The Lesson Dan Bongino Taught News/Talk Radio Leaders The Hard Way

Dan Bongino is gone. You might be asking yourself: what’s next? My friends who work for Cumulus had to wait for what was next. The rest of us need to protect our brands.

There was no question that once President Trump was elected this past November Dan Bongino was on the shortlist. This should serve as a lesson. If you have hired hosts who have been politicians or political insiders, be prepared for them to leave.

I know a lot of people who are impacted by Bongino’s exit. These are wonderful people who have carried and supported Dan’s show. Some of those people are in the Westwood One sales department, Affiliate Relations, or on the Cumulus station side.

When a host is added to a station, radio station managers want someone who is committed for the long haul. I often recite this truth. It takes 18-24 months for a News Talk Host to be successful in ratings and revenue. I wish that it was quicker, but it is not.

Bongino built a successful formula for many stations. I remember after Rush Limbaugh passed away; it was an uphill battle to grow that audience. Some stations are still rebuilding those ratings. Bongino’s exit will create ratings and revenue headwinds for many in our industry. If you are hiring a new host, are they there for themselves or for the station? Are you prepared to lose an important team member to the political class?

News Talk stations have often based content and entertainment on politics alone. There are many reasons why this is a terrible idea. Take your local city council meeting for instance. Have you ever been to one? Is this a subject on your local shows? Attend one, you will find that very few people attend.

I have heard talk show hosts keeping it local focusing on events that no one in their community cares about. If your city is talking about tax increases and less than 30 people show up to complain, that should serve as an indication of community interest. Should people be mad as hell that their property taxes are going up? Absolutely. But do they care?

If you judge it by the 30 people who are complaining, the answer is no. I once lived in a community where one woman spoke to every meeting of the city council on the philosophies of Ayn Rand. The people who attend or show interest in city council meetings are outliers. If that is your station’s audience, you are in huge trouble.

Ok, let me get back to the subject of Dan Bongino. I don’t know him and have never met him. Bongino though has shown a lack of patience or focus on any of his careers. He was an FBI Agent. The vast majority of FBI agents work until retirement and start security companies after their career. Some agents join major corporations to serve in their personal expertise from the FBI.

Then Bongino was a Secret Service Agent. This is another career with great post career opportunities. Retired Secret Service Agents protect high value targets. Whether in business or celebrity, a former Secret Service Agent can make 7 figures following their government career. Bongino was not satisfied with that.

So, my concern and the concern of other programmers was about Bongino’s longevity. Not by his employers, but by Dan Bongino himself. I think that we all know of people who are focused on their next thing.

I have a friend who jumps from hobby to hobby. This is a terrific individual, but I can guarantee that his current interest will be discarded in a couple of years. This guy and I had a similar hobby. That is how I got to know him. He was all in and very enthusiastic about our mutual interest. As soon as he got bored, it was onto the next thing.

Bongino certainly has shown this. A friend of mine hired a host who had once been a city council member. This guy was all gung-ho on a media career. My friend didn’t know that this host was using his station to set the groundwork for his next political run. The host quit and ran for Congress and promptly lost. The host and failed political candidate came crawling back looking for a job. My buddy told him that the station had moved on.

Here is the lesson from Dan Bongino – I am sure that Dan’s employers were convinced that he was committed to the show for the next decade. Remember, I don’t know Bongino. I have a buddy who knows Dan well and says that Bongino is good people. But Bongino has also never had long term commitment in his professional life.

There are stations across the USA who are picking up the pieces. The Spring ratings period is essentially lost. There will be a new show in Bongino’s place hosted by Vince Coglianese. Bongino’s departure will be negative for many people across our industry. We certainly don’t need this as an industry.

As we look for what is next, will the new host on your station filling Bongino’s void be there in 5 or 10 years? This is an important consideration. Don’t add a show that will be gone in 2 years. With spoken word formats, consistency is essential.

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Peter Thiele

Peter Thiele is a weekly news/talk radio columnist for Barrett Media, and an experienced news/talk radio programmer. He currently serves as News/Talk Format Captain for Zimmer Communications. Prior to joining Zimmer, Peter held programming positions in New York City, San Francisco, Des Moines, 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.