The current issue of my Radio Programming Letter:
• Answers a question from a subscriber about whether his morning show should be airing its best bits twice in one program
• Explains the concept of “honoring the verbal reality” as it applies to a radio show
• Features a link to an interview “question” I recorded recently in Los Angeles that….Well, you kinda have to hear it to understand.
This post is for my subscribers to use to add their own comments, thoughts, rejoinders, etc.
Comments on this entry are closed.
Good thoughts on re-using material later in the program. I wanted to add that the bit doesn’t need to be re-used verbatim; the commentary surrounding it can be changed so just when the listener thinks he knows what’s coming, it takes a slightly different turn.
I just thought about all the hours I spent listening to and memorizing bits from comedians on records over the years. I was still a fan and still wanted to listen to that side over and over again.
The fun part about watching George Carlin live in Dayton, OH back in 1983 was that we knew what he was going to say for the most part, but it was delivered a little bit differently and he added new words to the original 7. Kept you listening actively throughout the performance.
On a related note, listeners (and fans) of musical groups and singers go to hear the hits. What do they do when a new/unfamiliar song starts? Go to the bathroom or the beer stand because they know they won’t be missing a song they know and are familiar with. Interestingly, PPM shows downturn in audience listening even when the new Kenny Chesney or Keith Urban song comes along.
My two cents worth today. I anticipate your e-mail each week. It gives me renewed energy before I start the grind again on Monday.
P.S.: I bring up the “why use the phone number in the spot” argument about once a month to salespeople and the production department. And it was around 1992 that I took your production seminar course in Atlanta!
I used to think repeating material was just bad, even when I realized that you don’t have the same audience when you start the show as you do when you end it. Still, I only recently started re-using the best bits. I’ll do it later in the show if it’s topical; if it can wait, I’ll sometimes reuse the next day in a different hour. No one has complained about repeating a joke. In fact, I’ve had a couple of people tell me they liked hearing a particular bit twice.
You know what else repeating does? It helps you make sure your show is the best it can be. It is much better to re-use a great bit or joke than to use a lame one.
I have nothing to add about “verbal reality”. You hit the bullseye there.
Concerning the interview question; if the interviewee understood the question as I did, I think his response was much more intelligent than mine would have been. Mine would have been, “Huh”? I have no idea what the question was, it was so riddled with pseudo-intellectual speak and convoluted to the point of gibberish. Why not, “What motivates you to write the way you write”?
After a bit about something I saw on TV, the newsguy says… “I know that can’t be true since you don’t watch TV.” Newsguy is no longer allowed to do anything but the news…. he will NEVER get it. Small market realities.
I NEVER re-use any thing on my 4 hour morning show instead i try to get the people that missed the segment to tune in early the following morning… After each show i would make a promo to air all afternoon saying… ” did you miss this ! on this mornings Breakfast Show (insert show piece here) well then join us tomorrow morning from 6am and dont miss out again”
it seems to be working 🙂
Altough I can’t argue with the premise; [if it works once ….], I do feel the bit shoud be re-worked so as not to sound like it’s coming off of a “Q” card. If the same person, who heard it the first time, is still listening, not realizing their about to hear it again … That, in my opinion, is ideal.
That was the most hideous “interview” I’ve ever heard! Painful…I only listened to the end to hear the guest’s response. Shouldn’t an interviewer make his or her questions short and to the point, and let the guest do the analyzing/explaining/describing?
I loved your response to the “verbal reality”. I do breakfast on CBS FM in Uganda and we have a sports segment of 15 minutes with my colleagues. In this segment, we “hit” one another with whatever comes and our agreement is “no defence” . I am a tall man and recently one of these guys commented that every thing on me is long including guess what. he added that if i was a woman , then men would need a ladder to kiss me or even do what ever. i wonder why they would need a ladder coz what they want is a little on the lower side. Any way i love your explanation of verbal reality.