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You are a host on a terrific News Talk station. You may receive occasional aircheck sessions. Your Program Director is very busy. The PD is likely running more than one radio station and has other jobs in the building. Some Program Directors are very good at coaching and others are not so gifted to get you over the rut that you feel that your show is in at the moment. I like to think that I have coached my hosts more than most Program Directors. There are 4 ingredients to setting up a topic for a great show:
Keep it brief. I hear many hosts still replicating the Rush Limbaugh template of a long and detailed monologue. Most of you can’t do that. Listeners were patient with Rush because they knew that the payoff would be there. Limbaugh’s insane show prep is more than you are likely doing. PPM is soon to debut the 3-minute quarter hour. So, three minutes will give your show credit. Your topic set up should be in 3 minutes.
Ask your PD to see the average time spent listening per listening occasion, if you are in a PPM Market. If you are in a diary market, the average PPM result shows approximately 5 times more tune-ins per week and the TSL is quite short. PPM and Diary methodologies have deep flaws in my opinion. Even though there are not enough people in the panel for PPM, it shows actual listening. I have used PPM programming data in diary markets. You don’t have much time. You have mere seconds to entrap people into your show. Tighten up the monologue.
Lead with your opinion. The opinion is the hook. The opinion is verbal clickbait. I hear too many hosts open with the news story. Your audience connects with your thoughts. Opening with a line such as, “The Mayor thinks that we are morons,” will create immediate interest. It is all about grabbing attention. There are so many distractions. There are so many choices that hosts need to maximize attention grabbing moments.
Personal connection is essential once you set the hook with your opinion. I was monitoring a terrific host recently. (I have managers and hosts who seek my opinion on improvement ideas for talk show hosts and news people.) So, this host was speaking about the political leadership twiddling their fingers on a bridge replacement. I know this host. He drives over said bridge twice a day. The host ignored the frustrations of a daily traffic jam. He didn’t relay his feelings or experiences.
Every listener that drives that bridge knows those feelings. It is essential storytelling. If I was going to give a blanket complaint for most hosts that I hear is that they don’t tell personal stories that relate to the topic. Radio is the theater of the mind. Have you created a picture for your listeners. This host could have talked about how this aging narrow bridge is a safety hazard. How he is fearful of the bridge failing. Tell a story of being stuck on the bridge on a windy day and feeling the bridge move. Lots of angles on this story. Find your personal passion point.
The least important part is the actual news story. It is the base of the discussion with callers but should be used at the end of the set-up. I often hear hosts reading an article on the story. That is not show prep. It is reading. I once had a host who would read for twenty minutes and wonder why he wasn’t getting any calls or feedback. People are not listening to your show to read someone else’s words. It is kind of like audio plagiarism. Even though this host acknowledged the writer of the article one time. Most of the station’s listeners will not hear that.
I hate referencing opinion pieces. When I was doing a show, I generally avoided opinion articles. You must draw your own conclusions. It is too easy to take an opinion from the article and make it your own. You are not being paid to just read others’ opinions, words, and feelings. You are being compensated for your thoughts, words, and opinions. Don’t steal the opinions of others. It is theft. It really is and most hosts don’t even realize that they are doing it. If you avoid opinion articles or podcasts, you can’t get tempted.
You have been given a microphone and a platform to be a host. I realize that this is art. Follow my ideas in this order: Strong opinion, story supporting your opinion, followed by the news story. This is what it takes to have a great show. The most successful hosts that I hear follow this basic set-up.
Technique is as important to a talk show host as it is for any NFL quarterback. It is essential. Do you aircheck yourself? How often? I think that you should listen to an hour of your own show each week. I understand that nearly every host hates listening to themselves. I also know that no growth can occur if you do not have self-reflection.
Hey Program Directors… You don’t need to break down every moment of an hour. Play a segment for the host and ask the talent to tell you what worked or what didn’t. Often, hosts hear the shortcomings. I have had hosts make the same mistakes and then I ask them to help me solve the problem. You and the talent already agree on the shortcoming. Asking the host how you can help him/her is a win. You are being an ally to their success.
Follow my advice and it will actually help you maximize your footprint ratings wise, and it will create greater connectivity with your listeners.
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.
