As radio continues to navigate the waters of an ever-changing media landscape, one question keeps coming up in various conversations in my world: How valuable are callers in 2025?
While talk radio has see-sawed over the years around opinions of caller usage, I believe we’re in an era where the caller can be a useful tool within a show. However, if misused, they have pitfalls as well.
One of radio’s competitive advantages over a podcast is its ability to be live and react in real time. The medium needs to use that to its advantage whenever possible by following and opining on breaking news in real-time.
This can also lead to valuable feedback and reactions from callers, who are not typically heard in podcasts.
Callers can be useful for a talk radio show in several ways. It’s another voice to break up the monotony of a solo host (which is also why audio usage is so imperative for any talk show). It creates an opportunity for a host to show another side of themselves as they interact with a caller.
Can they cleverly turn phrases when interacting with a caller that stands out to the audience? Does the caller challenge the host on a topic or issue that sparks an interesting conversation? Can the caller provide some humor to a topic or show? Or is the caller an expert in a field on the topic being discussed? All these options and more are on the table when considering a caller and how they can benefit the audience.
But that’s the key question for every producer and host before putting a caller on the air: What are they providing to the audience? If you’re a solo host just looking to interact with another person or you’re looking to burn a few minutes in a segment, that’s not good enough.
Consider how high the standards are for your station to hire a host who they put on the air. You’re giving up valuable minutes of your radio station’s airwaves to a caller. That caller better have something damn good to say.
And just as important, if you swing a miss, the key is to get them off the air as quickly as possible. A producer and host won’t bat 1.000 with quality callers. It’s part of unedited, live talk radio. But acknowledging the mistake (internally, not on the air) and moving on quickly is how you can limit the damage and move on.
It’s also critical to have a producer direct the callers to get right to their point and avoid the small talk (“How are you?”) as a great way to direct them and keep the show moving. Remember, they’re not professionals. They don’t understand PPM principles. They’re just happy to be on the air with a host they enjoy listening to. It’s like parenting: You can’t be upset with a child for screwing something up if you’ve never taught them the right way to do it. That’s your job.
Lastly, what sound are you going for with the caller? Every caller brings with them a visual for the listener. Does this caller — based on their sound — deliver the visual you want your audience to have of the radio station?
Let’s be honest: Too many perceive talk radio as being their grandpa’s radio station. There are plenty of stations having great success in the 25-54 demographic, but as the saying goes, perception is reality.
Every major corporation in America can succeed or fail based on their potential customer’s perception. A radio show and station is no different.
Younger callers (or younger-sounding callers) are an important part of creating a new perception of talk radio. Plus, these listeners then hear their peers, which will ideally encourage others in the demographic to pick up the phone and make that call to their favorite show.
This isn’t to say someone with an excellent point of view and insight who may sound older isn’t worth putting on the air. They absolutely are worth it! However, multiple callers in a row who sound out of the desirable demographic and aren’t lighting it up on the air do nothing but confirm the perceptions that have persisted for too long in the format.
Every voice on the air is a branding image of the radio station.
None of this is an exact science, but as you navigate the ebbs and flows of a talk show, at least being aware of how callers reflect your show and your station will help in deciding who is worth putting on the air.
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Pete Mundo is a weekly columnist for Barrett Media, and the Vice President of News/Talk for Cumulus Media, while also hosting “Mundo in the Morning” and programming KCMO Talk Radio in Kansas City. Previously, he was a fill-in host nationally on FOX News Radio and CBS Sports Radio, while anchoring for WFAN, WCBS News Radio 880, and Bloomberg Radio. He’s also the owner of the Big 12-focused digital media outlet Heartland College Sports. To interact, find him on X @PeteMundo.
Easiest analogy is to compare it to music radio: putting a caller on the air is akin to “spinning a record.” You play the right song, it enhances the appeal of the radio station; the wrong song can be a temporary death knell. Same goes for callers. This is why proper call screening is of utmost importance.
Perfect, Ed. Play the hits, ignore the rest. It all hinges on the host once the caller gets to the air. The good ones can “talk up the vocal” and get the caller’s purpose on-and gone. Of course, now you’ve got the “no calls” shows that air in lots of places. It’s 3-4 hours of the host and his/her observations and opinions. Some shows use their app to solicit calls -a great way to minimize the drivel that we’re used to hearing. But as Ed says…”Play The Hits”.