Give tremendous credit to Talkers publisher Michael Harrison. Despite the weak economy and radio’s on-going woes, this weekend’s event drew a sell-out crowd of syndicators, programmers, producers, hosts and aspiring hosts to New York City from as far away as the West Coast. Indeed, the crowd was so big that some events were shoulder-to-shoulder SRO.

The mood was… interesting.  I picked up notes of uncertainty, optimism, resignation, weariness, determination and a hint of sadness at the complete realization that the Old Ways truly are dead or dying; that radio has changed forever — for worse and maybe, one day, for better. In his opening remarks Harrison told the assembled that he’s not yet committed to a 2011 New Media Seminar. The day of the “big radio convention” may be over, he said.  And unlike last year’s event, where there was a lot of rah-rah about the Glorious Future awaiting audio content creators just around the corner on the Internet, this year’s attendees and speakers seemed a bit more subdued on that topic, acknowledging that it will likely be quite some time before there’s serious digital dough to be made.  Again, Harrison summed it up best, saying that Talk is in the middle of an uncertain voyage between its present and future.

There was a bit of good news about the near-term future.  A panel of PDs and consultants predicted a small increase in talk jobs in 2010.  Nobody thinks laid-off hosts will be re-hired in droves, but there are some new opportunities cropping up around the dial thanks to the current sport-radio boom and the rise of FM talk.  The syndicators say their ad sales are picking up nicely and most of the station-level folks reported that things are certainly better than they were just a few months ago.

As always, the best part of the NMS was the people; being reminded how many smart, funny, talented, caring men and women work in this business — both on-air and off.  I cherish every minute with them.  That’s why I stay up waaaay too late at these confabs.  If Michael Harrison takes a pass in 2011, maybe I’ll have the industry over to my house.  Hey, we’ve got a pool — and working air conditioning.

The most eyebrow-raising observation in the column comes from Bob McCown, host of an afternoon drive show on Toronto’s The Fan590. McCown, who recently reduced the number of calls in what used to be his only caller-driven hour, says he will use PPM data to determine whether or not to continue taking with his listeners.

While I’m not aware of any significant PPM research on caller segments, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that they score poorly.  Too many bad calls still get on the air at talk stations — meandering, repetitive, boring, static-plagued calls that make listeners punch-out long before the call is over.  That said, it would be a big mistake for programmers or hosts to issue broad “no-caller” dictates.  When properly managed, callers are a powerful show element that can help a host shine and bring a program to life.  Here are some things to remember about calls:

Shows get the calls they deserve. An informed, entertaining host gets informed entertaining calls. And vice versa.

Call screeners are crucial. An assertive, well-trained call screener is like an offensive line for the host.  She opens holes to advance the show and keeps the host from getting sacked by a bad caller.  That’s why it’s a tragedy that so many stations have combined the board operator and call screener jobs.

Ignore your mother. Too many hosts treat callers with the telephone etiquette they learned as kids — exchanging pleasantries, listening without interrupting, and offering every caller a fond farewell.  Most of this is an unnecessary disservice to the listeners. Hit it and quit it.

An aside: Based on nothing but personal observation, I believe sports-talk gets better calls than news-talk.  I suspect this is because sports is the Toy Department of life; the callers are passionate, but they are ultimately talking about entertainment.  Conversely, too many news-talk callers seem to think their call makes them part of a life-and-death Battle for America’s Future.  Plus, sports-talk guys seem to get  more calls from listeners who disagree with them, which adds a new dimension to the conversation, especially when the host actually engages with the caller instead of blowing them off.

More on that later.