I recently received a demo for a newly syndicated news/talk show with an obviously talented host. I listened to a couple of hours of his show. I found something that is way too common. The host was a reader of others. The opinions expressed were not his own. This was light plagiarism. This is more common and needs to be stopped now.
A good opinion piece is wonderful to read. You get the well-thought-out rationalization of a writer who has studied a particular news story or concept. Don’t get trapped. It is not your opinion. The listener is there to hear what you think, not a writer of a blog. I swear that if you think that this is the way to do a show, just get me a producer who can read. Are you a thinker or a person with amazing opinions and observations to share with the world? If not, just quit. I just listened to a couple of hours of a host wishing to become the next great syndicated star. All he did was read someone else’s opinions.
This is how you use an opinion piece. Find a cool take, grab it, and print nothing else. Give the writer his plug and move on. Take that short one to two sentences and run with it. Make it your own.
I was driving through a town and listening to a very well-respected talk show host. I was waiting for the wow. He was a reader. His opinions were not his own. He was giving the thoughts of another person and masquerading as the writer. He did give credit to the writer once, but after that one plug, he was stealing at a rate that a serial shoplifter in San Francisco could only admire.
Are you a thief? Are you a robber? Do you take things from people and declare them as your own? So many self-declared talk show hosts do this on a daily basis. Are you one of them?
Opinion pieces are like meth to an addict. I try never to read them.
Read the news and find your own opinions. If you cannot come up with an original opinion of your own, sell real estate or timeshares. You are cheating your audience. Innovation doesn’t mean copying. You are sitting in that chair to bring that unique, salient, well-thought-out show to your audience. If you cannot do that, you are stealing food from someone else’s children.
Here is a tutorial: stop listening to talk radio. It is way too easy to parrot the thoughts of another host. Read stuff that you don’t agree with. I love reading left-wing sources and thinking through why they are wrong. It helps you build ideas that will connect with your audience. Finding a factoid in an article or study that no one has said before should be your goal every day.
Your listeners are giving up their precious time to you. It is a privilege and an honor. Bring them a moment of “Wow”. Why are you there? If you want a long-lasting run, it is to provide your listeners with something that they cannot get anywhere else. If you are reading someone else’s opinions, you are cheating your audience, employers, and advertisers.
If you are reading Red State, Hotair, Daily Caller, or others, the writer usually references a source article. Read that instead. Usually, it is fact instead of opinion based. That gives you the reference material to make your unique thoughts. I can’t help if you don’t have original opinions. My guess is that you do.
If I can guess the opinion before the host finishes the sentence, it is not good. Entertainment is all about being surprised. Listeners want to be informed and surprised by your brilliance. Give them what they are desiring.
Unique experiences are why we are here. There is nothing more amazing than hearing from a listener telling that story of when they were in the car for 10 minutes just listening to something that connected with them. I love the term “Honor”. It is an honor to do our job. It is an honor to make a memorable moment for your audience.
Here is how I do my prep. I write a quick headline with the link to the article. I print my prep and nothing else. Never print articles. I will pull up an article on the computer if there is something that is important that I wanted to share. I almost never use opinion pieces in my prep. In the 50–60 articles that I add to my prep each week, I may have 3 opinion pieces. Of these pieces, I usually use a cool line and expound on that in the show. I never read.
Radio is theater of the mind. Your job is to connect with your listeners. Creating memorable moments, should be your hope for every segment and show. I have been doing this a while and occasionally, I receive an email or a social media interaction from a listener from 20 years ago. There was a moment that had a permanent impact on that person. If you are reading, you cannot really connect with your audience.
Every host preps differently. We are all individuals. If you are tempted to read on the air, don’t print articles. Use bullet points with your points to cover. It sounds better. Just stop reading. Stop it.
If you are hosting a daily or weekly show, it is a gift. Make those moments so compelling that your audience can’t stop listening. Reading others work is actually keeping you from connecting to your audience.
The last time you had coffee with a friend, did you read to them? No. You had a conversation. If someone started reading to a friend at lunch, you would find it impersonal and perhaps a little creepy. When you are on the air, you are having a conversation with one person at a time. Every listener should feel like you are speaking with them.
Peter Thiele is a weekly news/talk radio columnist for Barrett Media, and an experienced news/talk radio programmer. He currently serves as News/Talk Format Captain for Zimmer Communications. Prior to joining Zimmer, Peter held programming positions in New York City, San Francisco, Des Moines, Little Rock, Greenville, Hunstville, and Joplin. Peter has also worked as a host, account executive and producer in Minneapolis, and San Antonio. He can be found on Twitter at @PeterThiele.
