Magic 89.9’s Organizational Structure and Communication

By

Jesusa Rocel Soriano

Joy Compuesto

Jonik Antonio

Erika Lualhati

Michelle Partosa

ORCOM 101 : Introduction to Organizational Communication

Prof. Luis Buenaventura

21 March 2012

INTRODUCTION

Radio is a source of enjoyment, entertainment and information. We, as listeners, enjoy

the magic of radio and the happiness and satisfaction that it gives us. Radio stations, be they

commercial or publicly funded, have an organizational structure to enable stations to run

smoothly, and provide material for our listening enjoyment. Our group decided to visit one of the

leading stations in the country--- Magic 89.9 wherein we were given the chance to interview Mr.

Dennis Poliquit also known as “Big Daddy”, the On-Air Operations Supervisor. We went there

last March 5, and scheduled the interview via email (through DJ Andi) and phone call (through

Ms. Michelle).

DWTM (89.9 MHz in Mega Manila) is the flagship FM Station of Quest Broadcasting

Incorporated/Tiger 22 Media Corporation known as Magic 89.9. Quest Broadcasting Inc. (also

operating by the trade name The Radio Partners Inc.) is a Philippine radio broadcast network,

with main broadcast facilities in Metro Manila. Tiger 22 Media Corporation, also known as The

Radio Partners, Inc. (TRPI), is a Philippine-based company, focused on providing management

and marketing consultancy for radio companies in the country. Under Quest Broadcasting Inc.,

The company currently serves five FM stations and 1 AM station in Manila, and five provincial

FM stations. These stations are Jam 88.3, Wave 891, Magic 89.9, 99.5 RT, 103.5 WOW FM and

the Killerbee's provincial stations. TRPI is owned by The Vera Group, which also owns its sister

companies FBS Radio Network.

The station’s studios and transmitter are located at Paragon Plaza, Mandaluyong City.

Magic 89.9 is a 24-hour operating station except on Mondays where it signs-off at midnight, and

except Holy Week of each year where it signs-off at midnight of Maundy Thursday and lasts

until 3 am of Easter Sunday.

BRIEF HISTORY

The station began regular operations on February 14, 1986, broadcasting from the

Philippine Communications Center building (PHILCOMCEN) in Pasig City, starting with a 10

on-air crew led by Bernie Buenaseda, known on-air as "Burning Bernie". It became a witness to

history unfolding before the Filipinos as the station was also started 11 days before the

late Corazon "Cory" Aquino became president and 7 months exactly before ABS-CBN was

reopened. The Classic DJs during that period inclusive of Bernie, were the Fab 10; Little David,

Joe D'Mango, Sgt. Pepper, The Gaucho, Paul Reno, Ken Fortun, Rockin' Robin (eventually

becoming Rockin' V), Michael Vincent and Johnny Gizmo.

This is the old logo of Magic 89.9.

From 1988 to 1989, the station started broadcasting 24 hours a day, which turned out to

be a huge success. "The Battle of the Radios" during that era, was supported by a wide variety of

spoofs and gimmicks not to mention sidekicks, (no computers, no hard drives but just a bunch of

wires) which made broadcasting ultra-creative as compared to that done with the digital

technology of today.

On November 29, 1999, Magic 89.9 transferred its studios to the Paragon Plaza Building

in Mandaluyong City to share facilities with sister station 99.5 RT, Mellow Touch 94.7

(now Mellow 947), DWBL 1242 and DWSS 1494.

Magic 89.9 became the first home of "Love Notes", which was initially conceptualized as

a gimmick. The 15 minute counselling program hosted by Joe D'Mango became an instant hit

with office workers every Friday morning. Love Notes is also aired on ABC-5 from 1992 to

1996, it transferred to its sister station Wave 89.1 in 2001.

It has become well known for making Fridays nostalgia days with the Friday

Madness program (which was originally Friday Magic Madness), a format that started a trend

on FM radio.

Mo Twister, after four years in hiatus, returned to Magic 89.9, with Good Times With

Mo (Limited Edition). He returned again in February 2006 with Good Times with Mo along with

Mojo Jojo, then a late night show. In June 2006, it was transferred to the morning slot (6-9 AM)

with a third co-host, Andi. She, however resigned in February 2007, and was replaced by Maui

Taylor. Maui retired on May 30, 2007, so Andi returned in June 2007, only to leave again on

November 2007. The third co-host is now Grace Lee.

On July 17, 2007, The Magic website was in operation once more to serve the net surfing

Magic 89.9 listeners here and especially abroad.

