Innholdsfortegnelse for May 7, 2018 i Radio Ink Magazine

As a kid, radio was the soundtrack of my life. I’d sit in my bedroom and listen to the night jocks in my hometown of Fort Wayne. Bob Dell on WOWO kept me laughing, Chris O’Brien on WLYV was the coolest name I knew, playing all my favorite songs, and of course John Records Landecker at WLS came in clear as a bell at night, as did Don O’Brien on CKLW. Radio today is having a hard time recruiting talent, primarily because too many teens and young adults don’t have radio on their radar. (Sorry, don’t shoot the messenger.) My own kids, whose dad grew up in radio and owns a couple of radio trade magazines, can’t get excited about radio, and they tell me none of their friends listen.…

It’s about 7:15 on a typical weekday when WSIC morning host Harold Johnson delves into his new “Fifties Trivia” segment. His sidekick, who’s also the station’s GM, asks the 76-year-old host what fish became popular to eat live in the 1950s. Nothing short of an aircheck could describe the hilarity that ensues as numerous hints lead Harold to guess the adjective “gold,” only to be incapable of quickly making the connection and finding the answer: “goldfish.” This unrehearsed comedy is what listeners have come to love about the show, which also features political rants branded as “positive radio” and regular callers like Harold’s parish priest. Less than two hours later, Pat Shannon is behind the mic to host Home Ad, which can be likened to an on-air yard sale. The…

We are in the communication business, but I wonder how many of our clients and those we lead are receiving the message we are trying to deliver. Many of us assume they are, and later wonder why we weren’t able to make our point or close the deal. We tend to find a rapport more easily with people we have a lot in common with; think of the family members, friends, co-workers, or clients with whom you find it easy to convey your message. Now think about those with whom you have little in common. You will create a tremendous advantage for yourself when you learn how to communicate with the latter group. The words we use and our ability to understand the various personalities we are presenting to can…

What are your hobbies? Anything outdoors — riding my Harley, fishing, hunting, and hiking. Who is/was your role model and why? My dad. His honesty, kindness, and his sense of community and responsibility and always urging me to “do the right thing.” What are you reading right now? This question. Favorite movie? Top Gun. Favorite TV Show? Longmire. Who are the two most interesting people you know (outside your family) and why? 1. Joe Gorder, CEO of Valero. He’s just a down-to-earth, real guy who loves people and loves the Lord. 2. Michael McDowell, NASCAR driver number 34. He’s one of the wisest young men I know. His relationship with Christ and his willingness to share that is unbelievable. If you had 30 minutes, a tape recorder, and your choice,…

A program director once shared this narrative: You’re an air talent who entertains a faceless mass of strangers, sitting behind a mic surrounded by four walls and, if you’re lucky enough to have a window, peering out over a cornfield and a couple of cattle, or an asphalt parking lot. A few years later, you’re promoted to the music director’s chair, complete with an office surrounded by yet another set of four walls, spending hours gazing at a computer screen. Then one day, all that talent and dedication pays off. You are named program director. You are now responsible for people — some of the most creative, sensitive, and often quirky people in the building. On your shoulders rests the development and nurturing of a staff on whose performance the…

Honesty is a trademark of good leadership, so I must admit I am not a big believer in reading self-help or how-to books. To me, leadership style is so personal and so much is innate that it really can’t be picked up in “Seven Easy Steps.” Gut feeling and doing what comes naturally is essential to being a believable and authentic executive. If people think you are acting a certain way because that is what it said to do on page 53, then you are in for a rude awakening. That said, here is my PSA for reading. It is more beneficial to me for people to read biographies of people they admire who just happen to also be good leaders, to see how it is an organic part of…

Tina Nole was in radio. Now she’s in podcasting. Nole saw the writing on the wall nearly a decade ago, when long-form news started to disappear from the radio airwaves. You see, Nole loves in-depth news reporting and telling stories, and was one of the first to realize podcasting was where this type of audio entertainment was headed. So she took a risk and jumped in with both feet. But Tina Nole is much more than a podcaster. After stints with Kidstar, Radio Disney, CBS Radio, and Air America, Nole launched her own company in 2012, called Larj. Larj focuses on helping brands, thought leaders, and celebrities find their podcasting voice. It’s a full-service podcast production house with national network-quality recording, production, editing, and marketing strategies. Nole approached a few…

Even though the industry still calls them “program directors,” the job has pretty much evolved into “content creators.” PDs these days are creating more than great-sounding radio stations. Radio brands now extend to digital, social media, video, smart speakers, apps, even local cable TV stations. There are so many ways to reach the listener today, only the most agile of programmers are going to survive. At the end of the day, it’s still their job to build an on-air team and product that the locals cannot live without — and to figure out how to win the ratings game — if they plan to last in the radio business. A tall task, with so many media options available. Our 2018 list of great programmers is a list of survivors. So…

These are the first two things they teach news reporters: 1. “When a dog bites a man, that is not news, because it happens so often. But if a man bites a dog, that is news.” 2. “You never read about a plane that did not crash.” So why do so many direct-response ads talk about the man who got bit by a dog, or flew on a plane that did not crash? To be successful, direct-response ads must deliver a message that is remarkable. Recruitment ads are a form of direct-response marketing. In the second week of April, the following 60-second radio ad reached 19 percent of the total population of Charlotte, North Carolina. The average listener heard this message 6.3 times in just three days, Wednesday/Thursday/Friday. And it…

Just because most of us got into the media sales business by mistake is no reason to do business by mistake. How you spend your time in our business can make a powerful difference in whether you’re always struggling, barely eking out a living, or financially secure. When it comes to being successful in media sales, most top billers would agree that the ability to prospect for new business is one of the most important fundamental skills you can have. So it’s too bad that so much prospecting these days is done happenstance, with no particular method, rhyme, or reason. In this article we’ll discuss tangible ways to go out and find more qualified clients. And find them you must, as they hardly ever come out searching for you. First,…