{"id":14391,"date":"2013-03-26T00:01:11","date_gmt":"2013-03-26T07:01:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/?p=14391"},"modified":"2013-03-25T23:46:08","modified_gmt":"2013-03-26T06:46:08","slug":"radio-morning-show-formula","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2013\/03\/radio-morning-show-formula\/","title":{"rendered":"WHAT’S WRONG WITH RADIO MORNING SHOW FORMULAS?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"morning<\/a>Over the years, I’ve worked with lots of morning radio shows<\/a>. All over the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

(To my surprise, working with a non-English speaking morning show produces the same ratings-elevating results as with an English speaking show. It requires a lot more work on my part, because \u2014 with perhaps a couple of exceptions \u2014 I don’t have the luxury of illustrating the principles I teach with audio examples. But, happily, the principles themselves translate quite easily.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes I find myself working with a show that has suffered through a “formula” taught to them by some consultant \u2014 someone who, invariably, never has been a morning host (or, often, has never been an air personality at all).<\/span><\/p>\n

For a show that has been a victim of “consultant abuse,” my first task is to assure them that I am not peddling a by-the-numbers formula and that I do not believe there is “only one way” to produce a successful radio show.<\/span><\/p>\n

Formula vs. Structure<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

There’s a world of difference between formula and structure.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Structure” refers to an understanding of how things work, so that you can create, recreate or fix something.<\/span><\/p>\n

The WORLD BOOK DICTIONARY,<\/em> on the other hand, defines formula as “a rule or method for doing something, especially when followed slavishly, unintelligently, or mechanically.”<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

What’s Wrong With Formulas?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The more talented the jock, the less effective the formula.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you’re a beginner, a by-the-numbers formula might help you produce a better program than you would otherwise.<\/span><\/p>\n

A toddler who has absolutely no concept of “drawing” can paint by numbers and end up with something that recognizably is a representation of a flower, a house, a fire engine.<\/span><\/p>\n

It won’t be a very good picture. No one who views it will become inspired or moved emotionally. But if the sole goal is produce something that resembles a flower, a house, or a fire engine then this method works.<\/span><\/p>\n

It also might delight the toddler, who produced something without having any idea what he was doing. But it won’t enable the toddler to create a drawing by himself.<\/span><\/p>\n

The novice jock who follows a formula might sound better than she would as a raw beginner. But it won’t help her become better. In fact, it will impede her attempts to improve her craft \u2014 because “by the numbers” doesn’t involve craft.<\/span><\/p>\n

The intermediate radio talent \u2014 someone who is beyond beginner stage but hasn’t yet established a distinctive style that resonates with the target audience \u2014 will be hampered.<\/span><\/p>\n

It’s like attaching training wheels to the bike of someone who already knows how to ride. No, they won’t fall over. Neither will they be able ride fast or maneuver easily.<\/span><\/p>\n

The radio personality \u2014 someone who has achieved and maintained high ratings in a competitive market over time and who outperforms his station overall (thereby knowing that his success isn’t entirely due to the station’s programming) \u2014 already has acquired a certain understanding of structure.<\/span><\/p>\n

He might not devote much conscious thought to “structure.” But if his show is a long-term success, it’s there.<\/span><\/p>\n

When I coach or help develop morning radio shows, I teach people principles of morning show communication combined with a structural understanding of how to apply those principles in their station, in their market, for their target audience \u2014 and with an understanding of their own relative strengths and weaknesses.<\/span><\/p>\n

