{"id":11882,"date":"2012-01-12T00:01:59","date_gmt":"2012-01-12T08:01:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/?p=11882"},"modified":"2012-01-10T21:42:28","modified_gmt":"2012-01-11T05:42:28","slug":"local-radio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2012\/01\/local-radio\/","title":{"rendered":"WHAT “LOCAL RADIO” REALLY MEANS"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"radio<\/a>

Molasses Flood<\/p><\/div>\n

Almost everyone in radio agrees on the value of localization.<\/p>\n

But I disagree with the way some programmers define “local.”<\/p>\n

Once I witnessed a graphic, ghastly presentation of this misguided definition at a station staff meeting.<\/p>\n

The program director was addressing his troops, who sat nervously as the PD picked up a marking pen and purposefully approached a white board.<\/p>\n

The PD drew a large circle on the board, pointed to it, and announced to the staff:<\/p>\n

“This<\/em> \u2014 (indicating the interior of the circle) \u2014 “is our Total Service Area. This is where our audience lives. If something happens inside this circle, you can talk about it on the air. If it happens outside the circle, you may not talk about it, because we are a local<\/strong> radio station!”<\/em><\/p>\n

That particular program director defined “local” as “occurring within our market.”<\/em><\/p>\n

With all due respect, the guy was…Um, misguided.<\/p>\n

“Local” means anything that is of interest to your listeners.<\/p>\n

Example:<\/strong><\/p>\n

For 15 years I wrote & published a radio comedy service called O’LINERS.<\/em><\/p>\n

One of the regular features of this service was our “O’Calendar,”<\/a> which featured interesting, offbeat items that happened “on this day in history.”<\/p>\n

One day I received a phone call from a subscriber in Texas, complaining about a calendar item that had appeared in that month’s issue. The item concerned an event that had occurred in Massachusetts in 1919.<\/p>\n

A factory exploded.<\/p>\n

It was a molasses factory, and an entire community was swept away in a 2.3 million gallon, 30-foot tidal wave of molasses.<\/p>\n

What a striking image that creates in the listener’s mind!<\/p>\n

Well, this PD was upset. As he put it:<\/p>\n

“People in Texas don’t care about something that happened in Massachusetts!”<\/em><\/p>\n

I think he missed the point.<\/p>\n

Please understand, I was not offended that he dared to criticize something I had published. I realized that not every item I printed was right for every subscriber.<\/p>\n

In fact, if you subscribe to any kind of show prep service and you can use as much as 20% of each issue, you’re getting real value for your money.<\/p>\n

But if this guy couldn’t use the image of 2.3 million gallon, 30-foot tidal wave of molasses to create a vibrant, compelling image in his listeners’ minds, then I had to wonder if he really had chosen the right profession.<\/p>\n

“Local” is anything that is of interest to your listeners.<\/p>\n

If your listeners already are taking about it \u2014 or if you can talk about it in a way that interests and involves them \u2014 then it’s local.<\/p>\n

If you could talk about it at the corner bar or at the dinner table or around the coffee machine at work, it’s local.<\/p>\n

We all live in one huge, global community.<\/p>\n

Not everything that happens within that community is “local.”<\/p>\n

Neither is everything that happens within your Primary Coverage Area or Total Service Area.<\/p>\n

But if you can present a topic \u2014 any topic \u2014 in a manner causes your audience to listen, then it’s local.<\/p>\n

If they care \u2014 or you can make them care \u2014 it’s local.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Almost everyone in radio agrees on the value of localization. But I disagree with the way some programmers define “local.” Once I witnessed a graphic, ghastly presentation of this misguided definition at a station staff meeting. The program director was addressing his troops, who sat nervously as the PD picked up a marking pen and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-11882","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized"},"yoast_head":"\nWHAT "LOCAL RADIO" REALLY MEANS - DAN O\u2019DAY TALKS ABOUT RADIO<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2012\/01\/local-radio\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"WHAT "LOCAL RADIO" REALLY MEANS - DAN O\u2019DAY TALKS ABOUT RADIO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Almost everyone in radio agrees on the value of localization. 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