Recent additions to the Magic list of programs include the American Top 40

(AT40) which is hosted by American Idol presenter and American radio and TV personality Ryan

Seacrest, as well as BigFish Radio hosted by Johnboy Lee of BigFish Manila every Saturday

nights which features exclusive programs by international club DJs such as Paul Van Dyk, David

Guetta, Armin van Buuren and others.

VISION and MISSION

As what we’ve learned in the class, vision and mission statements should articulate the

essence of the organization’s beliefs and values and define its place in the world. It establishes

the long-term direction that guides every aspect of an organization’s daily operations.

Surprisingly, Magic 89.9 has no written vision and mission for years but they have an

articulated goal and that is---to entertain. And this is just what they value when they

conceptualize the programs and shows. Also, the station does not have certain rules and

regulations.

But then, Magic 89.9 is the flagship station of Quest Broadcasting Incorporated/Tiger 22

Media Corporation. Maybe Quest Broadcasting Incorporated and Tiger 22 Media Corporation

have the vision and mission for their company. Due to some constraints, we were not able to go

to them anymore. We only focused on Magic 89.9.

ORGANIZATIONAL CHART

Below is the station’s organizational chart. The station is composed of seven (7)

departments and each with a specific task/role.

President- The president of the radio station is the owner. He manages the entire radio station

and deals with the employee’s concerns. Often, he meets with the vice president and the station

manager if he has messages to relay to the rest of the members of the company.

Vice President- Meets with the president, he takes over when the president is not around. He

also deals with the station manager who is always in the radio station.

Station Manager

Production

Director

Program/

Music

Director

Sales

Head/

Manager

Engineering

Department

Traffic

Head

On-Air

Operations

Supervisor

Vice President

DJs/Talent

President

Technicians

Station manager- A station manager is responsible for the day to day operation of the radio

station. He is responsible for all departments, from sales to engineering. The station manager

must also insure that the station adheres to federal rules and regulations. But in Magic 89.9, the

station manager believes in relationship rather than stiff connections. The tradition and culture he

introduces to the staff are very flexible. Also, a station manager can act as a liaison between the

staff and the owners of the station, and makes certain that the staff maintains the owners'

standards. To that end, the station manager is usually responsible for hiring and training new

employees, and he also has final approval of the station’s format.

Production Director - The program director plans each day's radio program, and also gives the

on-air staff and recording engineer the material that needs to be covered in the live broadcast. He

insures that the radio show runs as it is supposed to, and that all of the required content makes it

to the air. The production manager finds the music or other content for his live show, making

certain that the standards of the station are maintained. This position involves working with the

station manager to make sure that the ratings are calculated and advertisers are satisfied.

Normally, a production director is in charge of one show with the same staff.

Music Director- He is in charge of the music to be played during the different programs.

However, they don’t create playlist for specific programs. The dj’s are the one creating the

playlist and consult with the music director. The music director then validates if it is applicable

for that program.

Sales head- The sales team sells on-air advertising. Selling advertising in radio is much like

selling advertising in print media or on-line. Customers must be identified, their needs must be

identified, and then their needs must be satisfied. The sales head is the person behind the

sponsorship and publicity of the radio station at the same time. This person accommodates and

visit companies who are interested to invest in their station. He introduces the radio station to

encourage companies to invest in their station. Without the sales head, production will not be

possible.

On-Air Operations Supervisor- The one responsible for hiring dj’s and deals with their

concerns. He also answers the comments and feedbacks from the listeners.

Traffic head- Creates the commercials for the programs. Usually, this person monitors computer

feed program advisories, operation schedules, program notes, and other pertinent information

and monitors and serves as communication liaison.

Engineering department- The engineering staff take care of the technical aspects of

broadcasting. This department is led by the chief engineer, whose responsibilities include

supervising the engineering staff, purchasing and maintaining equipment and adhering to the

station’s standards. The engineering staff is responsible for making sure that the radio programs

are actually broadcast. Engineers also mix music, edit tracks and use the fade in/out function,

among other things. Maintaining sound quality, signal strength and clarity are also integral parts

of the engineer’s job.

DJs/ Talents - On-air personalities are the most audible part of a radio station's corporate

structure. They are the voice of the station. Disc jockeys select and play music as well as provide

a brief introduction or background about the song. In addition, disc jockeys provide news briefs,

weather reports and traffic updates. Radio show hosts usually run talk shows in which listeners

call in. Sometimes, guests are interviewed. Like many of their counterparts in other departments,

on-air staff need to adhere to the standards of the station.

