The following is excerpted from Mike McVay’s Radio Programming Secrets.
Mike McVay
I don’t think I was ever a great air talent. I was a disc jockey in Pittsburgh doing nights and afternoons, and then I was a morning man in Wheeling, West Virginia and Charleston, West Virginia.
Then my programming outgrew my air talent, and I became a PD in larger markets than where I was on the air. I still enjoyed going on the air, and I’ve been on the air in Los Angeles, and I’ve done a lot of interviews, but I didn’t feel that I was the best air talent.
When I got to Los Angeles I was all of 24 or 25 years old, and my morning man was Charlie Tuna. The afternoon guy was The Real Don Steele.
I remember thinking, “How in the world am I going to coach these guys? How do I critique these guys?”
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- Charlie Tuna
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- The Real Don Steele
And Charlie Tuna really helped me.
I sat down with him said, “Charlie, I’m in awe of you, and here I am, I’ve got to tell you what I think about your show. I just don’t know how to do that.”
Charlie looked at me and said, “Well, you know what I need? A mirror. I need somebody to tell me what they’re hearing. If I don’t agree with you, I’ll tell you that, and we’ll talk about that, but certainly tell me what you think, because I want that!”
I had made it all the way to L.A. before the light bulb suddenly went on that coaching a talent should not be about what you want. It should be about what can you do to help them be better.
© 2009 Mike McVay’s Radio Programming Secrets
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Absolutely amazing! Great philosophy! I’m sad to say in all my years of radio I’ve only known two PDs who understood that. This summary should be framed and placed on the wall of every radio PD in the world.
Now daze talent DONT NEED COACHING just clarity in signing their CONTRACT and how many stations they are on
I know, I was laughing at the title. Air Talent? Where? Didn’t realize there was “talent” on the air anymore…(signed, out of work disc jockey)
parallel paths sometimes aren’t obvious when one’s own is the foremost. Charlie’s comment was dead-on about communication programming and talent . Has to exist to focus and progress fresh every shot.
Step 1…have live air talent to coach. Not voice trackers.
Yes, but what did Steele say? And did you have to conduct your air-check sessions at Miceli’s?
Dang it Dan, now I’m going to have to buy the seminar to find out!
In response to “Talent don’t need coaching,” too simple. Don’t NEED, perhaps, but, good coaches like Mr. McVay sure make talent a lot more effective, more consistently. That’s something the people who hire talent need.
Also – these days, coaching talent should not only include instruction that emphasizes and nurtures strengths, and uncover ways to utilize these abilities most effectively on stations/products, but also provide information that’ll boost their business moxie. It makes sense; most VO people who lose interest in the biz, do so when they’re not making/managing enough $$ to justify the time & expense.
This is all teachable.
And well worth it.
Good point Bobby. How do I motivate my VOICE TRACKERS to be vested in the radio station and enthuse all over everyone they meet…when all they want is to be full time LIVE on air, and I cannot give that to them, and not more than $10 per hour?
Yet, I want them at station events, out promoting, yet I cannot pay them for this. Salaried; no problem….but part time….problem.
They read the liners verbatim, even though Ive asked them to read first, then ‘relate’….they don’t seem to have the same energy for the station that live jocks did. [Understandably?]
By the way Dan….nice career. ; ) –
I was readin your ODay liners back in the mid 80s…
And my then consultant, Jaye A…[yeah, that long ago] and mentor Jeff Harris [with Bayless Broadcasting] swore by your ‘word’.
They were right.
You are a voice of reason in our crazy industry.