It’s election season. This is the time of year when incumbents and hopefuls reach out to talk radio show hosts hoping to get a boost in their campaigns.
I have had the handlers or politicians themselves ask for questions or supply some for the interview. This is a very common ploy by politicians. Now former WURD Radio talk show host, Andrea Lawful-Sanders admitted on CNN of all places that her questions for President Biden were supplied by the President’s people. Her big get was very likely tied to Andrea’s willingness to follow the dictates as a condition of the interview.
Years ago, there was an event featuring a Lt. Governor. I was there to record the event and publish it on the station’s social media. I was informed by the promotions director that she told the elected official’s staffer that the station would provide a copy of the speech for approval before it was uploaded on Facebook and YouTube. After being informed, I told the promotions director absolutely not. It was a public forum. There were other members of the media there. Often, the media forgets that our job is to speak for our audiences.
As a talk radio show host, I have been asked for a list of questions before the candidate comes on the show. My answer was always no. I always told the staff that I like having conversations. I let the discussion take me to the next question. Always, I told the staffer that I usually toss a softball and I toss a 100-mile-per-hour fastball. Even if the candidate was someone that I disagreed with, I never let that hurt the interview.
Remember, you are asking questions for your audience. You are asking the questions that they want to be asked. In Republican and Democratic primaries, I always invited everyone on equally. They didn’t need to accept, but they were invited. On my last hosting job, there was a Senate candidate that I didn’t support. You never heard that on the air. I treated him very fairly. Even after he lost, I shared the occasional text with him.
Now, for total disclosure: I have had officeholders on the show regularly. I would ask the individual about something in the nation’s capital or at the state house that I need to know about. The elected official would give me a couple of things that were important to know. If I thought it was interesting and that the audience would want to know about the legislation, I would bring that up. The elected official had zero idea of my question or whether I believed the idea to be a good or a bad one. I always strived to provide a Listener-Focused Experience.
So, let’s get back to Andrea Lawful-Sanders. Being able to be a President’s first interview after a big event is a huge opportunity. What I like about her is that she was honest. Now, I don’t know if she was honest with her supervisors. Politicians and their people always want to be in control. Getting the President is so huge. Especially being first. I am guessing that Ms. Lawful-Sanders is a Biden supporter. I am sure that she was thinking to herself about getting more access to the President. The temptation is huge.
Are you like Andrea Lawful-Sanders? If I was offered the first interview of George W. Bush following 9/11, would have I kept to my longstanding personal policy? I would like to hope the answer would have been yes.
It is never about the guest. It is always about your station’s target listener. Clarifying that statement, your opinion and observations are always the center of a great talk show. But, you must always keep your audience in mind first. I have heard hosts say, ‘I only discuss the things that interest me.’ That is a complete recipe for failure. If the host loves genetics of the majestic soybean, should they discuss it? The DNA of a talk radio show host is that you can ask them about almost any subject and that host has some rudimentary knowledge and opinion of that subject.
Are you providing a Listener-Focused Experience for your audience? Are you willing to cut corners to look a little more important?
In 1998, there was a candidate for Lt. Governor of Alabama named Steve Windom. Seemingly on election eve, Windom was accused of raping an exotic dancer/prostitute. Windom was accused of breaking the woman’s arm as well. Windom’s campaign did the right thing and booked interviews for the next day. I was able to ask the candidate the greatest question of my career: “Steve, did you rape that hooker?” The silence was deafening. Windom then answered the question. Well, it turned out that the allegations were false. The attorney who manufactured the lie went to jail.
You are there to tell the truth. Sometimes the truth is not a pleasant thing. Your audience trusts you. Never, ever compromise the trust people put in you. Once you lose trust, it is almost impossible to get it back. Andrea Lawful-Sanders gave up her listeners’ trust. Have you done the same thing? Are you too interested in representing the political class?
Peter Thiele is a weekly news/talk radio columnist for Barrett Media, and an experienced news/talk radio programmer. He recently served as program director for WHO/KXNO in Des Moines, IA. Prior to that role he held programming positions in New York City, San Francisco, 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.