Following cookie cutter formulas? Bad.<\/span><\/p>\n

Understanding the structure of a successful radio program? Good.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over the years, I’ve worked with lots of morning radio shows. All over the world. (To my surprise, working with a non-English speaking morning show produces the same ratings-elevating results as with an English speaking show. It requires a lot more work on my part, because \u2014 with perhaps a couple of exceptions \u2014 I […]<\/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-14391","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized"},"yoast_head":"\nWHAT'S WRONG WITH RADIO MORNING SHOW FORMULAS? - 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\/2013\/03\/radio-morning-show-formula\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"WHAT'S WRONG WITH RADIO MORNING SHOW FORMULAS? - DAN O\u2019DAY TALKS ABOUT RADIO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Over the years, I’ve worked with lots of morning radio shows. All over the world. (To my surprise, working with a non-English speaking morning show produces the same ratings-elevating results as with an English speaking show. It requires a lot more work on my part, because \u2014 with perhaps a couple of exceptions \u2014 I […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2013\/03\/radio-morning-show-formula\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"DAN O\u2019DAY TALKS ABOUT RADIO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DanODayRadio\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-03-26T07:01:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/Formula-320.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dan O'Day\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Dan_ODay\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Dan_ODay\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dan O'Day\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/2013\\\/03\\\/radio-morning-show-formula\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/2013\\\/03\\\/radio-morning-show-formula\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Dan O'Day\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/afe504342187ed9676675802d9c9b19c\"},\"headline\":\"WHAT’S WRONG WITH RADIO MORNING SHOW FORMULAS?\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-03-26T07:01:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/2013\\\/03\\\/radio-morning-show-formula\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":574,\"commentCount\":1,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/2013\\\/03\\\/radio-morning-show-formula\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2013\\\/03\\\/Formula-320.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/2013\\\/03\\\/radio-morning-show-formula\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/2013\\\/03\\\/radio-morning-show-formula\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/2013\\\/03\\\/radio-morning-show-formula\\\/\",\"name\":\"WHAT'S WRONG WITH RADIO MORNING SHOW FORMULAS? - DAN O\u2019DAY TALKS ABOUT RADIO\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/2013\\\/03\\\/radio-morning-show-formula\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/2013\\\/03\\\/radio-morning-show-formula\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2013\\\/03\\\/Formula-320.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-03-26T07:01:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/afe504342187ed9676675802d9c9b19c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/2013\\\/03\\\/radio-morning-show-formula\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/2013\\\/03\\\/radio-morning-show-formula\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/2013\\\/03\\\/radio-morning-show-formula\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2013\\\/03\\\/Formula-320.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2013\\\/03\\\/Formula-320.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/2013\\\/03\\\/radio-morning-show-formula\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"WHAT’S WRONG WITH RADIO MORNING SHOW FORMULAS?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"DAN O\u2019DAY TALKS ABOUT RADIO\",\"description\":\"Straight talk about radio programming, radio advertising, radio production...Well, you get the idea.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/afe504342187ed9676675802d9c9b19c\",\"name\":\"Dan O'Day\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/assistant\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"WHAT'S WRONG WITH RADIO MORNING SHOW FORMULAS? - DAN O\u2019DAY TALKS ABOUT RADIO","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2013\/03\/radio-morning-show-formula\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"WHAT'S WRONG WITH RADIO MORNING SHOW FORMULAS? - DAN O\u2019DAY TALKS ABOUT RADIO","og_description":"Over the years, I’ve worked with lots of morning radio shows. All over the world. (To my surprise, working with a non-English speaking morning show produces the same ratings-elevating results as with an English speaking show. It requires a lot more work on my part, because \u2014 with perhaps a couple of exceptions \u2014 I […]","og_url":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2013\/03\/radio-morning-show-formula\/","og_site_name":"DAN O\u2019DAY TALKS ABOUT RADIO","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DanODayRadio","article_published_time":"2013-03-26T07:01:11+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/Formula-320.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Dan O'Day","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Dan_ODay","twitter_site":"@Dan_ODay","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dan O'Day","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2013\/03\/radio-morning-show-formula\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2013\/03\/radio-morning-show-formula\/"},"author":{"name":"Dan O'Day","@id":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/afe504342187ed9676675802d9c9b19c"},"headline":"WHAT’S WRONG WITH RADIO MORNING SHOW FORMULAS?","datePublished":"2013-03-26T07:01:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2013\/03\/radio-morning-show-formula\/"},"wordCount":574,"commentCount":1,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2013\/03\/radio-morning-show-formula\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/Formula-320.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2013\/03\/radio-morning-show-formula\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2013\/03\/radio-morning-show-formula\/","url":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2013\/03\/radio-morning-show-formula\/","name":"WHAT'S WRONG WITH RADIO MORNING SHOW FORMULAS? - DAN O\u2019DAY TALKS ABOUT RADIO","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2013\/03\/radio-morning-show-formula\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2013\/03\/radio-morning-show-formula\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/Formula-320.jpg","datePublished":"2013-03-26T07:01:11+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/afe504342187ed9676675802d9c9b19c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2013\/03\/radio-morning-show-formula\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2013\/03\/radio-morning-show-formula\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2013\/03\/radio-morning-show-formula\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/Formula-320.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/Formula-320.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2013\/03\/radio-morning-show-formula\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"WHAT’S WRONG WITH RADIO MORNING SHOW FORMULAS?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/","name":"DAN O\u2019DAY TALKS ABOUT RADIO","description":"Straight talk about radio programming, radio advertising, radio production...Well, you get the idea.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/afe504342187ed9676675802d9c9b19c","name":"Dan O'Day","url":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/author\/assistant\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14391"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14391\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14398,"href":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14391\/revisions\/14398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}