Below is an recent article written by Don Allen. Any Cajun fan knows who Don is so I will not go into all that or his history. I do want to say that I truly enjoyed Don's show and hate to see it gone. Don has a unique voice and is a true character. He was the first announcer I ever heard call a Cajun football game. To say that I like Don and enjoyed his show is not to say that I dislike any of the KPEL announcers. I think Stevie P. does a great job there and is the backbone of that station and does not get enough credit. Two shows I tried very very hard not to miss on a daily basis: Thinking Out Loud and Out of Bounds, now there is only one.

Been There. Done That.
An excuse to sleep late. No more job.
Don Allen / Sports and Movies
Posted on August 18, 2004
When we meet people for the first time, it's common for them to ask what we do for a living. Ask me that question a week ago and the answer would be, I write in the paper and talk on the radio. Not exactly manual labor, I know. But ask it today and you'll get a different response. Shorter, too.

The radio gig is history. I mention this strictly for selfish reasons, otherwise I'll be answering questions for weeks. No, I'm not taking a few days off. No, lightning didn't strike the transmitter again. No, I didn't see it coming.

After 30 or so years in the business, I should have. Radio is an ephemeral industry, always has been and always will be. Success is based on results, which translate listeners into ratings, which, in turn, translate into commercials. Radio has nothing to offer but time and if the moment is missed, it's gone forever. So the people who run stations spend a lot of sleepless nights wondering if what's on the air is attracting as many listeners as it should. Sometimes they hire consultants to tell them what they should already know. Most of the time, they do what everybody else does. They guess.

Sometimes they'll try the lottery technique. Buy enough stations and eventually, you'll collect. Radio has become a corporate entity and almost gone are the stand-alone operations. But with the corporate philosophy comes a general disregard for individuals because the bottom line becomes not just an important goal, it becomes the only goal. So the individual is rendered even more expendable, since (as anyone who's ever worked the industry has been told), radio people are a dime a dozen.

Then there's the technology, so advanced that stations often don't need people at all. Hire an engineer, contract with a network and you're set. Of course, the local programming suffers (read: nonexistent) but in the corporate world, only the bottom line matters. Personally, I've always believed that even horrid local programming has its place on the air. Local identity is important and, besides, you can get the national stuff anywhere.

Formats have become so stylized that you almost need a college degree just to figure them out. But if you filter through the rhetoric, you'll find there are only two to choose from: music and talk. Music is dependent totally on the audience you're trying to reach and consultants make a very good living by splitting hairs. The study of demographics has become an art form (albeit bad art at times) and if you're wondering why there's no true classic rock station in Lafayette, it's probably because some consultant suggested otherwise.

Talk's a tougher sell, simply because not as many listeners are interested. People would rather be entertained by a song they've heard 20 times than information or opinion they're hearing for the first time. Besides, talk radio freaks are usually older in age than the target audience your consultant suggests is important. It's why some DJs are under strict instructions to never talk for more than seven seconds at a time. That's either an indictment of the industry or a comment on the talent. Maybe both.

Sports talk is perhaps the toughest sell of all. Not only is it strictly male-oriented, but it's geared toward men who consider the Saints tight end position and the overall impact of the DH as important topics. It's a loyal group but small and, usually in corporate radio, small is not good. Still, one station (KPEL-AM) has made a decent living of delivering exactly that message with a heavy dosage of local programming to boot.

So perhaps there just wasn't enough room for a second, local, sports talk show. I don't know. Or maybe the program just got caught up in the dreaded change-of-ownership transition where the easiest decision is just to fire some people and start over. Whatever, the show is gone and I just thought those of you who wondered might like to know why. Actually I don't know why, they haven't talked to me yet. Maybe I still have a show and don't know it. Probably not.

Rest in peace.

Don Allen's Out of Bounds will celebrate its 17th anniversary with The Times in September. Proof that you can fool some of the people all of the time. E-mail him at timesedit@timesofacadiana.com. Want to share with a friend? E-mail it from our Web site, http://www.timesofacadiana.com.