Here is a list of the present Air Staff of Magic 89.9.

Andi-9

Angelicopter

Big Daddy Jake

Boom Gonzales

CJ D' DJ

Grace Lee

Jessica Mendoza

Josh Strike

Mia Bayuga

Miguel (also known as Lil' Man Guile)

Mo Twister

Mojo Jojo

Patrick

Sam YG (also known as Shivaker)

Slick Rick

Suzy

Tony Toni

Tyler

Carlo Jose Villo a.k.a. Carlo Jose (Voice-over of the Station)

Andrew Santiago a.k.a James Bang, James Peng (Station Manager)

Alex Gotinga a.k.a. Max Speed (Program Director)

Ryan Seacrest

Johnboy Lee (DJ John Paul)

Ricky Manila

TRADITIONAL MEDIA USED BY THE STATION

The company has minimal number of traditional media being used. Examples of these are

memos, formal letters and playlist. They don’t use bulletin boards or Ethernet.

NEW MEDIA USED BY THE STATION

Because most of the members of the company are young individuals, they used new

media rather than the traditional ones. It is because, it is faster, reliable and most of the messages

transferred are informal format. Because of technology, the company accommodates changes

with the media to be use in their company. The company does not follow any formalities often.

Also, the usage of new media is faster and reliable and the members of the company are young

individuals that would rather choose or prefer new media than traditional one. If urgent matters

arise they talk to them in a face to face communication. Even the schedules are flexible. These

new media are Facebook, BBM, Twitter and of course, the official website of the station. Below

is the photo of their official website : http://www.magic899.fm/

This is the upper part of the website, with the tabs (Home, What’s HOT, Shows, Gallery, Promos

and Events, and Listen Live!).

Here, is the link to Interact, a way of online communication with the DJ and accessing their

profile.

This one, as you can see there is the mini-box for live streaming, the comment box and What’s

Hot (an update of the latest happenings, news stories, sports and features).

CONCEPTUALIZATION OF PROGRAMS

In a radio company setting, there are people behind the planning of the programs. But this

station allows the DJs to be independent as possible and encourage them to experience the

outside world before they incorporate it to the program. Once the DJ organize his plans he then

now consult with the station manager and gives them the approval. They don’t follow norms or

domains when it comes to conceptualization of their program. This fosters creativity, freedom

and uniqueness. Because, compared to the other radio stations in the country, the format of the

programs are designed by the Executive Producers. And the DJs will just add life to the script

that were given to them and will be boxed with the format of the program given to them. This is

what’s great in Magic 89.9 because as long as the DJs or hosts of the programs can handle their

shows by themselves, they are allowed to do that. They can consult with the On-Air Operations

Manager or Supervisor on what is the theme of their program, and then after that, all the songs to

be played and segments to include in their specific program depends on their choice and style.

Problems and Challenges Encountered

Usually, the problems encountered by the company within the members or staff are the

independence that they have in the company. Because of too much freedom, sometimes they

forget about work ethics. That even though they treat each other as barkadas and not as

“Boss”/”Ma’am”/”Sir”, they still need to fulfil some things and be responsible when it comes to

work. One example is the issue of tardiness. According to Big Daddy, sometimes there are DJs

who are late, so they just talk or text about it. Communication in fact, greatly helps Magic 89.9 to

maintain and foster good relationships for good programs and ratings. In terms of schedules and

type of programs, some of their listeners complain, especially in terms of conceptualizing the

programs.

COMPARISON WITH DZUP

Magic 89.9 is very different from DZUP in almost everything. DZUP has a well-written

mission-vision, while Magic does not. From our DZUP visit, we learned that their mission-vision

is:

Mission: "Matinong usapan para sa maunlad na bayan!"

Vision: DZUP, the national university’s AM radio station, is committed to provide a creative

and interactive environment for the discussion of academic and non-academic issues; to

disseminate knowledge and information; and to promote volunteerism as it harnesses expertise

among students, faculty, administration, and alumni through the creation of critical, principled,

transformative, and ethical programs that aim to nurture responsible citizenship, nationalism and

social consciousness towards progress.

In the case of Magic, it is simply “to entertain people.” In terms of how they

communicate with their own people, Magic is very up-to-date. They make use of the new media

more than the traditional media. Unlike DZUP that makes use of memos, Magic makes use of

social networking sites such as Facebook. They do so because they feel that it is more personal,

hence more effective.

