Radio has a real issue when it comes to original content.
We just don’t have enough of it.
None of us should be surprised at this phenomenon. All of us watch the same games, visit the same websites, and take in the same shows.
As a result, as you flip from station to station, daypart to daypart, and you hear the same things being discussed with little variance in how things are being presented.
From the moment we set foot into a studio, everyone had been told to “play the hits,” even if it’s abundantly clear that the host has lost interest in whatever the “hit” is because it’s been talked about every day for weeks. While this strategy of attacking listeners with a “topical blitzkrieg” made sense 10-15 years ago, it’s not nearly as effective as it used to be.
Radio has been dwarfed by an ever-growing sea of content and channels. There are well over two million podcasts in existence (and it seems like that there will be another million next week). There are over 37 million channels on YouTube, with a la carte offerings on a variety of different subjects. TuneIn just recently announced the launch of a new program that will give virtually anyone access to push their own homemade content across their massive distribution platform. Several other companies are working on similar projects.
Just “playing the hits” isn’t enough when everyone else is doing the same thing. It’s harder and harder to cut trough the clutter and stand out.
I still have the good fortune to speak to many people working in our industry who are responsible for what comes out of the speaker. The challenges to stay afloat in the ever-evolving world of radio are more daunting than ever. Yet I feel that the solution to these challenges remains as old as time.
There are two things that I think spoken word radio has (in many ways) gotten away from and desperately need to get back to.
TEACH CONTENT CURATORS TO BECOME SPONGES
Some of the best content, in any format, can come from one’s own life experiences. Why? Because they are usually unique.
Recently, I was visiting my local barber shop in Milwaukee and I overheard a conversation between two of the other younger barbers. The Wahl Company tapped one of them as a social media influencer because the company’s marketing department discovered a podcast that he had been doing. The young barber, born and raised in Milwaukee, had been given a whole bunch of free supplies and was even going to be flown down to Wahl’s headquarters to test some of the company’s latest equipment. As it turns out, there is an entire community of barbers that were born and raised in the region who have similar fascinating success stories.
Had I been working for a News-Talk station in town, this would have made for a cool local feature and I would have given it to a reporter to follow up on.
I never would have picked up on this had I not simply kept my mouth shut and my ears open. Moreover, many moons ago (when I started out as a producer), I developed the mentality of being a “content sponge.” Things I would take in during the course of my days and evenings were always seen through the prism of potential show material.
Even as I moved on to becoming a Program/Content Director, I was regularly pitching different things that I would experience on a personal level to my hosts. Not everything I gave them ended up on the show. However, it always drove home the “content sponge” mentality to all involved.
BRING MORE OF “YOU” TO THE TABLE
I’ve ranted and raved many times on this site that we, as industry leaders, have made the business of creating content too formulaic.
TALK ABOUT THIS – DON’T TALK ABOUT THAT/ REPEAT LEAD TOPIC DURING LAST HOUR= A SHOW.
Has this formula worked? In some cases, yes. Those who get sucked into the world of playing the content game by Neilson’s rules can occasionally be rewarded with bragging rights and the bonuses that come with it.
However, there is one noticeable drawback.
This analytic-driven mentality has, to some extent, taken the personality out of our on-air personalities.
If you listen to many shows, they follow the same playbook. That’s why so many of them sound the same.
The most unique thing that a host can bring to the table is themselves. Let them be who they are. Don’t force them to care about something that (although it might be topical) bores them to death.
Talent should be employed because there is something about them that is unique. We need to deregulate the shows and allow talent to, within the scope of reason, be the best versions of themselves.
Ryan Maguire is a columnist for BSM, and a longtime sports and news radio program director. He has managed KIRO-FM in Seattle, WQAM in Miami, 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh, 610 Sports in Kansas City, and 105.7/1250 The Fan in Milwaukee. Presently, Ryan serves as the Executive Producer of Chicago White Sox baseball on ESPN 1000 in Chicago. Originally from Michigan, Ryan still holds out hope that the Detroit Lions will one day deliver a Super Bowl title. He can be reached on Twitter @RMaguire1701.
