In a recent coaching session, a very good air talent I work with had chosen to do a stunningly uninteresting story about sleeping better with something called “cognitive shuffling.” I’d tell you more, but the story itself was a better cure for insomnia.
This happens a lot nowadays. A posting that you think is “interesting,” or that you can think up a funny line for, makes it through your filters and gets on the air. Continue reading
On last week’s show I began with a lofty premise: “If you’re a new programmer or new to the format this maybe the most important Frost Advisory you’ll ever read.” (Do you have to use quotation marks if you’re quoting yourself?)
I went on to say that our CCM format doesn’t inherently have the basic foundation for success that almost every other format does. Notably 1) hits, and 2) stars. (I had a similar challenge when programming Smooth Jazz. We overcame that challenge to reach top 4 in Adults 25-54, thank you very much).
Continue readingCollaboration is one thing. Sharing Content can be a whole different thing.
Let me explain…
If you’re a new programmer or new to the format this may be the most important Frost Advisory you’ll ever read.
If you’re a general manager this may be the best reference point for productive conversations with your program director about the station’s direction.
A few years ago this tacky joke was going around.
Continue readingThere are really only two categories of Content in terms of when you use it. There’s what’s immediate. Needs to be on NOW. Or at least TODAY.
And then there’s “anytime” Content. I’ve heard it called “Rainy day” Content or “Evergreen” Content. My translation: crap that should be thrown into the trash. Continue reading
Let’s make this simple.
A music radio station has in its most basic form just two components – 1) the music, and 2) everything else. Music is designed to do one thing. Everything else is designed for something else.
That something else is to connect to what’s happening NOW in the listener’s life, something the music isn’t designed to do.
Continue readingThe biggest challenge for anyone who’s on the air is the search for Content each day. Often in coaching sessions, I get asked about social media, and what its place is in show prep.
Social media is what it is. There’s an entire generation of people who’ve apparently grown up caring about what complete strangers have to say about them.
No one has ever walked into a restaurant and asked, “How many different menu items do you have?”
But every day a customer asks, “What do you like here?” Every day a waiter says, “It’s one of our favorites.”
If I really wanted to impress you I would talk about the reticular area of the brain. That’s the reason you can hear a song that you haven’t heard in years and sing along with every word.
Continue readingOn last week’s show I shared what an exhausting emotional week it was for me and several dozen of my teammates. As you’ve heard, Salem sold its seven Contemporary Christian music stations to EMF in one fell swoop. A huge industry story for sure but very personal to me and my teammates impacted.
My relationship with Salem goes back 24 years when I was invited into the team to launch The Fish stations in Chicago, Cleveland, and Sacramento.
Continue readingWords are what we do. Crafting what we want to say into a shape that’s relatable and connective is always the challenge. But remember, the words grow from the camera angle.
Example: If my wife and I got into an argument standing in line at the bank, how I see it is one angle, and how she sees it is the most obvious choice for a second camera angle.
