It’s Democratic National Convention week. I’m sure you had no idea!
But in the world of news and politics, it’s obviously the story of the week, and will springboard into a two-month sprint into the November 5th election.
For News/Talk hosts, this brings an opportunity for daily content filled with analysis, reaction and opinions on hours of speeches, viral cable news moments and more.
So how do you want to handle it?
The options are unlimited, but finding unique angles are important. In fact, there are so many content opportunities, it can be overwhelming.
First off, make the job easy on yourself. Whether it’s the host or the producer, find the right accounts across X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok that allow you to easily pull clips from the various speakers that you’re looking to use on your show. Knowing how to use these platforms as a search engine will save you enormous amounts of time when it comes to cutting audio for your show.
And it’s imperative you do this. Adding the audio element to your presentation is critical. Do not just read the quotes that you want to address. Find the audio and it amplifies your topics tenfold. In an audio medium, anything else would be lazy.
Then, find topics that can be serious, but also fun and entertaining.
On KCMO, I’ve set aside one segment each day on the “weird” from the previous evening. If you’re not aware, Kamala Harris’ VP pick Tim Walz is the one who has coined the term “weird” for Republicans. It has been a fairly effective attack against Republicans in recent weeks and has stuck as a phrase that’s become part of the political lexicon in the 2024 cycle.
So in honor of Tim Walz, I’ve found three “weird” things from each night that we’ve turned into a daily segment at 7:30 each morning. Rarely have they been serious in nature, they’re mostly fun and bizarre, but it has given us an opportunity to find a fun benchmark for the week that goes beyond the, “Can you believe what this person said!” conversation.
It’s also an opportunity to highlight three quick topics and things that much of your audience likely missed from the night before but makes them feel more informed on the evening’s events, without having to slog through all four hours of the DNC. They’re coming to you for information and entertainment delivered in a concise manner that doesn’t waste their time.
In conversations that become more in-depth and serious, always think about how to spin it forward. The, “I’m outraged over ____ comments” are entertaining and can be informative but think ahead. And think about your audience. If your audience is right-leaning, they will want to know how these comments, speeches and ideas from the DNC impact their preferred candidates and the election at-large.
It can’t simply just be, “This is the dumbest idea ever!” Your audience is smart. They probably think many of the ideas from this week aren’t great, but they’re coming to you for more than that.
If they’re just looking for quick hits of outrage, they can scroll through X and get hundreds of these from different individuals. You need to give them that reason to come to you.
And if there’s any way to localize some of this content, run with it. If any speakers have a tie to your market, or ideas from speakers come courtesy of politicians in your state or region, you’d be wise to try and bring it back home. That’s not always easy or possible, but it’s something to think about as the DNC wraps up and the general election season hits its apex.
Be creative, be informative, move stories forward and as always, have fun. Even when it doesn’t seem possible!
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.
