Summer is the perfect time for news/talk radio programmers, producers, hosts, and stations to try something new.
The stakes are lowered. The audience is a little lower as vacations become more and more prevalent throughout the summer. But the vacations become more frequent for on-air hosts, too.
Plus, generally (but things sure are becoming more unique these days), the news cycle slows down in the summer as Congress undergoes its traditional recess and the nice weather is enjoyed by most.
So, as I said, it’s a perfect time to do some experimenting.
Here are three ideas you should consider giving a go this summer when it’s ok to try something and it might not be a smashing success.
Switch Up Your Hosts
If you have more than one local daypart, which isn’t a guaranteed these days, try swapping your hosts around.
Put your afternoon host in morning drive on a Friday. Tell them you’re doing it so they can get out of the office early so they can enjoy one of those summer Fridays. Or don’t. Just tell them it’s fun to tinker. You know your people better than I do.
But, someday, you’ll likely be in a position to make some changes in your lineup. And I’m here to tell you that it’s much easier to make those changes with people already on the staff when you know what they sound like on the air.
Plus, by doing a show swap, it allows your hosts to get an appreciation for what their colleagues do. Additionally, it potentially exposes different audiences to different hosts. That’s undeniably a good thing. Your audience generally has a routine. If you can introduce a new host that they need to pay attention to, but could do it on-demand is a great opportunity.
Open the Phones…Or Close Them
Using callers in the news/talk radio world is a divisive topic. It’s the “Is a hot dog a sandwich?” of talk radio. It is a sandwich, by the way. And if you disagree, email me and we’ll have the argument of a lifetime.
But switch it up. If you’re a station that has open phone lines, close ’em. Make your hosts and producers rely on topics and compelling content instead of using the phones. Make them excercize those content muscles that might have gotten a little weak by their reliance on listener calls.
On the flip side, if you’re a station or show that doesn’t ever do callers, open up the phone lines. Turn it into a promotion. Make it clear that you’re looking for their input. Best case scenario, you get some great calls from listeners that restore your faith in humanity a little bit. Also, callers are a great place to get locally-focused audio for promos, as well as a place to find a potential weekend or fill-in host down the line.
If things don’t go well, you just go back to how it was before, and no one likely noticed that you changed your philosophy for a short time. Everyone wins.
Get Your Program Director On the Air
Former 105.7 The Fan Program Director Chuck Sapienza likely didn’t invent this, but he’s the first person I ever saw do it, so he gets the credit.
But one time per year, when things in Baltimore hit a lull during the summer, Sapienza would hop on the air during the midday timeslot for a pre-determined set of time to take calls from listeners.
It makes a ton of sense. The people listening, especially in midday, are your P1s. They are invested in your brand. It is their station, and they aren’t afraid to tell everyone that they have a favorite brand.
Why not super-serve that audience? They probably have a ton of questions to ask you about a wide variety of topics.
Truth be told, I like being challenged. My thought process has been that I can’t be at my best if I’m not firmly entrenched in my stance. But it’s really easy to hold unchallenged beliefs. If you have a radio programming philosophy on a topic and a listener says “Hey, why do you do XYZ?” and has a different viewpoint, either you’re right in your stance and can explain it, or they’ve made you question why you feel the way you do or why you’ve decided what you have.
But that transparency helps in the tribe building of your brand. It allows the biggest fans of your radio station to feel like they have inside access. And I know that some might believe that interacting with the public is the worst part of the job. I get it. I’ve been there.
But allowing that access to your biggest fans only reinforces that you’re live, local, and accessible. Who doesn’t want to exude those qualities?
If you’re a program director who doesn’t want to be on the air, you should still schedule a time to talk with listeners on the air. Why? Because it’s the old “spare tire” theory. Nobody ever gets a flat tire when their trunk is completely empty. It always happens when you’re completely bogged down. So, if you don’t want to be on the air, set up a time and promote the hell out of it. That means there will be some breaking news situation that will require you to cancel, but will give you content to capitalize on in the coming days.
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Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing daily news stories, features, and opinion columns. He joined Barrett Media in 2022 after a decade leading several radio brands in several formats, as well as a 5-year stint working in local television. In addition to his work with Barrett Media, he is a radio and TV play-by-play broadcaster. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
