There is constant chatter in our business. What’s better, TV or radio? Are both dinosaurs? Are podcasts another nail in radio’s coffin? We talk about this stuff all the time. There is no right answer, but one area of radio where it really remains king, regardless of where you stand on any of those questions: the interviews.
When I worked in local television and landed a big interview, the usual response would be “Great, package it, and we’ll wrap around it.”
That means break down a few sound bytes, smatter in a few voice-over tracks, and then front that piece of tape live in one or two shows.
That’s great and all, but it basically means that no more than a minute of actual sound from the interview will be used. You have an on-camera introduction and tag, which by most standards will be 15 seconds each (though with me, I could rarely keep things that tight). Toss in the tracking to weave together the sound, and shazaam, that’s two minutes, and you’re out of time.
Two minutes.
On cable TV (mostly CNBC for me), it’s largely the same or even tighter, with the exceptions being names like Musk, Buffett, or maybe Jerome Powell (He’s still not big enough to be a one-name mention).
On the radio, I can do several things.
There’s the standard 6-10 minute interview slot. If in studio, a guest could stay for 30 minutes, an hour, or even take the whole show.
I could blow out weather and traffic here and there, but largely, we try to avoid that as our audience supposedly has an awareness of the clock expectations; since it’s the morning, there is a sense that those two elements are important (I agree on the weather side, but with traffic, only when something is actually happening).
Let’s start with the standard 6-10 minute interview block. It is still far superior than any packaged interview – if you do your job. That job isn’t just about preparation. It’s also about follow-up questions, the ability to jettison questions if another, more intriguing angle emerges, and of course, provide conversation that cannot be had anywhere else.
This is far better than a good 1:30 TV package because of context, flow, and follow-ups.
If the subject matter or guest is too compelling for 10 minutes, then let them stay! If you are the host or part of a team, you need to be able to convey to producers and co-hosts that going off the rails is what can make radio great.
I think of great morning TV shows like Morning Joe or Squawk Box because they are actually a lot like radio shows. They are at least three hours, and producers always build in extra time – both for great interview possibilities and of course, for verbose hosts.
I remember being on headset for Squawk Box one morning, and the producer wrapped the segment.
A minute later: “We gotta go”.
Two minutes later: “We really gotta go”.
Another minute: “We really really gotta go”.
Then, the anchor tossed to break. No hard feelings and it was a great block.
Radio has some hard outs, so that is not always possible, but one thing I learned at network TV was that producers don’t always need iron-gripped control. The best ones know when to be flexible – and when to flex.
As a host, you need to have some equity in decisions on time for interviews.
The biggest challenge to this sense that radio interviews can still be the best is the podcast. Put aside the episodic, highly produced ones that take months to put together. I am really referencing the interview-style ones, and what I’ve learned is that 60 minutes of Dax Shepard is too much Dax Shepard, regardless of the guest. The same goes for just about everyone, even my beloved Jason Bateman.
Cut those down to 25 minutes or so, and those talents are hard to beat. The problem is that they are not managed that much – or at all. So, sometimes, these star-driven interviews are great, but when they’re over an hour, and at least for me, that’s too much. Ok, I get that many of them are doing so well with revenue, reach, and downloads that they may not realize that condensed versions may do even better.
The lesson here is – give it what it’s worth but not more. Good producers and hosts have a great sense of that line.
My challenge is finding a way to take my best on-air interviews, put them in podcast form, and push them out effectively to the world.
I admit, my social media game is weak, and our podcasting production budget is nil. But that should not be an excuse, especially because I would put our best 10 minutes against anyone.
And so should you.
Brian Shactman is a weekly columnist for Barrett News Radio. In addition to writing for BNM, Brian can be heard weekday mornings in Hartford, CT on 1080 WTIC hosting the popular morning program ‘Brian & Company’. During his career, Brian has worked for ESPN, CNBC, MSNBC, and local TV channels in Connecticut and Massachusetts. You can find him on Twitter @bshactman.
