There have been a lot of societal changes that have impacted the flow of morning show content. In particular, those with a primarily male audience. There was the Super Bowl wardrobe issue involving Janet Jackson that led to a clampdown on so-called adult content. A pandemic also impacted everything, including commuting hours.
Most recently, the growth of politics as a pop culture phenomenon has had a surprising effect on the types of stories reporters cover. There are far fewer human interest and weird news stories for morning shows to riff on because of this. Now, reporters fill those slots with coverage of political machinations instead.
For Billy Madison, morning host on Cox Media Group’s rock station KISS/San Antonio, that last change has impacted how he builds his show as much as anything.
Madison avoids politics and serious topics as a whole. Websites he once relied on for content no longer prioritize the types of stories he chooses to focus on.
“There’s hardly any lifestyle stories anymore,” says Madison. “I get it. They [newsrooms] need the clicks on their websites to make money. It just means we have to be more creative. But if I’m properly prepared, there’s always something to talk about.”
Madison has made a career at being good with prepartion. He’s successfully hosted mornings on KISS-FM for fifteen years with a long run of excellent ratings.
He attributes that success in Nielsen to several factors. Beginning with his background in Top 40 radio, including time on KHBZ in Oklahoma earlier in his career.
“I’ve always formatted the show a little more Top 40 in terms of the speed we move. Attention spans are very short. So, I’m not going to stay on a topic if it’s not generating a lot of interest,” explains Madison.
Listen to Your Audience
He gets that feedback not only from being live on the air, but also from streaming the show on multiple video platforms. Every show is broadcast live on Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook Live. Madison says having upward of five hundred people chatting in real time helps him quickly evaluate whether a topic is working. Great engagement is what drives the show’s content direction.
“Let the listener be the star. I’ve applied that to every market we’ve been in,” says Madison. “Make them a part of the show, and feel like they contribute.”
Despite being on a rock station, Madison insists that one key to his success is having a large contingent of women listeners who participate in the show. He estimates about half of his program’s callers are female, which leads to more men leaning into the program.
That doesn’t mean the topics are watered down or that he avoids sex. Instead, Madison focuses on presenting those topics in a way that doesn’t drive women away from the show.
“Women love funny, they’ll engage in funny. They don’t like gross,” Madison says. “Anytime you’re on a rock station, people automatically assume you’re just being gross. You’re just pigs. But if you really listen to our show, we’re trying to make people laugh and help them have a good experience.”
Keep Them Guessing
A lot of that listener experience comes from Madison’s interaction with his team. Co-host Derek Allgood, third mic Nard, and producer Chris. He says much of the show depends on their willingness to give each other grief.
The teasing is driven by differences in their personalities. Madison describes himself as kind of a nerd, while Allgood is more of a guy’s guy. Nard, however, is tougher to succinctly describe.
“He can barely get a sentence out. A lot of times it’s just funny because what he says doesn’t make sense. But people love the kid,” says Madison. “It’s such a good crew. I couldn’t be happier with the guys I’ve got. It makes doing the show fun.”
One thing Madison doesn’t believe in when crafting the listener experience is setting benchmarks at regular times. He strongly believes in teasing to build forward momentum, but he prefers to keep listeners guessing about what’s coming next.
“I prefer organized chaos, which is what has brought us success,” Madison explains. “People don’t know what’s going to come up. They know we’re going to give them something great. But I like that they don’t know exactly what’s going to happen.”
Another area where Madison takes a different approach than many other hosts is social media, where the show has a limited presence.
“If you’re too accessible, does it make you less interesting,” Madison wonders. “It can be a tool to push clips from our show. But if you’re so accessible that people can get to you at any time, does it kind of lose its excitement? It’s possible you could turn people off.”
While that point of view suggests Madison leans toward a traditional, radio-first mindset, the show is also fully live-streamed with video across three platforms.
So which is it—a radio show or a video show?
“Mostly I’m just making content,” Madison says. But he does lean toward radio. “I still love radio because my family was in radio, but I do think having the video available is a bonus. But overall, I’m just trying to create great content in whatever form. That’s the main thing.”
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Mike Stern is a Classic Rock columnist and Features writer for Barrett Media. He has been with Jacobs Media consulting stations in the Classic Rock, Rock, Alternative and AAA world for more than a decade. Prior to that he programmed stations in Chicago, Detroit, Denver Las Vegas and other markets. He also worked as News/Talk Editor for Radio and Records, wrote about Top 40 Radio for Billboard Magazine and had his own radio talent coaching business called Talent Mechanic.
