Never talk about the one that got away

Radio and TV talker Ed Schultz is carping about how President Obama hasn’t appeared on his show(s).  Big Ed’s most recent outburst came  at the Netroots Nation conference of liberal bloggers, as detailed in a post on Mediaite.com.

This is a huge mistake; one that reveals an all-to-common failure to understand a core principal of successful talk programming: The show will rise or fall on the host’s own ability to entertain, inform and intrigue the audience.  Complaining about a person’s refusal to come on the show, or their failure to call-in at the scheduled time, makes the host look small, weak, ineffectual and petty.  Talking about the guests you CAN’T book is also a waste of the listeners’ time. When a guest fails to show, or bails at the last minute, the host should simply move on with a minimal explanation and perhaps the observation that the would-be guest has missed a great opportunity.

On a related note… any talk personality who depends on guests to drive his/her show is extremely vulnerable.  As one observer recently noted, Larry King’s fade to oblivion stemmed from his guest-dependency.  Larry himself never provided a reason to tune-in on a regular basis.  Instead, viewers stopped by only on those occasions when Larry was chatting with someone they were interested in hearing from.  Conversely, while Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Sean Hannity’s radio show all devote significant time to interviews, their guests don’t drive the program. Instead those visitors provide grist for host’s mill — be it comedic or political.

Read about the Old Spice campaign here. See the videos here.

Metheny

WGN/Chicago PD Kevin Metheny has lots of interesting stuff to say about PPM.  Slurp from his cup of wisdom in this week’s News Talk Edge, my weekly newsletter.  Subscribe for FREE here:

http://www.radio-info.com/newsletters?page=2

Would the content be uniformly great?  Nope.  But I’m constantly amazed at the quality of the audio programming posted to the web by amateurs.  With some minimal screening and grooming, you’d could easily create a stream of unique material generated by people with a real passion for the work.  You might even turn up a true star.

Think about it.

According to KTAR/Phoenix PD Russ Hill, that ability to go beyond politics is essential for anyone who wants to host a local show on FM.  Read and heed these remarks from the June issue of Talkers if you hope to be part of terrestrial talk radio’s future.

“We try to do just enough politics so we have ‘street cred’ and attract enough hours of heavy listening [from political junkies].  AM is all about niches and isn’t growing. It has to super-serve whatever niche audience it has, and hold on for dear life. We’re on FM and can’t play to niches…

“It’s tough to find the correct talent [for FM talk stations] because most [hosts] only know how to talk about one thing – politics. [To succeed] on FM you have to be much more transparent and read different things. If you are living on politico.com you probably won’t do very well on FM. You have to talk more about what it’s like to raise kids and what’s happening in the real world.”

Think you have want Hill and his colleagues are looking for?  Talk Frontier Media help you get into the game.  Let’s talk — no obligation.  404-551-2340

“People can complain about what Mark Levin does on his show, but Mark Levin has listeners and makes money. People can complain about what Michael Savage does on his show, but Michael Savage has listeners and makes money. Levin, Savage, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and Laura Ingraham all have something in common besides their political worldview: they have the larger-than-life personalities and populist instincts that make their shows compelling to listen to.”

Quick aside: I think Tucker misuses the word “populist” throughout his post.  I think he is referring to the ability to connect with people on an emotional level and even move them to action.

PS — I also disagree with Tucker’s belief that Sarah Palin would be a great radio talker.  I can’t see that.  For one thing, I don’t think she’s quick enough on her feet. She’d be a short-lived novelty act at best.

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How about transferng your skills and reputation directly to your own business?  That’s what former WSB-TV/Atlanta investigative reporter Dale Cardwell is trying to do.  His TrustDale.com website is a “consumer guide” where Cardwell “investigates” businesses and gives them his seal of approval in videos that look very much like consumer news segments. According to a TrustDale.com rep, businesses pay to be featured on the site.

You may not agree with Cardwell’s concept, but let his story jump-start your thinking about how to re-purpose and monetize the skills and reputation you’ve developed as a radio pro.

Salem Radio Network

Still, I found this piece unsettling.  I think that’s because it’s further evidence of how much talk radio has come to be identified with and dependent on specific and narrow political ideologies. Medved  tells FrumForum, “Most [talk radio hosts] are obsessed with radio.  Yes, I care about the success of my show, but I really do care about the issues and the overall cause more.”

I get what he’s saying, and why.  I just wish we had more shows hosted by people who were obsessed with radio, and not with furthering a political agenda.  Where have you gone Don Geronimo?