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By Steve, March 7, 2010 4:18 pm

Since your station’s likely playing everything from music to commercials off of computer, there’s never a bad time to ask your engineer if everything’s backed up.

The theft of an estimated $10,000 in equipment included the hard drive that contained all the Perry Broadcasting station’s music, says KSWO. KJMZ jock Joe Biggs says “I actually had to hook up my laptop and played some music off of there.” GM Joy Chapman says it’s been a trying year, starting off with the loss of the tower during an ice storm. The burglary at the East Lee Boulevard studios happened early Friday morning, and the culprits made away with computers, monitors, TVs, webcams and two transmitter tubes – tubes the station was using to get back up to full power. The police are offering a cash reward through the “Crimestoppers” program. More at Radio-Info.

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By Steve, March 4, 2010 8:07 pm

From Full Throttle Country:

1) Keep away from “square pegs in a round hole”. If it don’t fit, don’t force it. Stay away from out of life group information and bits. Today’s listeners are more wired into other mediums and media than most air talent. They can smell phony a mile away. You can talk about Taylor Swift and Rascal Flatts on Top-40, but talking about Kesha and Jay-Z on a Country station makes no sense.

2) Make sure news, traffic and weather all tie in as part of the show and not distractions. Weave these elements into the show and production to avoid bumps and snags. Especially if the traffic and news delivery is weaker than the morning show. Quick hand-offs without all the noisy beds and intros. Don’t bring attention to long strings of talk.

3) More short calls over song intros between stop-sets. Use the intro time between and after stop-sets to air calls. The short intro will cause you to edit and get to the point without a thesis.

4) Become aware of the :30 rule: If it goes past thirty seconds it better be good! Get to the point quickly — no old school set-up that drags on forever. This has got to move from element to element fast and without snags. They occasions of listening are shorter and more frequent — There is no TSL with the PPM.

5) Outward not inward. Morning shows massage each other’s egos and this will not grow the audience and the life group. Like politicians, morning shows can sometimes be out of step with the audience and life group. Be in touch with what listeners are talking about.

6) Conversational tones with peaks and valleys for high points and emotional points. Why do air talent talk in the same tone most of the time with no change in their inflection? This is theater of the mind and acting — it’s not announcing. Get excited and get emotional.

7) Play hits — never drop powers. PD’s, don’t let the morning show play with the logs any longer. Never let a morning show edit the log. You will get every story in the world to why two inane titles played back to back. Don’t let it happen. We need to play concentrated hit titles in the PPM-world.

8) Be honest, no more fake. Disc-jockeys doing mornings won’t cut it and un-trained morning show professionals will give way to syndicated personalities or talent from other dayparts coming to mornings. Playing games and contests mixed with music and contrived content will fail.

9) More change and surprise. Mundane and boring will be perceived as such. Make marks by being in touch with their interests and work to find out what perks their interests.

10) Talk about what interests the audience. Timing is everything — hit it early, often and get off it before it becomes yesterday’s news. Talk to people, join organizations, talk to your kids’ teachers and parents, make it mainstream and make it happen. Never blue or crass, but off the wall and unpredictable. Just because it’s on the Internet doesn’t make it cool.

Is this list missing a commandment? Add a comment.

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By Steve, March 1, 2010 1:42 pm

From PewInternet.org:

In the digital era, news has become omnipresent. Americans access it in multiple formats on multiple platforms on myriad devices. The days of loyalty to a particular news organization on a particular piece of technology in a particular form are gone. The overwhelming majority of Americans (92%) use multiple platforms to get news on a typical day, including national TV, local TV, the internet, local newspapers, radio, and national newspapers. Some 46% of Americans say they get news from four to six media platforms on a typical day. Just 7% get their news from a single media platform on a typical day.

More…

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By Steve, February 27, 2010 7:05 pm

Got more than one computer? Need to keep some key show prep files or audio in sync? Want to move things between your home and station computer with ease? Get Dropbox. It’s free (up to 2GB) and the program works like a dream. Get Dropbox. (After you set up Dropbox, check out these hacks.)

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By Steve, September 9, 2009 2:41 pm

If you’re applying for an on-air position, a blog with career highlights, awards, photos, videos, community involvement and loads of audio beats an emailed résumé hands down. But if a Program Director requests an emailed package then the résumé is not optional. (Of course, that email should include a link to your blog.)

