Some people say that 99% of the tips I write are for MusicRadio stations. That’s true, but I’ve worked with a LOT of Talk stations, too, and I can’t even count how many individual Talk Radio air talents.
Two of my main “rules” are actually the same as in MusicRadio. Talk is just a different format, in terms of how much time you have to talk.
But… Continue reading
My smart friend and associate John Frost posted a tip recently titled “What do we want them to say?” using baseball as an example.
Specifically, the opening of Petco Park, home of the San Diego Padres. The question was “What do we want fans to say when they are leaving the ballpark?
This is a recurring theme that I’ve dealt with before, but it seems to be metastasizing…again. It’s this thing; this all too typical “tease”….
“Listen up – this is something you’ll want to hear.”
No. I already don’t want to hear it.
After you get to a certain stage in your career where you’re confident in what you’re doing, you have a certain “flavor” that you bring to the show – and it’s working; you’re successful – how you get even better is when you show more dimensions.
Years ago, the great comedian Norm MacDonald was fired from doing the “Weekend Update” on Saturday Night Live. It was because one of the higher-ups at NBC was friends with O. J. Simpson, and he demanded that Norm stop doing jokes about the ex-football player and accused murderer.
After that, Norm was on Late Night with David Letterman, wondering and griping a bit about getting fired. But Norm also quoted something that Letterman had told him about the bosses of network TV –
Major league baseball runs a commercial during a change of innings that says, “Every good player knows the value of a coach.” And that’s true, but I think the opposite is true, too – every good coach knows the value of a great player.
A lot of good coaching is just staying out of the way, or just gently carving at the edges of things – because…they’re good. They don’t need a lot of, “This is how we do this.” In radio/TV/Voice acting, it’s more about “This plays to your strengths more,” or “It’s better if you stop here instead of adding one more thing.”
Coaching is a two-way street. Hard to do on your own.
It’s important to take stock sometimes, and wonder “How did this happen?”
Case in point, promos for a show playing DURING that show. Yes, I know, TV does it all the time — to the unheard voices of people screaming, “I’m watching the show NOW!” at their TV screens.
A generation – maybe more – of young people wanted to “Be Like Mike” (Michael Jordan, of course) when I was younger.
In the radio arena, I wanted to be like Larry Ryan. Larry’s a legendary morning man in my hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana. And besides a terrific, inviting voice and a laugh that makes YOU laugh, Larry embodied what I wanted in my life – to be successful, well-liked, and have a long career.
So, as everyone does, I did my best “impression” of Larry.
Once, years ago, I decided to audition for a Talk station in Dallas. A friend of mine said that they had an opening, and at that time, I had never done Talk.
So I fashioned a “sample plate” of subjects I thought would work, and sent it to the Program Director.
Boy, was I wrong. Continue reading
“The Dean of Science Fiction writers” is the title given to Robert Heinlein, author of “Stranger in a Strange Land,” “Starship Troopers,” and the wonderful book “Time Enough for Love” – among many others, was both an author and aeronautical engineer. That led to amazingly predicting many things that we now take for granted in the real world.