Welcome to the debut of a new weekly feature titled “Now Hear This“. Each week, I’ll identify a piece of content, and give others inside and outside of the radio industry an opportunity to hear it, enjoy it, and learn from it. As the weeks progress, I’ll try to showcase a variety of different segments. You may hear a rant, interview, funny story, creative bit, or something as simple as a host connecting with callers. I believe there’s something to learn from everything we listen to, and I hope you gain some value along the way.
Some of these shows and on-air hosts you may be familiar with. Some you may not. Delivering one great segment doesn’t make a show successful, and just because I’ve chosen to feature a host, show, or radio station in this column, doesn’t mean I have a personal or professional relationship with them or value their brand over the local competitor. This is strictly a personal observation and opportunity to showcase a host or show who I thought created content worth listening to.
To kick things off, I’ve chosen the “Howard Simon Show” which includes Jeremy White, and airs weekday mornings on WGR 550 in Buffalo. I enjoyed this segment because it captured what passion and emotion sounds like on a sports radio station the morning after a local football team fails to perform.
If you were in Buffalo on Friday morning, or if you tuned in to hear what Buffalo sports radio sounded like the day after the Bills lost to the Jets, you more than likely would have stuck with Howard and Jeremy for the majority of this segment. The conversation was easy to follow and included passion, opinion, insight, and evidence, which the host’s used to support their positions. The guys wore their hearts on their sleeves and put the audience in a position to think, react, and want to discuss the content further with their friends or colleagues.
It may not be the most original angle, or the most creative presentation, but it’s raw, genuine, and easy to connect with. Sometimes that’s all you need to move the needle with an audience. I could feel the frustration in Howard and Jeremy’s voices, and the examples they used throughout the segment to explain why they were upset, and why fans shouldn’t get their hopes up for the Bills this season, made it simple to play along. I’m sure WGR Program Director Allan Davis will agree.
To hear the segment click the play button below. In the future, if you hear something on a radio station that you feel is worthy of being featured in the “Now Hear This” column, you can pass it along via email at JBarrett@hvy.tcp.mybluehost.me. Enjoy the audio!
Jason Barrett is the Founder and CEO of Barrett Media. The company launched in September 2015 and has provided consulting services to America’s top audio and video brands, while simultaneously covering the media industry at BarrettMedia.com, becoming a daily destination for media professionals. Prior to Barrett Media, Jason built and programmed 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He was also the first sports programmer for SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, which later became 97.5 The Fanatic. Barrett also led 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY, and worked on-air and behind the scenes at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years at ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT producing ‘The Dan Patrick Show’ and ‘GameNight’. JB can be reached on Twitter @SportsRadioPD or by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
