The One Who Got Away

Chapter 7

The next days the station was abuzz with activity as the two teams prepared for their respective presentations. There was friendly competition going on between the two teams. Despite the impending threat of bankruptcy the staff were energized as never before. They were fighting for their survival, they were fighting for something they love. 

They have been lazy the past years but they were making up for lost time. Ideas they've all thought about but never brought up were presented, dissected and analyzed.

When the day of the presentation came everyone was filled with nervous anticipation, waiting for their boss's verdict. 

"Good work, everyone. I've seen how you've all prepared for your presentations and your hard work have all paid off." Dong-hae addressed the two groups.

"I've only felt this determined once. Determined to the point of desperation. That was twenty years ago when I was preparing for the university entrance exams." Noh Hong-chul commented.

Scattered chuckles could be heard around the room.

Dong-hae smiled. "That is what has been lacking here for years. The drive. Let's move on. Both your presentations, were all impressive but," he paused and everyone in the room held their breath.

"Team A's proposal is serious and dreamy. Your ideas were good. I particularly like the his and hers advice one. Posting of transcripts and audio streaming on the internet. It's not a groundbreaking idea but it will give more character to our station and will invite a more personal connection between us and our listeners. A little bit on the traditional side but that's good because we really don't want to alienate whatever is left of our listeners. They're more likely the laidback ones who are still hung up on routine and on what's familiar. We'd still need to give them that sense of familiarity so we won't drive them away."

"Team B on the other hand presented a more modern, edgy and fun proposal. Actual interactions with artists and live performances simultaneously aired on radio and the internet. We'd need more equipment for that and it will require us to establish more contacts with the artists and their management. Ambitious but if we pull it off it will take us places."

"Now which team won? It's a difficult choice for me because both of you presented strong points. And then I realized something why I can't seem to decide. Both are equally good but something is missing in each of your proposals. Do you want to know what that missing piece is?" Everyone nodded.

"You're both each other's missing piece. It came to me that I wouldn't have to choose. Your presentations are both pieces of the puzzle that will be the platform for our rebranding. We'll start to ease in with the changes. Let's look for a female presenter. It's high time some female voice can be heard from our station. It's the 21st century after all. Once we've found one we'll start our pilot program. Team B's proposal will need more time. And someone has to take charge of designing a webpage for us and making our station visible on social media. I'll leave that to the promotions team. I expect results within the week."

*** *** ***

A month later, the changes in the station's format increased their ratings by a small margin. They were not out of the danger zone yet but at least they're going somewhere. 

It's been two weeks since they started the "He says, She says" program that they air from 5pm to 9pm. They found Ahn Kyung Jin, a relationship and life coach to do the show with Ha Dong-hoon and the responses have been positive. 

Their website and social media accounts have been revamped and updated thanks to the promotions team and surprisingly thanks to Minzy who apparently have some knowledge in web design. Her ideas helped give a more up to date and edgy touch to the otherwise staid layout that the promotions team first presented. Dong-hae offered her a fulltime position on the team and she accepted.