Local, local, local. Many radio hosts are struggling with how to navigate the proper amount of attention to local elections. I am with you. But let us focus on reality: most people don’t care.
I personally believe that all general elections should be held on the same day. But we need to discuss these ratings turkeys to a certain extent. I can assure you that people are mad as hell about crime, traffic, blight, and wasted tax dollars.
There is a reason that these local elections are held at weird times. It is a power move. Depending on your state, your local government has a lot of strings for their job. Local communities receive a large percentage of their funding from federal, state, and sometimes county money. Your city or town authorities look at any money from these sources as free money. Federal and state money generally comes with huge strings attached.
During the Obama administration, local funding for street repair or expansion came with the mandate of bike lanes. This idiocy was a way to provide people with a safe place to ride their bicycles while they commute to and from work. If your community is like mine, that does not happen. Why didn’t communities rebel from the federal government’s overreach? It’s because it was easier to accept the money than turn it down and figure out how to repair or expand streets without assistance. Thus, it is so much easier to take the federal cash.
How do we handle this? I think that local governments have a couple of things that they still have a great deal of control over: crime, business recruitment, and economic development. These issues are perfect for news/talk radio stations. I am going to give you questions that are imperative for your local community.
Does the city have 5, 10, and 30-year growth plans? These should be clearly defined. If the city is playing catch up to unanticipated growth, it becomes very expensive quickly. Poor planning for growth leads to lifestyle problems. Heavy traffic, poor water service, overcrowded schools, and expensive real estate to support the growth. Building after this fact creates more mayhem. If the mayor says that the city does not have a formal growth plan, the follow-up is: why not? Isn’t that important?
What is the plan for new business recruitment? In our smaller cities and towns, there is a cornerstone business that employs a significant percentage of residents. What if that business moves? It is easier to recruit when your community is doing well. It becomes very difficult if your community loses that big employer. There are many communities across the USA that will offer substantial tax incentives to attract that business. Where is your city on that? If you hear the mayor, say that the big employer owes it to the community. Your mayor is a fool.
Real estate costs are spiking in many places. Where is your city on development of new housing? Housing costs are tied directly to supply and demand. If these costs are rapidly rising, how can this be fast-tracked?
Road Planning. In my hometown, the state and cities cooperated on the development of I-494 and I-694. My dad used to joke that this loop was the road to nowhere. This loop is 10–20 miles away from the downtowns of Minneapolis and St. Paul. On a recent trip home, I drove it. There is development everywhere on it. I bet that the community wishes that they would have built another loop 15 miles further out.
Do your local schools suck? If the community is more interested in the quality of their prep sports than educational excellence, you are in trouble. I was speaking with a parent whose child attended a school that had terrible rankings. I asked her if she wanted to get her kid into a different school. The mother looked at me and said, “I know that the school is terrible, but my kid’s teachers are excellent.” This is a real problem. I have observed schools fire a coach with a losing record but are perfectly happy to support terrible schools.
Part of providing a listener-focused experience is understanding the concerns and frustrations of your audience. Your local elections have a lot to do with the happiness of your audience.
Sadly, if you focus too closely on these elections, you will chase away your audience. So, think that through.
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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.