DivineCaroline.com offers up some signs your résumé is passe (though I prefer the word lame):

1. You’ve forced it to fit onto one page.
You’ve reduced your font size to eight, eliminated margins altogether and left out key information about yourself, all to conform to that age-old “one page résumé” rule. Big mistake. After all, would a recent college grad really need the same amount of resume  real estate as someone who’s been in the workforce for twenty years? Of course not. Your resume  should be concise. But if your experience warrants two pages, by all means, don’t limit yourself to one.

2. You list an objective.
Of course you’re looking to gain more experience in the field/sector/type of company to which you’re applying. Your interest in the job implies that. Do you really need to say it at the very top of your résumé? If you want to explain why you’re applying for the job, say so in your cover letter. Résumé space is far too valuable to waste on information that is both redundant and inconsequential.

3. You write “References available upon request” at the bottom.
Once again, a waste of valuable space. Do you really need to say so? The hiring manager can only assume that if they ask you for references, you’ll provide them. What, are you going to say “no?” Instead, prepare a list of references with contact details and your relationship to each. Hold onto it until you’re further along in the selection process — you don’t want to annoy your referees with repeated contact by employers who are less than serious about you. Most respectable employers wouldn’t bother to contact a reference until they are fully ready to make you an offer.

4. You attach it to your email as a Word document.
While you’re unlikely to be penalized for emailing a Word document, there’s a lot to be said for converting it to a PDF before sending. A PDF document just looks neater. And even if you’ve gone crazy with the formatting, it will show up correctly on the hiring manager’s computer no matter what their settings, Word version, or font inventory. Besides, do you really want those squiggly red lines showing up under your former company’s name? Stick to PDF. It’s the only surefire way to display your resume exactly as you intended it.

5. You list every job you’ve ever had in chronological order.
In the olden days, the person with the most experience got the job. Nowadays, the person who’s most talented, has the most relevant skill set, and has proven to be most valuable to his or her former employers gets the job. If you want to be that person, make sure your resume says so. Don’t list jobs that are irrelevant to the one you’re applying for just to fill up space. Instead, expand on the jobs that are relevant. Focus on measurable achievements in each role as opposed to a play-by-play of your daily responsibilities.

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By Steve, August 16, 2009 11:31 am

Clarissa wrote us:

Radio broadcasting is something I might be interested in as a career, although I’m only a sophomore in high school. What tips would you give me if radio was something that I’m interested in? What are some of the pros and cons of it?

Please offer Clarissa your advice below.

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By Steve, August 6, 2009 6:09 pm

From the Visalia Times-Delta:

Tulare, California’s Daniela Earnest and her family will go to Disneyland after all and they won’t have to wait until they’ve raised enough money. KSEQ Q97 host Davey D gave the family four tickets to “The Happiest Place on Earth” after learning that Daniela’s lemonade stand, set up to raise funds for the trip, had been shut down by a Tulare code enforcement officer. “This is a huge deal for her,” said Daniela’s father, Ed Earnest. During his afternoon show Tuesday, Davey D recounted Daniela’s ordeal with the city. The 8-year-old Tulare Christian School student had set up the stand at Cartmill Avenue and Hillman Street, only to be shut down. “[Davey D] was really upset when he heard about the story. He has a 9-year-old boy,” said Daniela’s mother, Marisa Earnest.

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By Steve, August 2, 2009 4:26 pm

From the Hear 2.0 blog:

Seacrest…out?

So Ryan Seacrest has reportedly been coached to talk less between the songs on KIIS FM.

In a competitive market, the PPM ratings decline when the mic opens, or so the general consensus (with plenty of exceptions) says.

Ryan is supposedly miffed, and who can blame him? There are, after all, lots of companies that pay him lots of bucks to say stuff in front of an open mic. Putting a lid on it is the last thing they want.

More here. Be sure to read the comments.

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By Steve, July 27, 2009 3:47 pm

1) The phone topic you’ll be discussing later in the show. (Get online comments to read on-air.)

2) The time your next live remote begins — and the great prizes you’re giving away only to those who follow you on Twitter and Facebook.

3) A direct link to the page where followers can hear your latest, greatest bit, or view your new show video.

4) A link to the image you just snapped at your live event and uploaded to TwitPic.

