were more driven by their egos than they were by the BUSINESS of radio. Is it possible that I hurt someone’s feelings because I would ask for our verbal agreements to be put in writing? Isn’t that the professional way to handle business and prevent confusion? Perhaps being the consummate professional is coming back to haunt me because obviously I’ve bruised someone’s ego along the way.