Doug McIntyre

Red Eye Radio host Doug McIntyre gets my nod for Most Insightful Speaker at this year’s Talkers New Media Seminar.  During a panel discussion about the challenges facing talk radio, McIntyre said:

“I’ve always thought of doing talk radio as an actor doing Shakespeare.  We all have the same words to work with, so the difference between a good performance and a bad performance is what the host brings to those words.”

How true.  Every host (general topic or sports) wakes up to the same pile of stories and issues.  The best hosts filter that material through the prism of their own worldview, life experience, emotion and talent.  The most intriguing prisms result in the most intriguing shows.

Too many hosts today are coasting on the content.  They focus on predictable story angles, take ridiculously obvious positions, crib from Rush and deliver shows no more compelling or thought-provoking than a political conversation with your neighbor the opinionated corporate accountant.

Some of these hosts probably just aren’t very interesting people — that’s going to happen when you keep cutting the budget line for “talent.”  Others maybe haven’t been coached on how to tap into their true selves.

Whatever the reason, we’re putting on too many weak performances in the talk radio theatre.

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 Daily Beast

Daily Beast writer Samuel P. Jacobs consulted with Talkers publisher Michael Harrison and unnamed “national radio hosts” to compile the list.  I love me some Michael Harrison, and I have great respect for every host on the list, but, umm, well…  take a look and see what you think.

– 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.

Notes from the New Media Seminar:

– Talkers founder Michael Harrison declared in his opening remarks that the event would emphasize “positive responses to the challenges” faced by the format and its people.  To that end, much of the first day’s content was devoted to the digital realm and how hosts and programmers can make the most of the Internet ans social media to boost their radio shows.

– In a live video appearance, Dr. Laura Schlessinger urged the audience to find as many ways as possible to touch their audience throughout the day.  Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, TV guest shots, personal appearances, books, columns, even live stage shows, should all be used to funnel listeners back to radio.  Said the Doc: “It’s not enough to flip on the mic once a day and say, “Hi! I’m here!”

– TRN is the dominate syndication presence.  The network of Mancow, Michael Savage, Laura Ingraham, et. al., has flooded the zone with sponsorships, programming staffers and its hosts.  Harrison praised TRN for believing in talk radio future, and investing in that future.  That investment is very much on display at the NMS.

– According to Harrison, that future will be shaped by:

a)  The imminent death of the 30 and 60-spot as the prime methods of revenue generation.

b) Talk’s move to FM, which Harrison declared to be the salvation of the FM band.

c) Podcasting’s evolution from “a tool to a product” that is capable of generating serious money.

d) The rise of a “lesser fool theory” among radio station owners and buyers, which will lead to a “renaissance” in radio.

e) Most importantly, Harrison says, talk radio’s future will be defined by the transformative power of the Internet.

– Among the PD’s on hand: WNYM/New York’s Peter Thiele, WABC/New York’s Laurie Cantillo, KXNT/Las Vegas’ Jack Landreth, WBT/Charlotte’s Bill White, and WTKK/Boston’s Grace Blazer.  Network programmers spotted include Fox’s Mike Elder, Air America’s Bill Hess, and TRN’s Phil Boyce.  Former Clear Channel talk honcho Gabe Hobbs is here. 

And in a reassuring sign that life goes on no matter what, convention stalwarts Jim Bohannon and Art Voulo are in prominence.

In the December/January issue of the trade publication Talkers,  consultant Holland Cooke announced the death of the talk radio star – a victim, he believes, of the new interactive media, where people want to buzz amongst themselves rather than “being talked at.”

“Self-congratulatory naivete that ’listeners tune in to hear compelling hosts’ is bankrupt,” he wrote.

Mr. Cooke’s answer to this supposed crisis: talk hosts should just kick back and answer the phones. ”Make callers the show,” Mr. Cooke advises. “As talent your value is topic and technique.  Conceive, conduct and barely control the conversation. Don’t dominate it.”

This is not a new idea.  Many programs use this formula.  They are called “bad talk shows” — meandering affairs that don’t engage the listener and generally have weak ratings.  They often get replaced by better syndicated programming.

Mr. Cooke isn’t the only one challenging the Cult of Personality.  In recent years, I’ve heard numerous radio managers (including programmers) complain about how a particular host “only talks about what he cares about” or “doesn’t take enough calls” or, my personal favorite, ”is too opinionated.” ( WBT-AM in Charlotte recently replaced a very opinionated afternoon host with a show that sounds like a cross between a high school civics class and a city council subcommittee meeting.)  I have even heard such complaints about Rush Limbaugh.  I wish I was kidding, but I’m not.  

I suspect much of the backlash against personality stems from fear.  There are lots of bogeymen out there.  Mr. Cooke is one of many who are reasonably concerned about how talk radio will fare as consumers are handed more and more digital entertainment/communications options — especially in-car diversions.  Others are spooked by the weak economy and/or political correctness. Nobody wants to lose their job because of a lost client or offended interest group.  This problem is made worse by the fact many talk stations are now overseen by PDs and/or GMs with no format experience; who have never truly understood talk’s power, and are uncomfortable with the controversy it unfailingly generates.  But if this mentality takes hold, it will be devastating to talk radio’s future.  A generation of  hosts taught to simply juggle calls will be as thin as the wave of music jocks raised to “just read the liner card.”

Interactive media is here to stay, and there are things radio can learn from it.  But that doesn’t mean radio must ape its every move.  On the contrary, the medium must play to its own strengths — just as it did when television arrived.

 Personality — compelling personality – does indeed drive good talk radio.  Radio has a unique ability to build strong intimate bonds between listeners and hosts.  The best talents  offer a unique world view delivered with openness, honesty, passion and bravery.  Listeners, in return, come to know,  love and trust radio talkers like no other media figures.  As money talker Dave Ramsey told a group of radio sellers and clients a few months ago, “[Listeners] do what we tell them to do.  In fact, it’s sometimes scary how much they listen to us.” 

He wasn’t bragging.  He was in genuine awe.

You don’t get that kind of influence by just answering the phones.  You get it by having a take and, well, you know the rest.