Radio Programming Quiz

Create radio programming people will talk about. 

Your sales staff will have a story to tell. 

 Advertisers will take note of  “the station with all the LOCAL VOICES” 

 

Now a quiz:

Which is more interesting to most people at the workplace ”water cooler” today:

     a.  Hearing the latest song from Jay-Z or U2?

     b.  Hearing about which republican lawmaker is fighting with Obama?

     c.  Hearing the voices of several people in your local area complaining about the same traffic jam you drove through today?

 

2.  Which topic is most likely to cause talk in your office today:

     a.  Obama’s health and human services nominee?

     b.  The latest “new release” from Kieth Urban?

     c.  The woman who called 911 when McDonalds ran out of McNuggets and callers talking about how fast food restaurants mess up orders in YOUR area?

One more.  Which is more FUN:  (remember “fun”,  we used to create it on radio):

     a.   Hearing about the pork in the stimulus bill?

     b.  Hearing “Two for Tuesday” from Jimi Hendrix?

     c.  Hearing eyewitnesses to a live wild cougar sighting in your neighborhood?

 

One choice is from dead music radio.

One choice is from “let’s imitate Rush” radio.

One choice is the simple opportunity to relate and interact with a local audience.

C is correct if you seek programming that will create stars on your radio station and piles of cash for you.

Now The Hard Part

Thank you for entering the “Best Unknown etc. Talk Host” contest!  I’ve received many more entries than I thought.  I’ll take the next week or so to narrow the entries down to a handful of finalists, and then decide who wins.

I ask all the hosts to stand by for a short time and we’ll announce this soon.

 

Thanks.

Talk Radio Contest Deadline One Short Month Away!

Only one short month left to the deadline for the “Best Up and Coming Talk Radio Host” contest.  Top prize $500!  E-mail or snail mail your entry before the March 2, 2009 deadline.

I’ve received many entries already and the contest results will be very exciting to announce.  Have you sent an aircheck yet?

 

Details here.

Twitter Tool for Talk Show Hosts

     As a radio talk show host, I’ve been experimenting with Twitter, the mini messaging/blogging/social networking web site.  In short Twitter is the free service that lets one post mini messages of 140 characters or less,  like a blog post only very short.  Other folks, (listeners) can “follow” you on Twitter and get all of your updates.  The Twitter user can also choose to follow others and receive updates (feedback from listeners).

I’m loving this as a way to further connect and interact with the audience.  I can use it as a tool to set up topics,  give “insider information” , off air comments, whatever, during the show and while I’m off the air I can update keeping myself  “top of the mind” with some of my strong supporters.    I can even say things on Twitter I might not want to say on air to make those following my posts feel they are in an inner circle if you will.  It’s been great fun, I recommend all talk hosts and producers try it!  The simplicity of using my cell phone to send a text message and then have that message  automatically go to all the listeners who follow me, plus appear automatically on my twitter page, and my radio web site page automatically using an rss feed is a beautiful thing.  Twitter has made my online communication a lot less complicated.

I have also used Twitter to follow other radio hosts who “get it”, and have been able to steal some great show topic ideas and show prep.  (Thanks Andy and Grandy!)

 

My explanation of Twitter is not as good as this short video.

 

Follow me on Twitter at http://Twitter.com/dangaffney

Clear Channel ’s Tuesday Bloody Tuesday

The bloodbath at Clear Channel has affected some notables in the talk radio world.   A long list of news reporters, talk hosts and producers are history and so are

GABE HOBBS  Senior VP of News/Talk/Sports

and

RANDALL BLOOMQUIST  PD at Atlanta WGST.

 

The list is growing and growing.  AllAccess is chronicling the CC deaths here.

Talk Show Contest Update!

I’m starting  to get some entries in the contest; thank you to those who have entered already this past week!   Read the details on the “Best Up and Coming Talk Show Host Contest” here. 

 

I’m also excited to report that a very large radio industry support entity has expressed interest in the possibility of joining forces with The Talk Radio Report to enhance the prize and to promote the winners in a bigger way!  I hope it works out, it’ll be good for radio.  Stay tuned.

 

The deadline to enter is March 1, but I would appreciate hearing your aircheck before that date so enter today!

