On Wednesday evening, new Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News host Jesse Watters that the Department of Justice will begin releasing files related to the Jeffrey Epstein case. Those comments made immediate headlines, with the statements being shared hundreds of thousands of time on social media. For many news/talk radio hosts, the story became the top one on Thursday.
But what happens in the news/talk radio world when that breaking news story happens on your station? We reached out to several industry leaders to ask what they do in these situations.
“The challenge broadcasters face in reacting to breaking news stories is something we all wrestle with,” said Salem Radio Network Vice President of News & Talk Programming Tom Tradup. “News anchors toss out a ‘hand grenade’ (in the form of a midair plane crash or a shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania to name just two) and on-air hosts suddenly toss their booked guests and other show prep out the window as they scramble to ‘advance’ the story…immediately and in the second day leads following-up.
“Responsible talk hosts like SRN’s Charlie Kirk, Mike Gallagher, Hugh Hewitt, and Larry Elder, among others, always have two targets: to update listeners with the latest facts and to allow the audience to react in a nationally broadcast town hall meeting without devolving into conspiracy theories of fearmongering,” Tradup continued. “In other words, to avoid the common stereotype of talk radio as ‘a ragtag collection of angry and ill-informed men and women who regularly subtract from the sum total of human knowledge.'”
Tradup added that the responsibility doesn’t simply rely on talents, though.
“Producers, especially, bear the responsibility for feeding unfolding facts to their hosts while simultaneously giving careful attention to call-screening so their shows don’t suffer the embarrassing on-air kooks that CNN and other networks frequently let slip on their programs in their effort to beat competitors,” he concluded. “Being right is always better than being ‘first.'”
At 93 WIBC, Program Director David Wood said flexibility has to be a key to the coverage, while also noting that finding relevant angles — especially local ones — is paramount.
“The first thing is deciding what is the most relevant angle of the story to our audience,” said Wood. “It can differ if it is local or national. Take the Gene Hackman story. It is a national story and, initially, it was not deemed suspicious. Gene is revered here because of Hoosiers, so we got someone local who was in the movie.
“As things started to seem more suspicious, our coverage changed from ‘Remembering the hero from Hoosiers’ to ‘Here is the latest on the story.’ When there is new news about Ukraine, we reach out to a local Congresswoman who came to the U.S. from Ukraine as a young woman. We are looking for an informed perspective. If it is local, we are looking for someone close to the story for their perspective.”
Wood added that it’s imperative for news/talk radio hosts, producers, and managers to keep in mind that the interest of the audience might not always be in lockstep with those continually discussing a story, either.
“As far as extending the story, I like watching TopicPulse. You can see what is generating action on social media. Sometimes we think a story is over, but the audience does not,” he said. “It’s like music radio. The air talent gets tired of a current or recurrent song much faster than the audience.”
620 WTMJ Director of Content Mike Spaulding shared that when breaking news happens on his Good Karma Brands Milwaukee station, it’s important to make sure it is available on every platform.
“The first thing that goes through my mind in a breaking news situation is whether or not we have it not only on the air, but on our digital and social platforms,” Spaulding said. “So many of our listeners find information on social media before they turn on a TV or turn on a radio. So, for me, it’s important for us to have all of our bases covered and can meet our fans where they are.
“Shortly after making sure we have the initial breaking news covered, we turn to finding angles and finding avenues to connect the breaking news to our local audience. We have a very experienced on-air team, so finding guests and experts isn’t an issue. The challenge comes with finding the perfect spot for the perfect guest and strategizing with hosts on how best to spread the content out so we don’t burn through all of our best stuff in a single day.”
Spaulding added that when a station has cultivated credibility as the place to go when news breaks to its audience, you have to continue to be that source.
“It’s simple: our fans and listeners turn to us to know what’s going on. So we need to find ways every hour to hit on that story. In addition to using our local talent, I’m also not afraid to lean on our network partners at ABC News and CBS News to help cover a national event. It’s our job to get the best, most accurate information out there no matter where it comes from.”
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