In conceptualizing the programs, both stations get the ideas from the big bosses on top of

the organizational chart. However, the difference is with the actual execution of the programs.

For the DZUP, it is more structured, and they follow how the staff wants it to be. In the case of

Magic, the big bosses basically come up with the idea, and then the DJs themselves are the ones

who will do their own research for the program. They basically have the freedom to do anything

and talk about anything, as long as the show or the station does not get into trouble.

Despite these differences from DZUP, which are mostly the absences of certain elements

in Magic, it cannot be said that Magic is not a successful station. As Big Daddy said, they are

part of the top 10 radio stations in the country, and that is a good thing because usually, “masa”

stations fill the top 10 slots. It can therefore be said, based on comparison with DZUP, that

having the elements does not necessarily assure the success of a station. It probably will boil

down to the effectiveness and efficiency of the station itself.

CONCLUSION

The group was amazed how the company works. First, the dynamics of the company is

very flexible and does not follow certain standard or domain and the result is still efficient and

the articulated goal, which is to entertain, is always met. Secondly, the relationship among the

members of the company is very supple. I think the informality within the station is the prime

domain in creating a vibrant setting for the members of the company as well as the listeners.

Quoting what’s written on their Facebook profile “We have the best on-air content”. True

enough, with a synergy of expertise and experience spanning more than twenty years, Magic

89.9 is the token prime mover of Philippine Radio Broadcasting.

GROUP PICTURE with BIG DADDY

(Taken after the interview)

(FROM LEFT) Jesusa Rocel Soriano, Michelle Partosa, Joy Compuesto, Erika Lualhati and “Big

Daddy” / Mr. Dennis Poliquit. - Photo by Jonik Antonio.

A Sample Letter from One of Magic 89.9’s Jocks (sent via email)

On Wed, May 4, 2011 at 4:31 PM, Rebecca Fabregas <beafab14@gmail.com> wrote:

OH MY GOODNESSSSS THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

On Wed, May 4, 2011 at 8:03 AM, Pat Jam <graveyardshift899@yahoo.com> wrote:

Good morning! The list of the new batch of Junior Jocks were announced last night and if you

weren't able to hear it, I'm here to let you know that you are one of the few to make it in the

program! I am confident that we have made the right choice. Your journey in the world of radio

begins here. Being a Junior Jock simply entitles you the privilege to attend the workshops,

activities, and training sessions provided by Magic 89.9. In the end, the value of your experience

will depend on what you do with it. Some will be content with just being called a Junior Jock

while others are in it to progress and learn as much as they can about radio and themselves. I

hope you don't take this opportunity for granted. The Magic family will be with you every step

of the way to guide you. We are all excited to welcome you to our team!

The first activity that you will participate in will be announced soon. An introduction to the

program will be made so you know what to expect from it. Again, I'd like to congratualte you for

having the guts to audition and making the cut. You are now a Junior Jock of Magic 89.9!

- DJ Pat

PS. Please reply to this email to confirm that you received this message! Thanks!

Letter we used to ask permission for VISIT

Jesusa Rocel D. Soriano (sent via email, February 29)

To Andi:

Oh, thank you so much! :)

On Tue, Feb 28, 2012 at 7:59 PM, Andi and Jessica Magic <andiandjessica@gmail.com> wrote:

If you want to interview our Station Manager, you can call 6382513 and set an appointment. :)

On Tue, Feb 28, 2012 at 9:24 PM, Jesusa Rocel

Soriano <jesusarocelsoriano@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi DJ Andi and Jessica!

Greetings!

We are students from the College of Arts and Letters at the University of the Philippines –

Diliman. We are currently taking up OrComm 101 which primarily tackles on the different ways

of communicating within the organization. One of our projects is to study about the

organizational structure of a radio station and the communication of the members within it.

In this light, we would like to seek for your permission for us to conduct an interview with your

station manager or whoever may be more knowledgeable of the operations of the station.

Moreover, this interview will be documented and presented during our class.

We would also like to request for the interview to be scheduled at any time from March 1 to 3.

Should you have any inquiries, please feel free to contact us at the numbers listed below.

We are hoping for your favourable response. Thank you.

Respectfully yours,

JESUSA ROCEL D. SORIANO

09174177597

jesusarocelsoriano@gmail.com

ERIKA LUALHATI

09179298679

erika_lualhati@yahoo.com

Noted:

PROF. LUIS BUENAVENTURA

College of Arts and Letters

University of the Philippines – Diliman