funny, isn't it?
by jeanne charters

I was one of the first women in media in Albany, New York … I think it was right after Adam ate that apple.

Actually, the year was 1977. Television was “king” and cable was nonexistent. In the 60’s, I believed that I would never need to worry about anything as mundane as a career. I’d be taken care of by my husband and I, in turn, would take care of his house, his children and his every need. By the mid 1970’s, however, it became clear that here I was with 4 adolescent daughters and no sure path to getting them educated. My husband was clearly on a path to unemployment. Although his company had supported him through 3 rehab programs, they were running out of steam with him. So was I.

First, I got a job as a secretary. Next, I was an office manager (an awful one, I must admit). It became obvious that the money I was making would not get even one of my daughters through 4 years of college, let alone all 4 of them. What to do???
I was working as a secretary and part-time copy writer at a small advertising agency, loving the work, hating the paycheck. Everyone said that “all the money is in sales”. Sales seemed way too tough for me. I had seen “Death of a Salesman” and found it one of the most depressing stories ever staged. I was scared to death of something so pushy and unfeminine. Then, one day, a male friend said to me, “Why don’t you try a job in media sales?”

Media sales? What was that? I thought that all those commercials I saw on television and heard on radio were the result of some magical electronic system that I didn’t comprehend. The agency I worked in specialized in print ads. However, I was intrigued.

Turned out there were actually people (men) out there selling 30 and 60 second messages to local companies interested in spreading the word to the marketplace about their services and products. I asked around and learned that a local radio station was looking to hire, so I got up the guts and picked up the phone.

The Sales Manager of that radio station decided to hire me. Reason was that I mentioned on my resume that theater was my favorite avocation. He figured that anyone who had the courage to get up and sing and dance on a stage would be fine on their feet in a sales presentation. Not a bad reason. I think it’s worthy here to remind ourselves that you just never know what’s going to turn somebody on.

With no training, I set out. The yellow pages were my account list. I trudged the streets of downtown Albany in my stiletto heels and suit and made cold calls. I had the most success on very dark and rainy days (and there were a lot of them). I think that seeing someone walk in dripping wet made many a retailer soften his mercenary little heart in those days. Plus, the radio spots cost only $15.00 each.

I learned from the Arbitron ratings book that my station was the “top station in the market for reaching men 35-54 between the hours of 2 and 3 in the afternoon”. I said that line so many times that I began to feel like a recording. I had some luck. I sold a schedule for $250.00 to a company called Perfecto Auto Glass and Upholstery. Two days later, they had a call from Lake George for a $2,000.00 boat cover order. The boat owner had heard the ad. I was a hero! Thank you, Jesus!!!

With that success under my belt, I began to sell more. After one year, I was approached by the ABC television affiliate to sell for them. Television … nirvana! And it was in those days. There were only 3 television stations in town then … no Fox, no cable, no UPN. Plus, television was glamorous! I could make a phone call and always get an appointment when I said I was from WTEN-TV.

In those days, most broadcast account executives were male. I was the only woman selling in the radio station. In television, there was one other. Her name was Vera. Vera had started as secretary to the General Sales Manager of the station fresh out of college. She was smart as a whip and twice as fast. She became my best friend, my mentor and my advisor in all things personal and professional.

Vera had business cards printed. Her slogan on the card was “a piece of tail with every sale”. When clients tried to collect on that promise, she’d point to me and say, “Oh, I meant hers.” In those days, you must remember there was no such thing as sexual harassment. The men harassed us. We harassed them right back. It helped a lot that Vera was, and is, one of the funniest human beings I have ever met. It was profane and not particularly “feminine”, but I was having the best time of my life.

I found that I liked conceptualizing TV ads for clients much more than selling. I had good ideas and could write them quickly. This endeared me to our overworked Production Department. However, when I attempted to direct my first commercial, the cameraman turned to me and said, “Look, either you direct or I direct.”

Since he had been doing this job for 10 years, I figured he was better equipped and backed right off.

My Sales Manager determined that I wasn’t going to work out and suggested that I “might consider returning to radio”. Vera took me into the ladies room, mopped up my tears and helped me map my strategy. I went into his office and said, “No … I won’t quit. You’ll have to fire me.” That next year, I was named Knight Ridder’s corporate salesperson of the year. He has apologized regularly since then.

After that, I became the station’s Marketing Director and then became the Viacom Vice President of Marketing. I wanted a big title; I wanted big money. I got them both. Be careful what you want.

I was a big success in the broadcast industry. My girls had all graduated from college and one was in medical school. AND I WAS MISERABLE! Addicted to money and recognition, I didn’t even realize how much of a token I was. I was the only corporate female in Viacom at that time, and it was hell. I no longer had a Vera to help me fight my battles, and I was woefully ignorant of how to maneuver in those rough political seas of corporate television. I was running as fast as I could and never seemed to catch up.

In the 90’s, the belt began to tighten on television. There was so much competition, and the free ride was over. Positions were eliminated and lives were changed. Some lives were ruined. I thought mine was when my big job was eliminated without fanfare or apology. I had no idea that losing that job would save my sanity. With the encouragement of my Matt, my Vera, and many clients, I started my own broadcast advertising agency. That was 1991. Funny, isn’t it, how sometimes the most frightening times of your life turn to the most beneficial … in retrospect.

Now I get to write and produce commercials at will. As the belt was tightening at Viacom, many production people were fired. Therefore, if I wanted a tape produced, it was up to me. What a lucky break! If only we knew how learning to be multi-dimensional in an industry would carry us through the rough times, we would never gripe about being asked to do things “outside our job description”.

I dedicate this “woman in media” column to Vera Hope. She is now the General Sales Manager at WTEN-TV in Albany. She is also still one of my very best friends in the world.

Jeanne Charters lives in Fairview with her husband, Matt Restivo. A former V.P. of Marketing for Viacom Television, she started her own award-winning broadcast Advertising agency in 1990.
[ charmkt@juno.com; 828-628-0023 ]