When did you last add a new wrinkle to your show? If you have been hosting a show on the same station for several years and have not changed anything substantial, learn from a successful morning show.
I have heard many a long-running show that sounds pretty much the same except for some of the topics expressed on the air. New wrinkles are essential for the long-term survival of your show. I hate to hit you with this truth bomb: we are all replaceable. It is show business.
Clinton Yates was recently iced by ESPN Radio and ESPN. Clinton gave the perfect response: “That’s showbiz, kiddos!” Yes, we are in the business of show. It is about the addition of audience and advertisers. If you are not doing both, get ready for that pink slip. So, here are some strategies for you to extend the run of your radio show.
Ask yourself what part or parts of your show have run their course? What about your show’s open? How long has that been running? Is it too long? I got a demo from a host once, and the open was at least three minutes long. I personally think that 20 to 30 seconds works fine. Does the open speak to your target demo? Is your open contemporary? Your show’s open should be streamlined.
The morning show on my stations has a quick open that updates at least once a week with quick sound bites from people in the news. Quick, informative, with a theme that speaks to men in their 40s.
Rotating Regular Guests
Let’s talk about regular guests. Some of these are amazing and benefit your show greatly. Many of these guests are time killers that are not helping your show grow. When is the last time that you evaluated the guests on your show? Do yourself a favor — aircheck a segment with regular guests. What are your guests bringing to the table? You may have some guests that you need to cut, some that you may need to make an as-needed booking. You may have an occasional guest that you need to make into a weekly one.
There is a long-running syndicated music morning show that has not really changed a cast member in years. When I hear the show, I find it to have zero drama or personality. Your cast members should never grow stale.
Tom Barnard, who retired from KQRS in Minneapolis a few years ago, was always tinkering with his cast. For the most part, Tom was the only consistent member of the KQ Morning Crew for his over 30-year run. Tom and his station managers were always trying to keep things fresh. I know Tom a little bit — he worked across town from me and had an epic run dominating in ratings and revenue.
I don’t know all of the inner dynamics on how decisions were made, but most of these changes worked very well and kept the show vital, fresh, and contemporary.
Cast Member Conundrum
Speaking of the cast members of your show… Are their roles defined? Who is the person who is the instigator? Who brings the drama? Which one of you is funny? Hey hosts — do you take yourself too seriously? Can your news person, producer, or guests make fun of you? Speaking on the subject of defined roles… Play into each cast member’s strengths and weaknesses.
Personally, I prefer the producer to be more of a sniper. Quick hits that either create laughter or drama. The funny person on your staff may be the news anchor or the station’s engineer. Realize this — if your cast just parrots what and how it is said on your show, it’s not good. Some hosts may need to give permission for their teammates to go on the offense. Someone on the show needs to put their neck out for criticism. If it is authentic and relatable, these moments will create a bunch of glue for the audience to love the show even more.
Revaluating vs Refresh
Every brand manager and host should evaluate each guest on the regular. I had a host once who had a regular guest that was an every-once-in-a-while type of topic. I quizzed him and agreed that the subject of Islamic terrorism is sometimes a good one, but only when it is in the news.
Then the host confessed that the regular guest was his brother’s college roommate and he felt like he should support his mission. That may be a fine and good reason for helping your brother’s college friend, but it is meaningless to your audience. Make it meaningful and relevant.
Consider every moment on the air as vital and important… I hear too many hosts phoning it in for meaningless segments. You may be doing a Big 3 stories of the day, an open-line hour, and a complaint segment. I am not saying that these are necessarily bad to do. I want you to evaluate whether these things are good for the show, treasured by the audience, or just time killers. And I know that you may be bored with a feature. That may be a good reason to get rid of it.
Perhaps the feature needs to be rescheduled to a different time and/or day. Part of a listener-focused experience is to delight and surprise your fans. If these benchmarks hinder your show, it’s time to either cut them back, eliminate them, or reschedule them.
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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.
