{"id":10703,"date":"2011-08-11T00:01:37","date_gmt":"2011-08-11T07:01:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/?p=10703"},"modified":"2011-08-10T21:39:16","modified_gmt":"2011-08-11T04:39:16","slug":"radio-programming-tip-relevant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2011\/08\/radio-programming-tip-relevant\/","title":{"rendered":"RADIO PROGRAMMING TIP: Neither “Relevant” Nor “Topical” Always Is Enough"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recently<\/a> I demonstrated how to take an apparently mundane piece of “trivia” and turn it into an audience-pleasing feature<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The key was to put the information into a fresh, provocative context.<\/p>\n

Some radio hosts think that any topic or trivia question is appropriate as long as it’s “topical.”<\/p>\n

But not all topical features are relevant.<\/p>\n

I’m writing this on Thursday, August 11, 2011. I could ask, “When is the last year that August 11 occurred on a Thursday?” <\/em><\/p>\n

That would be topical, but who cares?<\/p>\n

And not all relevant features are topical.<\/p>\n

More importantly, although I have been preaching the virtues of “relevant” programming for my entire career, there is one factor that is even more important than relevance:<\/p>\n

Entertainment.<\/p>\n

But it’s important to note the definition I assign to “entertainment” in the context of radio:<\/p>\n

“Worth listening to (as determined by the listener).”<\/p>\n

Relevance is so important only because the more relevant a feature is to someone’s life, the more likely it is that person will listen.<\/p>\n

But relevance alone isn’t enough.<\/p>\n

If you don’t believe me, try airing a 30-minute lecture on cholesterol levels in 35+ males on a highly rated News\/Talk station.<\/p>\n

Lots of adult males in that audience, with a topic that’s highly relevant to their lives. But darn few will listen.<\/p>\n

The listener judges whether or not something is worth listening to based on a combination of Relevance and Presentation.<\/p>\n

The more immediately relevant the information, the less important the presentation.<\/p>\n

“Someone is coming to your house right now to try to kill you”<\/em> \u2014 You don’t need much of a fancy set-up there; you’ve got the listener’s attention.<\/p>\n

High cholesterol levels are very relevant to the lives of many adult listeners. But few of them perceive it as immediately relevant.<\/p>\n

That’s where topicality becomes a factor. “Cholesterol levels in 35+ males” suddenly becomes much more relevant to that target audience when some famous 36-year old athlete drops dead of a heart attack.<\/p>\n

Summing Up<\/h3>\n

Relevant does not always = Interesting.<\/p>\n

Topical does not always = Relevant.<\/p>\n

But when the two meet and you find an interesting way to share the experience with your listeners, your radio program soars.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recently I demonstrated how to take an apparently mundane piece of “trivia” and turn it into an audience-pleasing feature. The key was to put the information into a fresh, provocative context. Some radio hosts think that any topic or trivia question is appropriate as long as it’s “topical.” But not all topical features are relevant. 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