5) Emergency weather bulletins, with a reminder to tune to your station “now” for continuing local updates.

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By Steve, July 21, 2009 12:08 pm

Twitter and Facebook allow you to pop into your listeners’ online lives when you want. It’s true! If someone joins your radio station Facebook fan page, or follows you on Twitter, anything you type is inserted into their personal news stream.

So don’t blow it.

I follow many radio stations on Twitter, and tweets like this one leave me dumbfounded. It’s a real tweet, but the station and jock names have been changed:

Jack in the Morning is back! Carl Adams is in for Art Williams rest of this week from 10am-12pm on K-107. Join Bill Peters today for the 5 at 5!

Hundreds of K-107’s listeners have said, “Yes! Please enter my life stream through Twitter/Facebook!” — and the best it can deliver is a DJ schedule.

Here’s a better tweet:

JACK: I’m back Wed. with the craziest lost luggage story ever. Tune in at 7:15 and share YOUR vacation/travel nightmare. Trust me…you won’t want to miss this!

1) Instead of a robotweet from the station, the update was sent by Jack (even if it was really sent by Jack’s producer).

2) Jack has given the station’s followers a pretty compelling reason to tune in. Everyone’s had a vacation nightmare and, more importantly, if I enjoy Jack’s show and like his stories I’m going to tune into to hear what he has to share.

Like a radio show, Facebook and Twitter are personal forms of communication.

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By Steve, July 15, 2009 12:58 pm

If you can’t laugh at yourself…

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By Steve, July 7, 2009 12:51 pm

For those of us on the programming side of radio it’s never too late to learn about the business side. If the color of the corporate logo on your paycheck is the extent of your knowledge of your company, do yourself a favor and take 20 seconds to be better informed. Go to Google News and, in quotes, search for your company’s name (e.g. “Miller Broadcasting”). Once Google delivers the latest news to your screen click the “News Alerts” link on the left side of the page. Now tell Google to email you once a day with the latest company headlines.

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By Steve, July 5, 2009 4:49 am

I just read a great post by Jaye Albright on contests that award a prize to the “Nth” caller. In a nutshell, Jaye says:

• Being the 9th caller is fun…for the disc jockey.
• Eight other people “lose” because they learn on the way to #9 that they were “the wrong caller”.
• Everyone else “wins” a busy signal.
• We’re likely not doing these contests because listeners like them but because radio’s always done them!
• Historically, the best radio contests reinforce the station’s brand image or key unique selling positioning points.

This is not to say contests shouldn’t be played. As Jaye reminds us: Only a very small percentage of your audience will participate in a contest so you want to make sure you are offering entertainment value to keep those who are not playing the game entertained.

This can be as simple as an identify-the-song-clip contest, or some compelling trivia. Another thought: Don’t ask for a caller. Instead, why not reward someone who phones in with a request or compliment. Example:

Caller: “I just wanted to say we love your station. You guys always play the best music and we’re jamming to you right now out at North Side Park!”

You: “That’s awesome! For everybody out at North Side Park, I’m gonna play one of the best summer time songs ever. And since you were kind enough to call in, I’d love for you to be my guest at Saturday’s monster truck show. Would you like a pair of tickets?”

Caller: “That would be great!”

You: “Then enjoy the monster truck show and enjoy this song for everybody at North Side Park…”

One other thought: Use prizes to reward those who’ve given you permission to interrupt their lives — email club members, text club members, Facebook group fans, etc. These listeners are very interested in what your station is doing so perhaps they should be rewarded first.

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By Steve, June 30, 2009 2:52 pm

Dan O’Day wrote a short but sweet little blog post about silly little radio ideas that turned out to be, well, wonderful:

We plan and produce and exhaust ourselves in an effort to do something wonderful on-air…

…and then it’s the casual ad lib that our listeners rave to us about.

Years ago Jeff Kaiser shared with me a wonderfully silly radio idea that his station, KGBI, was doing:

A daily Surf Report.

KGBI is in Grand Island, Nebraska. Which is at least 1,000 miles from any ocean. But Jeff would present the Missouri River Surf Report, using information reported in the local newspaper about the river’s daily depth, high water, currents, etc. Using the theme music from Hawaii 5-0 underneath. And the report was SPONSORED (by a local bar).

Now that’s radio.

What accident or offbeat comment turned into a regular feature on your show?