Talk Show Opening at NJ 101.5

One of the best talk radio stations in America has an opening for a special kind of talk host, as reported in AllAccess:

New Jersey 101.5 FM has a rare full time opening

New Jersey 101.5 (WKXW-Trenton)–The Nations #1 FM Talk Station and New Jersey’s most listened to station has a rare full time opening! We are looking for a host for our evening relationship show “After Hours”. Successful candidate should have experience in talk…music radio experience a plus and be comfortable discussing relationship topics. Please send audio file and resume to Eric Johnson, Program Director at ej1015@nj1015.com   EOE

I live within earshot of this station and it is very good, with a great reputation.  I met PD Eric Johnson only briefly at a industry convention, and oddly enough we talked about this “relationship” show.  I was commenting that for once it would be intersting to hear a Dr. Laura type hosting one of these shows instead of the usual, “whats’ the worst one night stand you’ve ever had in Jersey” type of thing!  I said it would be entertaining to hear the host chastising the promiscuis callers; “stop acting like a whore, your hurting your children” etc.

Eric didn’t seem to get it, but I blame my delivery; I hadn’t stop drinking at that point in my life.  Ha!

Good luck talk hosts, this is a good one.   Oh, and hello Eric.

Talk Radio Host Contest Win $ 500.00!

Are you the next up and coming talk radio star? 

I’m giving away $500.00 to the top  small market or ”unknown” or under-appreciated or  weekend or  newcomer or unemployed, etc. radio talk show host!  No catches, no gimmicks, it’s a cash prize!

We want to see what kind of talent is “out there”.

Submit a short bio and an mp3 audio sample of your work, NO MORE THAN FIVE MINUTES in length to dangaff@verizon.net

Select contest entries will be highlighted and showcased right here between now and the contest entry deadline of March 1, 2009.  (Grand prize and other “winners” will be announce the first week of March 2009)

 

If you host or have hosted any kind of talk radio program we at The Talk Radio Report want to hear you!

If you are trying to break into the business and have an audio demo send that along too!

 

Details on how this is judged and other mumbo jumbo to be released later.

Enter today; this is meant to be a fun way to give you some recognition, and possibly be the next “Up and Coming Talk Radio Star 2009″

 

dangaff@verizon.net

I prefer mp3 e-mails, but will accept snail mail entries:

The Talk Radio Report

Dan Gaffney

307 S. Walnut Street

Milford, DE 19963

“Progressive” Talk Show Host Job Opening

All Access carries this classified ad:

Progressive Talk Radio Returns to Fresno!

Looking for a Male or Female to co-host a new Progressive talk radio show for 3 hours.
The show will be for the Fresno, CA market area!
Ideal candidate must have experience in the following;

• Minimum of Two (2) years in talk radio
• Running a board
• Production
• Editing
• Knowledge of Vox-Pro
• And Must be open minded with ideas

Send you resume and air check to:  ratalian123@yahoo.com
Will make our decision before Jan 10th

Hmmm.  Good luck.  I’m always suspicious when folks advertise for an right/left ideologue instead of just looking for good broadcasters because the ideas don’t hold the listener, the talent of the host does.  I’ll cut these folks a little slack though since they want a co-host.

Merry Christmas Talk Radio

Merry Christmas to my radio brothers and sisters.   It’s been a tough year,  as radio guru and blogger John Gorman outlines here. 

Too many very talented radio folks got the shaft this year, making me personally even more thankful to be spending my Holiday employed by one of America’s few stable, successful,  money making and yes,  fun,  radio stations.

When talking about firings, layoffs, and other employment tragedies with a friend recently,  he remarked that I should share my own unusual radio employment history on the blog.  I’m reluctant because I don’t want the talkradioreport.com to be too much about me and my life but since I am truley thankful for my life in this business,  I’ll give a brief outline:

I have worked full time six days a week bona-fide full time real radio station work for the past 26 years, and I have NEVER been unemployed!  Radio;  26 years;  never unemployed.  Wow, I’m blessed. 

Only once while working as a talk show host at WAKR in Akron, Ohio the station flipped formats and I was let go, but I was give two months severance pay, and 3 days after being fired I was working as a fill in host at WKBN in Youngstown, and over the next few weeks I filled in at WHIO in Dayton, Ohio too!   So for the duration of my “firing” I actually made double my usual pay!  Then I landed my next full time gig, and so on and so on.

I don’t quite understand why my life on the radio turned out so stable while others in the industry are caught in a whirlwind of instability and short term employment.  Again, I’m blessed…and prepared.   I hope you are prepared for the worse too,  I want you to survive and thrive should the worst happen at your radio station.

 

So that’s it.  I’m weird.

 

Peace joy and Merry Christmas.