As we head down the home stretch of the 2020 Election cycle, so many news talk shows are going to sound similar. That’s OK. We’re “playing the hits”. And right now the top hit is Donald Trump vs. Joe Biden, with conversations filtering down from there. But at the same time, as local hosts and programmers, what can we do to make sure our local audiences are getting served as much as possible?
That’s where we can localize the national conversation these final few weeks. An example for my morning show in Kansas City on KCMO Talk Radio came on Wednesday morning, the day after President Trump announced he no longer planned on negotiating with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi about another round of COVID-19 relief. Trump said Republicans were willing to spend $1.6 Trillion, but as long as Pelosi wouldn’t come down from her $2+ Trillion package, there would be no deal.
Naturally, that is going to get a lot of discussion in the news talk space the following day. But how do we make it so that when a new listener tunes into the show on Wednesday morning, they can know within a couple minutes of listening to the segment, this is a local show and not a syndicated show? What perspective can we bring that a national host can’t?
For KCMO Talk Radio, I re-purposed an audio clip from Missouri U.S. Senator Roy Blunt, who joined the show on Tuesday and said that he “expected” a COVID-19 relief package to happen and that Republicans would likely be willing to give Democrats some of their wants, specifically in regards to state and city bailout money. This was hours before the President shot that down and it turned out to be exactly the opposite of what President Trump tweeted later in the day, when he said Democrats wanted bailouts for their “Democrat States”.
So what happened to Senator Blunt’s comments? Do our listeners side with Senator Blunt or President Trump on this issue?
Suddenly, after taking that 30-second clip from the Senator, we have a local perspective on the national issue of the day, and it just so happens to be a very different expectation than what the President ended up deciding.
Of course, another angle can be to try and book one of your local U.S. Senators or Congressmen to react the following morning. But sometimes booking these folks on short notice can be tough given the hectic nature of their schedules down the home stretch of an election cycle.
And also, at that point it’s likely any politician who is in the same party as the President will toe the company line. But having a prominent U.S. Senator predict the opposite of what actually was decided upon by the President hours later has more juice to it from a talk show perspective.
Regardless, one should never be afraid to re-purpose something local that can add to a big national topic on a given day. It lets the audience, both old and new, know that you want to serve them, first and foremost, and it gives them reason to tune into what you’re doing in a given day, instead of picking up and listening to their favorite syndicated show or podcast. With all the options that continue to become available to consumers, understanding how the separate yourself as a local radio host is the best thing one can do to provide value to your listeners and then ultimately your clients.
Pete Mundo is a weekly columnist for Barrett Media, and the morning show host and program director for KCMO in Kansas City. Previously, he was a fill-in host nationally on FOX News Radio and CBS Sports Radio, while anchoring for WFAN, WCBS News Radio 880, and Bloomberg Radio. Pete was also the sports and news director for Omni Media Group at K-1O1/Z-92 in Woodward, Oklahoma. He’s also the owner of the Big 12-focused digital media outlet Heartland College Sports. To interact, find him on Twitter @PeteMundo.
