A lot of young people who do want to a career in media aren’t even messing with radio. They only want to work in TV. Or do a podcast.

(Everyone and his dog does a podcast. And the dog usually has the more entertaining one. “Today on Barks and Recreation, we’re ruffing out what new flavor we’d like to see in dog biscuits.”)

Seriously, this is bad for radio, because finding a great air talent these days is already hard enough.  We need new people to come in, get trained, and shine. Continue reading →

You have ten seconds to “get” me… to make me want to listen to whatever else you have to say.

If you don’t get me in that ten seconds, then nothing else you do matters.  It’s simply human nature to decide quickly whether or not something is a waste of time.

So think about what that opening ten seconds of whatever it is you’re going to talk about is going to be BEFORE you open the mic.  No matter how good you are, this is something you can improve.

There are so many voice trackers these days, and if you’re in that world you know that it’s hard to keep improving if you’re not on the air in real time and don’t get any feedback that you can trust.  Here’s a simple system I recommend that’ll improve your work and keep you sharp.  It’s “go, stop, go.”

Go. Record an hour of breaks. Continue reading →

Like most people, I listen to the radio at some point every day. I hear promos. I hear commercials. I hear songs. I hear people trying to sound cheerful. I hear people trying to be funny.

What I all-too-rarely hear is something that actually surprises me. Gee, I wish that wasn’t true. Surprises are great.

I want Surprises. I loathe The Obvious. And I’m not alone. People want companionship. They want entertainment. They want pertinent information. (We’ve all heard the voice-tracked Talent that’s really cheerful while a tornado is headed our way.)

Don’t fall for the “This is good enough” trap. “Good enough” … never is.

SURPRISE ME.

Lately, with Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, etc. I heard several stations trying to orchestrate the reaction to a giveaway for those days, saying things like “You’re gonna like it!”

How do you know?  (You don’t. After all, one person’s “great” prize is another person’s “yard sale” junk.)

Continue reading →