A Loyal Reader Writes:
“I have been in radio for 15 years and I currently have a successful small-market morning show (Country music format). We have huge 12+ numbers and have been #1 in our market for six years.
“I have always been taught that the on-air topics a music intensive station should avoid are Sex, Politics and Religion. Any truth to that?
“Well, one day coming out of a Randy Travis tune, I expressed my spiritual belief in Christianity! Big mistake! Or was it…?
“We have a monthly feature on our show that includes a local psychic who comes on and we open up the phone lines for listeners to have a short moment free of charge to ask a question. They have a great time and our phones go nuts! This woman is right on about many folks, I might add….
“My dilemma: Because we have her on the show, a few listeners have called and e-mailed to question my true Christian beliefs.
“My partner and I have worked hard to develop our characters and choose material that does not go against who our characters are. And we have worked hard to have lots of variety in what we do on the air.
“Do we dump the psychic? When or how do we know what the feel of the market is?
“If lots of listeners felt that way, our phones would not ring, right?
“Do I need to address this on the air?”
——
“I have always been taught that the on-air topics a music intensive station should avoid are Sex, Politics and Religion. Any truth to that?”
Certainly the last two are true for most secular, music intensive formats.
Look at it this way:
100% of your listeners like country music. That’s the common bond among all of your listeners.
You present the music they’re so fond of, so you’ve got a good chance of bonding with them.
As soon as you declare a religious preference, you’re bound to push away some of your listeners:
If you declare yourself a Christian/Jew/Muslim/Hindu/Bahai, etc. (in a context where that wouldn’t usually be relevant), some of your listeners will apply to you some of the stereotypes that your religion has acquired.
In a country that is bitterly divided along political lines, declaring your political preference when it’s not relevant (e.g., presenting music on a music intensive station) automatically erects a barrier between you and some of the people who don’t share your political views.
I have very strong views on both religion and politics. But you’d have a tough time identifying them from this blog, because I go out of my way to avoid revealing them.
Why?
Because I’m timid? If you’ve heard me speak or read my newsletters or my books or this blog, you probably don’t think I’m generally reluctant to give my opinion.
Because I’m willing to sacrifice my beliefs for business reasons — i.e., to sell as many books as I can or garner the most readers?
Nope. My blog and newsletters (which are free), books, CDs and seminars all are very opinionated. And every time I express a strong opinion, I know that someone out there will disagree.
But I restrict those strong opinions to topics related to radio, because the people who read the blog, books or newsletters; listen to the CDs; or attend the seminars do so in the knowledge that they will be based upon my personal views of how to do radio most effectively.
Here’s why I don’t talk about politics or religion in such a forum:
My goal — my job — is to educate.
Occasionally in live seminar settings, an attendee will say something during the seminar that tempts me to “correct” his/her views regarding religion, politics, or social issues. But to do so would lessen my effectiveness in communicating the concepts I’m there to teach.
I have an obligation to those attendees — even those attendees whose religious or political views I find abhorrent. If I do something that I know will weaken the effectiveness of my communication, I am cheating my audience.
“I expressed my spiritual belief in Christianity! Big mistake! Or was it?…”
Personally, I think it’s a mistake….Unless your partner has differing spiritual beliefs and aired those differences.
And I write those words in the absolute knowledge that by publishing this on my blog, I might upset a few (not all) evangelical Christians. Sorry; I’m giving my opinion about the best ways to maximize your connection to your listeners, not about religion.
“a local psychic who comes on and we open up the phone lines for listeners to have a short moment free of charge to ask a question. They have a great time and our phone go nuts! This woman is right on about many folks, I might add…”
FIRST: I feel a moral obligation to point out that although they can be entertaining, all psychics are frauds. Some have fooled themselves into believing they have psychic powers; most simply are con artists.
I know my saying that will immediately inflame some readers. Uri Geller became wealthy fooling people into believing he could bend metal with his mind. John Edwards cons millions into thinking he can receive communications from the dead. They’re both professional liars.
I’m an amateur mentalist. If you offer to pay my regular hourly consulting rate, instead of advising you on radio strategies I’ll be happy to give you a “cold reading” that will astound you.
Some readers have seen me do a rather astonishing “mind reading” demonstration at my live “Hypnotic Advertising” seminar. How do I do it? I can’t reveal that. But I won’t claim to be a psychic.
SECOND: Why do I risk boldly declaring that there are no real psychics, knowing that some readers will take umbrage because they personally had a “psychic reading” that “described me exactly” and “contained personal details that no one else could have known”?
Because although those readers will “know” I’m “wrong” about psychics, they probably won’t think any less of me as a radio “expert.” It’s not such an emotional issue that it will poison their reactions to my views on radio.
In fact, I’ll bet that right now someone is reading this issue and thinking, “He’s wrong about psychics, but he’s right about the foolishness of needlessly alienating a large block of your listeners.” That person will dismiss my views on psychics but continue to listen to what I have to say about radio.
The only “flaming” I might see in response to this posting is from “psychics” who somehow stumble onto this blog. They are not my constituency, and their flaming me will be their only encounter with me or this blog.
THIRD: This is a very common fallacy among radio people: “The phone lines lit up, so my audience loves this topic/guest!”
Let’s see. You’ve got, let’s say, 250,000 people in your listening area. And all five of your phone lines are lit. So does that mean the guest psychic is attracting a huge audience?
No. It means the psychic is attracting five callers.
Facts of Radio Life
1. The air conditioning in the studio often is out of order. But the air conditioning in the boss’s office always works.
2. There always is a struggle to avoid being stuck with the “bad headphones.”
3. Putting a psychic on the air guarantees the phone lines will light up.
What about the people who aren’t calling? Are they entertained, captivated or enthralled?
Maybe.
“If lots of listeners felt that way, our phones would not ring, right?”
Wrong. Having lots of offended listeners wouldn’t prevent people who enjoy it from calling. As long as you manage to delight five listeners enough that they call, your phone lines will be lit.
“Do we dump the Psychic?”
You now know my feelings about psychics — my absolute certainty that they’re charlatans.
Personally, I think it’s wrong to put them on the air unless you make clear that it’s purely for entertainment value and that you do not encourage your listeners to believe they really have psychic powers.
I’m sure you don’t present the “psychic” with skepticism, and I’m sure she does tell the audience she really does have “extra-sensory” abilities.
So do I think you should dump the psychic?
From my ethical perspective, absolutely. Because I hate to see people duped like that.
From my professional radio perspective? No. Not if you believe it’s a worthwhile feature that your audience enjoys.
You’re saying that some of your fellow Christians are giving you a hard time because you’re putting the psychic on the air. The few listeners who are challenging the integrity of your religious beliefs are doing so only because you made the mistake of making an issue of your religion during your show.
“Do I need to address this on the air”
If you’re looking to stimulate a spirited on-air debate, yes.
But my sense is you do a light, non-polarizing, music-oriented morning show. If so, don’t mention it on-air.
For the few people who e-mail you to question your true religious beliefs, here are three possible replies you might try:
“Thanks for sharing your feelings with me. I’m sure that as a Christian you have my best interests at heart.”
“Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me. I promise I’ll give them the consideration they deserve.”
“I checked with God, and He told me to tell you to mind your own business.”
(Oops. I just offended another reader. Sorry.)
