Simone

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: Keep it between the ditches until the beloved star gets back – don’t take chances, don’t show off.  Yet very few radio pros are willing or able to execute that direction.  Ego and ambition muck it up.

“It’s not easy to be a fill-in guy,” says Simone’s boss, WABC-AM Program Director Laurie Cantillio. “Mark has a good understanding of that role.  He never tries to upstage the host.  He understands the audience for each show and adjusts accordingly.”

“A lot of guys try to make a name for themselves [when they fill-in],” says Simone.  “The secret is that you have to know the [regular host] really well and with every decision ask yourself what that host would do.”

Simone prides himself on his ability to perform on short notice, like the time he got called at 2:40pm to fill-in for Hannity at 3pm.  An excellent memory for facts and figures dramatically reduces the amount of time he needs to prepare for a show, he says.

“Warner Wolf said I’m like a relief pitcher,” says Simone, referring to the veteran New York sportscaster and “Imus in the Morning” cast member.  “The starters need a couple hours to warm-up, but I can be ready in eight pitches.”

Simone’s easy confidence and versatility flow from a lifetime of varied experience…  Simone got his first taste of talk radio in 1980 at a rock station, WPIX-FM in New York City. “I worked a Sunday shift and I noticed the studio had phone lines and a delay system,” he says.  “So, I started taking calls.”  Thus was born “The Simone Phone,” which he believes was the first FM talk show.

Simone eventually moved to WNEW-AM, where he did a comedy show with Steve Allen that was briefly syndicated.  That  experience paid off a few years later when he was working at WABC, Hannity’s flagship.  As Simone recalls, he was tapped to fill-in for Hannity primarily because of his experience doing a network program, which requires the host to execute with precise timing.

Simone describes himself as a right-of-center independent and acknowledges that his political views aren’t fully aligned with those of Hannity and Levin.  But he keeps any differences to himself when he’s subbing. “If I disagree with the host [on a topic], I just stay away from that issue,” he says. “You aren’t there to promote your own agenda.  You wouldn’t come on a music show and play a different type of music.”

So, has the ultimate back-up ever thought about joining the starting line-up with his own network show?  Simone says he’s been approached with both local and national opportunities but “nothing was really appealing.”

The Super Sub pauses, chuckles and adds,  “But that might be less work, actually.”

According to Young’s opinion piece at Philly.com, Air America and most other liberal talkers have copied the pedantic, almost authoritarian style of conservative talk radio — a style that doesn’t appeal to the liberal audience.  As Young writes:

“[T]he crux of liberal talk’s inability to match up to right-wing talk isn’t the business plan or the lack of a Limbaugh. It’s a failure to understand its audience… Before Limbaugh, talk radio was about wanting to know what you think. Today, it’s telling you what you should think. The liberal audience doesn’t work that way; reaching a consensus on the left is like herding cats.

Wouldn’t it make sense to go to your strength, not try to mimic your opponent’s? The left needs to pay attention to the success of Comedy Central’s one-two punch of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. They don’t necessarily reach the numbers of Limbaugh, Beck, or Sean Hannity, but they have cornered the market on political satire, and there’s no denying their influence.”

Of course, comedy isn’t the only way to reach a liberal audience.  Young fails to mention the one radio network that enjoys great success with a style that owes nothing to Rush, Glenn or Sean.  It’s called National Public Radio.

– Consultant Holland Cooke did an excellent job of reminding talk radio pros that their next gig may not be at a radio station.  Cooke urged attendees to think of themselves as content creators — writers, public speakers, Internet experts – who can help businesses and others deliver their messages in multiple media.  He recommend several books for those facing career transitions (i.e., everyone in radio), including  The Long Tail by former Wired editor Chris Anderson.  I echo that advice.  The Long Tail will change how you think about modern commerce — and your future opportunities.  Anderson summarizes the book’s lessons in this video.   Check out this  funny-because-it’s-true take on The Long Tail.  See the rest of Cooke’s recommendations here.

– A panel on podcasting raised some eyebrows as audience members learned that there are radio and non-radio people making some serious money with Internet and podcast programming.  More on that in an upcoming edition of Talk Frontier.

– The Big Buzz came with Rush Limbaugh’s appearance to accept Talkers’ Freedom of Speech Award.  Aong the other notable hosts in attendance at the event:  ABC/Premiere’s Sean Hannity, ABC’s Mark Levin, TRN’s Laura Ingraham, Air America’s Lionel, Dial Global’s Ed Schultz, and The Wall Street Journal’s Gordon Deal.

– Among the positive things discussed in the hallways: The news/talk format may see dramatic growth as a result of radio’s current struggles.  Syndicators are actively hunting down struggling music FMs and working hand-in-glove with the owners to flip them to talk.  True, the resulting stations tend to be heavily syndicated, but more talk outlets means more local opportunity as times get better.

– Talkers honcho Michael Harrison claims registeration of 400-plus, and the seminar’s key events were indeed packed.  Following the trend at all talk events in recent years, the vast majority of attendees represented syndicators or other suppliers.  There were no more than a dozen local-level PD ‘s at the seminar. 

But one must give a huge tip of the headphones to Michael Harrison.  In a year that has seen the demise of R&R and its talk seminar, a hiatus for Al Peterson’s fledgling talk event, and massive revenue and job loss in the radio industry, Harrison went ahead with the New Media Seminar.  In a time of uncertainty and fear, he provided a safe, comfortable place for the news/talk format to huddle together and strategize for the future.  Kudos to you, Michael Harrison.

The true power behind conservative talk

Huffington Post media blogger Bill Mann knows why conservatives dominate political talk radio: It’s because Clear Channel owns Premiere Radio Networks, syndicator of Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and (in partnership with Citadel) Sean Hannity.

Yes, this is the same Bill Mann who recently argued  on Huffington that Rush Limbaugh has so many affiliates because stations get his show “for free.”

In a May 21st post  Mann says Premiere and Clear Channel work hand-in-glove to clear the big righty hosts.  He suggests this is improper and, no surprise, calls for government action to stop the “vertical integration” of the airwaves.

Mann goes on to contend that sales reps in clusters with both conservative and liberal talk stations tend to slight the lefty outlet because, as Mann acknowledges, they can make more money selling the more-popular conservative station.

Well, yes.  Incredibly, Mann fails to understand something most of us learn fairly early in life: People, and the organizations they form, will always make financial decisions in their own best interest.  Of course Clear Channel works to build synergy between its products and platforms.  And, OF COURSE, salespeople invest their time and talent where they will net the greatest return.  Self-interest is the driving force in business.  Nothing else works.

Liberal/progressive talk will be cleared on top signals when — and only when – it becomes a valuable asset, capable of  generating ratings and revenue on par or in excess of conversative offerings. Rush Limbaugh did not spring full-formed from Ed McLaughlin’s head with 600+ affiliates.  He started out on a lot of pea-shooter AMs — and stayed there until larger stations were convinced of his value to their business.

Supporters of liberal talk need to stop whining about “structural imbalances” and “vertical integration” and start producing better programming.

That’s the bottom line.