Posts belonging to Category Uncategorized

Will Conserva-talkers Get Obama Re-elected?

DESPITE LIBERAL COMPLAINTS that talk radio provides conservatives with some sort of unfair advantage in the war of ideas, a thoughtful case can be made that conserva-talkers have little positive impact, and might actually hurt the cause they espouse. New York Timescolumnist Ross Douthat, a conservative, added to that case in a recent piece about talk radio’s [...]

Share

Making the Most of Osama’s Demise

Have you given your audience an opportunity to express their emotions in the wake of SEAL Team Six’s house call on Osama bin Laden?  Sure, the phones are still lighting up, but people want to do more than talk; they want to act. We saw that in Sunday night’s spontaneous gatherings from Washington, DC to [...]

Share

The Positives of Sharing Your Bad News

  From my 4/14 News Talk Edge newsletter.  Subscribe for free HERE. If personality is the lifeblood of talk radio, compelling topics are the format’s oxygen.  So why do stations typically refuse to talk about one topic that is sure to resonant with listeners – stories about the station itself? The most recent example of [...]

Share

Lessons from Simon Conway

By the time you read this, Talk Frontier Media client Simon Conway will have been announced as the new afternoon drive host on legendary talk radio station WHO/Des Moines.  So what, you ask?  Well, just 18 months ago Simon Conway was a real estate agent and occasional fill-in guy with a dream of hosting his [...]

Share

What Did You Do Today to Shape YOUR Future?

ESPN Radio did this… SAN DIEGO, March 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Slacker, Inc. today announced that ESPN Audio content will be available on Slacker Personal Radio, providing listeners with customizable content from the country’s largest sports radio network. Slacker listeners will have access to an interactive dedicated station covering all facets of sports entertainment, with [...]

Share

Five Ways Social Media Can Make Your Show Better

      Before devoting himself to the art and science of social media, Steve Allan programmed radio stations in DC, Detroit, Boston and Cincinnati and held corporate programming positions with AM/FM and Clear Channel. As a former radio guy, Allen despairs at the medium’s apparent lack of  understanding of social media.  Too many stations/personalities continue [...]

Share

Mark Simone and the Secret to Subbing

    The march issue of Newsmax magazine includes my profile of Mark Simone, the go-to sub for Hannity, Imus and Levin.  Here are some excerpts from the Director’s Cut… Colleagues praise Simone as talented, versatile, reliable and professional.  But the real key to his success is humility.  A substitute host’s job is simple enough: [...]

Share

Now THIS is Great Radio

Ron Reagan Jr. ran into a buzz saw recently on WFLA/Tampa’s morning show.  Co-host Tedd Webb almost immediately went on the attack, blasting Reagan for criticizing his dad, former President Ronald Reagan.  Before it was over, Webb had called Reagan Junior “an asshole” and threatened to “kick your ass.” A veteran talk host emailed me [...]

Share

Debunking the Myth of Talk Radio’s Political Power

From my 2/10 News Talk Edge newsletter… Roll Call, a newspaper for Capitol Hill types, recently ran a most tiresome story – yet another breathless report on how much influence talk radio supposedly has with members of Congress. “Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity can mobilize more voters than any press release or floor speech, so [...]

Share

Curse of the Tiger Mom! Or The Dangers of Using PPM to Judge Content

The talk host was extremely frustrated.  He had recently done what he and his team thought was four great hours on the Chinese Tiger Mom topic.  The show seemed to have it all – lots of great calls, tons of emotion, several different angles on parenting, and great forward momentum. “We were all high-fiving at [...]

Share