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By Steve, March 30, 2009 3:16 pm

With the boss breathing down your neck about, well, everything, here’s an easy and harmless link you can put on your show blog:

The setup: “Since a computer virus (Conficker) is set to activate millions of computers today we’ve put a link on the (your show) blog. Click the link for a free computer cleaning.”

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By Steve, March 29, 2009 10:41 am

Howard Stern’s old station has flipped format.

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By Steve, March 29, 2009 6:40 am

I’ve found a handy service that lets you update all your social network accounts simultaneously. Check out HelloTxT.

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By Steve, March 15, 2009 2:48 pm

I just watched the trailer for The Boat That Rocked (Bill Nighy, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kenneth Branagh) and thought I’d share it with you. Looks like a helluva lot of fun…

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By Steve, March 13, 2009 6:41 pm

Of course, the reasons given for the imminent death of satradio are the same reasons traditional radio needs to push its existing content onto the web and must create unique content for the web that can’t be heard or seen anywhere else.

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By Steve, March 13, 2009 2:25 am

Jaye Albright

• Forgets that the most important part of the job is to protect the station’s license.
• Still thinks that it’s a sales versus programming world and as long as (s)he gets ratings (s)he has done the job.
• Doesn’t worry about heavy radio-users or passionate fans of the kind of music the station plays.  Targeting takes care of itself.
• Does whatever it takes to win.  Ethics and fair treatment of his/her employer and coworkers do not matter as long as the station is winning and profitable.
• Has a ‘not invented here’ attitude about new ideas and approaches.  Doesn’t bother to network or seek objective opinions of knowledgeable counsel.
• Under-estimates the competition.
• Sees radio as a craft, not an art.  You can get everything you need to know by copying winning radio stations in the same format in other markets.
• Feels that people are replaceable.  As long as everyone is working as hard as possible, everything is fine.
• Thinks that business management is the GM’s job and time management is a sales thing.
• Doesn’t need research.  (S)he knows what listeners want.

Reach Jaye at:  jaye@albrightandomalley.com
.
 Michael O’Malley

• Doesn’t make time to listen critically to his/her own station and the competition.
• Doesn’t competitively evaluate jocks, music, content, freshness, benefits, etc.
• Fails to make people a priority.
• Doesn’t spend time in talent development.
• Doesn’t communicate effectively with the staff.
• Doesn’t have an intimate understanding of Arbitron.
• Doesn’t maintain a product focus/vision. Too frequently can’t see the forest for the trees. Gets too caught up in tasks to see the big picture.
• Elements of the station are out of synch with the target. Too many programming decisions are made without regard to the target and mission or because of succumbing to internal and external pressures.

Email O’Malley at:  mike@albrightandomalley.com

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By Steve, March 11, 2009 12:23 pm

Radio Bookmark is a key chain device that lets the user tag radio shows or stories so they can catch them later in their entirety on the Internet. The gadget, from Sky Blue Technologies, can’t be bought. It’s a gift offered by at least 50 public radio stations to members who contribute at a certain level — typically about $120 a year. Sky Blue founder Chris Baker says there’s no plan to adapt the technology to commercial radio.

More

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By Steve, March 9, 2009 2:00 pm

At PopCrunch: the 50 Hottest Women of Radio. (Though I wonder how many still have a job.)

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By Steve, March 8, 2009 11:43 am

Jango, a music streaming service which claims 6 million monthly listeners, is selling paid placement to labels and artists through a program it launched last week called Jango Airplay. For as little as $30, a band can buy 1,000 plays on Jango. Each song has links to buy the song at Amazon or iTunes.

More

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By Steve, March 7, 2009 11:01 am

From ComputerWorld:

The majority of radio listeners still do it the old fashioned way: They turn on the radio in the car, for example, and just listen to whatever is playing locally. But over time, more people will discover and use cell-phone-streamed radio. And the cars themselves will grow that capability.

All of this raises a serious question: When Joe in Nashville is listening to New York City’s Z100, when Carla in New York is listening to Miami’s MEGA 94.9, and when Paul in Miami is listening to Nashville’s Big 98 WSIX, what does the “local” in “local radio” mean?

… It’s time the so-called local media opened its eyes to the new reality: Nothing is local anymore. And it’s a huge opportunity. The new mantra should be: Cover local events exclusively, but for a global audience.

Read it all…