As you’re reading this, Hurricane Ida has made landfall on the Gulf Coast as an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane. Having lived in Florida for 25 years, I’m well aware of the life-altering impact of major storms coming ashore. Floridians can quickly transform into amateur meteorologists binge watching The Weather Channel. It’s never a good thing when you see Jim Cantore standing in your front yard.

We can learn a lot from The Weather Channel…

The power of winning moments. While it’s important to minimize things that result in listeners tuning away, playing defense isn’t the same as winning. The Weather Channel uses graphics, camera angles (literally), on the scene reporters, and live action video to keep viewers coming back for what Mr. and Mrs. Nielsen would call ‘listening occasions.’ We all want to know WHAT’S THE LATEST?

Last week Fox televised a Major League Baseball game that was played in the proverbial middle of nowhere – a cornfield in Iowa. And get this, it was the most watched regular season game in 16 years.

So what’s the deal? Was its success simply nostalgia for a movie made 30 years ago?

In a sport that these days can seem more about exit velocity, spin rates, and animated strike zones, this ballgame in a cornfield at the Field of Dreams went the other direction.

Baseball with a small b

This game, like the movie before it, was a storybook about the average Joe (shoeless, no less) and second chances, discovering your purpose, and the opportunity to live a dream even if only for one inning.

“You know, we just don’t recognize the most significant moments of our lives while they’re happening.”

Doc “Moonlight” Graham

“Off air,” the TV schedule indicated. “No programming scheduled at this time” the box on the lower left read. It was 7:30 PM. Prime time, I think they call it.

I recently attended a major league baseball game where the concession stands on the third base side were all closed. If you wanted to give them your money there was no one there to take it, presumably the very reason they were there in the first place.

This one scenario defines the challenge;

It defines the challenge of the novice, and it defines the challenge of the seasoned pro.

It defines the challenge of the programmer, and it defines the challenge of the GM in supervising the programmer.

It defines the challenge of dealing with complaints, either from inside the building or from the outside our zip code. (See Frost Advisory #559 – It Needs More Salt)

It’s the easiest thing to do.

Those from another medium (whether ministry, public speaking, or TV), expect the process will be easy.

“Just do what I usually do but now do it for the radio.”

If you’ve been following this storyline the last couple of weeks (Part 1, Part 2) you know I’ve brought up an idea that I believe is transformative for our format.

Let me review for those just tuning in.

If all stations begin with the same general stack of tools (music, deejays, etc.), why are most stations in our format ordinary while only a few are transformational?

We radio folks are somewhat good at thinking about WHAT we do but far less good in thinking WHY we do it. Perhaps we should ask…

“What do we want our listeners to say when they listen?”

What if we design those elements with intentionality, understanding that our stations have the potential to be transformational?