DAN O’DAY TALKS ABOUT RADIO

December, 1993:

I’m aware that people most enjoy the episodes in which terrible things happen to me. Although no misfortunes befell me this month, returning to two former radio stomping grounds as an “Expert From Out of Town” felt both gratifying and a little odd.

I don’t have any illustrations for this posting, so as usual I’m filling the gap with a photo of Tuesday Weld.

Back in the ’90s, I rarely found myself with a seminar booked in December. But I was pleased to be invited to visit Tampa, Florida, for a couple of days to work with the air staff of WXTB.

Their program director, Greg Mull, scheduled a full-day seminar for the entire staff on the first day. On the second day, I got up VERY early and silently sat in on their very successful morning show. This, in fact, was my very first Morning Show Tune-Up.

Greg had devised quite an unusual strategy for an AOR morning show: all request, every day, hosted by a personality-oriented morning team. My mission was simply to observe during the show.

(I was pleased to learn that, although the morning team initially was a bit apprehensive about my being there, eventually they completely forgot that I was sitting in the corner and just went about entertaining their listeners.)

I made a lot of notes, not regarding “things they were doing wrong” but rather observations on ways they might structure what they’re doing in a more consistent and powerful manner. The rest of the day was spent sharing my thoughts first with Greg and then with the morning team.

Although I cannot pretend to have been thrilled to get up at the crack of dawn, once I was awake I found the entire process rather exhilarating. And, more importantly, it appeared that Greg and his morning show thought the exercise was worthwhile, too.

The trip offered some emotional resonance for me: I hadn’t been on the West Coast of Florida since leaving the state (my early radio career was spent there) nearly 20 years before. Back then, Tampa was a real big market to me, and I would have loved to work there. Now here I was, returning in the role of the supposed big shot from Los Angeles.

But even this didn’t feel as strange as my second seminar trip of December, as I drove from San Francisco Airport to KSJO in San Jose. Not only had this station been one of my competitors 17 years earlier; its PD, Dana Jang, had programmed it against my station. Now I was coming to coach his air staff. It felt rather disorienting, pulling into the KSJO driveway. But, as always, once inside the radio station — Well, when I’m inside a radio station, I feel at home.

Last Thursday’s posting featured a video of my helping to record a promo for the morning show at Italy’s R101. Everyone seemed very impressed by the ease with which I mastered their language.

One of the show’s members is the notable stage and television actor, comedian, and impressionist Massimo Lopez.

Apparently the cameras continued to roll after I left the studio, and Massimo paid me the ultimate tribute: He did an impression of…me.

From The People Who Don’t Quite Get The Joke Department:

Dear Dan, I am almost weeping, I am laughing so hard. I just created a “really bad commercial” using your proven and time-tested Bad Commercial Generator.

Bill Phenix/WXRV 92.5 The River

At a seminar a couple of years ago, a radio station production director told me he’d gotten a good laugh out of it, too. So much so that he went into his Sales Manager’s office and said, “You’ve gotta see this.”

He showed the GSM the Bad Commercial Generator and — the PD swears this is true — the GSM responded, “Wow! And it’s free??”

I’m really late nailing down all the details, but here’s what I can tell you so far about PD Grad School 2009.

• February 27 – 28, Los Angeles

• It looks like we’ll have some major, ground-breaking sessions (including one or two of the world’s leading experts on “Web 2.0” — and how you really can be using it to increase your ratings & revenue).

These are guys who other Internet gurus normally pay $5,000 to $10,000 to hear speak. We’re working mightily to overcome the logistical challenges of bringing them to L.A. But it’ll be worth it.