There are unique stresses associated with being an on-air radio personality. Our career is more than just a job. It is our identity and passion. It seems pretty cool to be a local or national celebrity. There is a cost to our career. Let’s talk about those costs.
You are a local celebrity without the mansion in the nicest neighborhood. Some of us have that. Celebrities are often perceived as products, not people. I’ll give you a personal example: I dated a lady and realized that she was interested in me as a known commodity and not as a person. I asked her if she liked me because of what I do for a living or for who I am as an individual. She then replied, “What you do is who you are.” So, I was a product to her. I was not someone who she loved or liked.
Being considered somewhat different than a human being can be personally costly. Do your friends consider you a trophy to hang out with? Does the person you are dating see you as nothing more than a stepping stone? You have heard the adage about famous actors or musicians being unable to sustain long-term relationships. It is because they begin to look at every human interaction as transactional. Well, I don’t think that every person that you interact with is anything less than human. If you look at people as just a transaction, you are not going to live a fulfilled life.
Every radio personality has a deep-seated insecurity about their show and performance. This is very natural. Now, some air personalities will put up a false sense of bravado. In my career, I have coached a wide range of personalities. Just like any group of people, some are very sensitive; others are insanely confident to the point of being delusional and sometimes it is somewhere in the middle.
I was asked by a Market Manager friend of mine to listen and speak to his talk show hosts. I listened to the shows and found a few things to address. And I spoke with one of the hosts who was very receptive and has since developed into a very good local host.
The second host that I spoke with was completely living in a dream world. The host’s talent was undeniable. He had a very distinctive delivery and show presentation. The second host gave excuses for every one of my observations. It was the station’s equipment, it was the studio set-up, yadda yadda yadda. It was a defense mechanism. The second host was so focused on what was wrong with everything other than his performance.
If you are fortunate enough to have strong coaching, listen. Tom Brady, the greatest quarterback of all time, hired coaches to maximize his throwing motion and footwork. Tiger Woods hired coaches to help him improve his game. If you think that you can do this on your own, you are in for a rude awakening.
You may be very successful right now or perhaps in the recent past. But the news/talk format is in the middle of a reinvention due to the competitive pressures and the desire to reach younger listeners. Hosts needing to reinvent their shows can sometimes be blindsided. There is one thing that I can guarantee. Change is a constant in our lives, the market, and your show. If you are not trying new things, you are in real trouble. We know this and it is frightening. It is just easier to keep doing what we have been doing.
I have had talk radio show hosts bring me an audio sample from something that they have tried. Sometimes, it is genius, and other times it is something that needs to be refined. This is hugely stressful. I understand. It is best for you and your show to always be innovative. Ask for coaching. Ask for a regular aircheck session.
Many Program Directors prefer to be hallway coaches. These PDs will give you a quick suggestion. An aircheck session allows you to hear yourself with a knowledgeable person in the room with you. It allows for improvement. Very few air personalities review their performances regularly. It is because we hate the process. On Sunday, we witnessed the Super Bowl. I guarantee you that every coach and player was studying the other team looking for weaknesses. The best players review their performances. The player looks for weaknesses in their own performance. When is the last time that you did that?
I had a host with a weird verbal tick. It was an on-again, off-again issue that this great host knew and feared hearing. Here is what I suggested: I asked him to edit one hour of his show removing this verbal tick and we would review the edited hour. The host hated the idea. After the personal exercise, the verbal tick disappeared! Airchecking yourself works.
We are in a time of great change. There is a lot of fear, understandably. You have great talent. You also have the skills to create a lane for yourself. It is all about reflecting your audience. It is also about understanding the competition is no longer a few radio stations. Podcasts, YouTube, websites, streaming options, personal playlists, and more. When your show’s ratings and/or revenue decline, it is on the host. While scary, it is best to address the issue preemptively.
Ultimately, you are the driver of your radio show’s success or failure. Don’t be delusional. You have the talent, experience, and creativity to make these changes. When you provide a Listener-Focused Experience, you will maximize your platform.
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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.
