Depending on the state in which you reside, there are midterm elections for the House of Representatives, Senate, Governor, etc. How much coverage is too much or too little?
Monitoring Nielsen data, I have often noticed that news/talk stations have a hard time growing audience during election season.
Why? Many news talk stations use politics as a platform for topics, and there are several traps. Some hosts get caught up in the proposition that they are kingmakers. These hosts forget that they are there for the audience and not for the politicians.
There were many hosts in 2015 and 2016 who were anti-Trump. Many of them, on a local and national basis, were endorsing and literally campaigning on air for their personal favorite presidential candidate. Donald Trump was a steamroller and easily got the Republican nomination and eventually the presidency. There were a lot of hosts who woke up one day and fell in love with Donald Trump. Some hosts could never allow their egos to live in the reality of the situation.
Endorsements in primary elections are a horrific use of news/talk radio. When a host endorses a candidate, they are essentially telling people to stop listening. Probably my favorite story on this was when a very good host didn’t like the Republican U.S. Senator. This host actually recruited an opponent for that senator. The host spent six months promoting “his” candidate. The upstart candidate got 23% of the vote and made the news/talk host look feckless and flaccid instead of being a strong voice for the people.
In the USA, depending on the state and the election season, 18% to 29% of registered voters participate in primary election voting. I get it. The percentage of news/talk listeners voting in these elections is probably pretty high. But if you are in the growing audience game, a host totally focused on the balls and strikes of the congressional primary will lose listeners. Most people just don’t care that much about the midterm. The temptation for the news/talk host is to become that special insider. The thinking is that this will provide special access to the newly elected official.
I’ll give you a Missouri take on this. Missouri’s senior senator, Josh Hawley, was on every news/talk show constantly. After his election, getting an interview with Josh Hawley is like getting a great picture of Bigfoot. I have seen that in other states as well. The politician seeking a job will do whatever they can to promote their candidacy. The politician never thinks of the news/talk host as their friend. The host is a vehicle for political power. If you think that the politician is your friend, you are mistaken. If you get riffed and reach out to your buddy the congressman, you will likely be ignored or receive the brush-off.
The midterm elections are a good platform for topics, but it is always about the listeners. I like living in reality and not being aspirational. Wouldn’t it be great if everyone educated themselves on the election and voted? Most people are too busy with work, family, paying bills, and having fun. How many of these mayoral or school board elections take place at odd times? I have seen voter turnout under 20% for these elections and have heard news/talk hosts spend days on the balls and strikes of these affairs.
You cannot be a kingmaker and a truth-teller at the same time. While it is great that you can get a prominent elected official on your show, that is not why your show has listeners. It is you. Your personality, quirks, and honesty are why people are turning you on. If having great guests is the lone reason your show is popular, that is not a great selling point. The guest is there to assist in a discussion with the people. You have the mayor on to explain why property taxes need to be increased. You get to talk to and speak with the people. While everyone hates paying more taxes, if there are more than 100 people showing up to the city council meeting to complain, it would be a miracle.
As the midterm election cycle develops like a rash, keep in mind that this is about the listener. Keep everything at 10,000 feet. Most people could not care less about the day-to-day machinations of a campaign.
This always gets back to Topic A. What is the biggest story of the day? Very rarely should it be about stolen lawn signs, unless the thief was someone really interesting, like a local pastor (yes, this happened recently in my town), a campaign staffer, or the candidate themselves. The biggest topic is the best content.
If only 25% of the people are interested in voting in a primary, there are topics where 70% of the people are dialed in. The story surrounding Savannah Guthrie’s mother is a pretty big story that the vast majority of people are invested in.
It is a real temptation to lean into confirmation bias. All the people that I speak with are upset over some local issue, and when the local governmental body has an open meeting, only 30 people care enough to attend. Being listener-focused is reflective of what people are really talking about.
When you go to lunch, sit next to a group of people and listen. I would actually fire up the laptop and type what you hear them speaking about.
I am pretty sure that midterm elections will not be what they are speaking about, unless you are at a diner near the state capitol.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in your inbox.
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.
