I hear there are more “religious” radio stations in the United States than any other format category.  Unfortunately those religious stations combined have fewer listeners than any other.  The reason for that is quite simple.

A radio station cannot grow its audience unless it is designed to grow its audience.  To grow a station one must think beyond songs and deejays and sweepers.  One must think strategically.  Eh, gad!

A strategy is a plan that incorporates big picture concepts such as:

Why does the radio station exist?

Who are our listeners?  What do they desire and expect from our station?

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Common ground.  We talk a lot about it in our little format, and that’s a good thing.

Who’s your target demo?  How many kids?  What’s their favorite TV show?  Where do they go on summer vacation?

All good stuff we need to embrace.

“To move an audience, especially a diverse audience, from where they are to where you want them to be requires common ground.  If you want me to follow you on a journey, you have to come get me.  The journey must begin where I am, not where you are or where you think I should be.”

But there is a common ground that we seldom consider and about which few books are written.

The power of NOW.

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We can cling so tightly to the things we know that we don’t go beyond and learn how to apply it.

“The less people know, the more stubbornly they know it.”

Consider this…

• Knowledge is knowing the facts.
• Understanding is the ability to glean meaning from those facts.  Often that involves seeing things in context, perhaps relating to circumstances, best practices, or strategy.
• Wisdom is knowing what to do with that knowledge.

A 16-year-old may have enough knowledge to drive the car but you wouldn’t just toss them the keys and say, “Have a good weekend!”
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What do we say?

More people have been killed at schools so far in 2018 than have been killed while serving in the U.S. Military, so says the Washington Post.

Remember back when baseball and football games on TV were interrupted by some nut case running onto the field?

Then something changed.  The folks in charge of the telecasts decided to quit pointing the cameras at them.  The incidents stopped.

I don’t speak as a psychologist or counselor, as one from law enforcement, or even as a journalist.  I speak as a broadcaster that understands that our stations have impact and a responsibility.

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I heard someone play the violin this morning in church.  I love the violin, but for a different reason than most.  I love the violin because my mother played the violin.

“Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself.  It is if they are showing you the way.”

“Each person has a different set of biases and values and assumptions, and those world views are influenced by their parents, their schools, the places they live and the experiences they’ve had to date.  Their world view is the lens they use to determine whether or not they’re going to believe a story.”

How does your station connect with the things your listeners love most? 

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