So, You Want To Do Mornings (Part 3)

Creating Great Radio

How many times have friends flown into your market, listened to the number one morning show and said, "I don't get it. What's the big deal?" Or, "they stink?" A great morning show is like an extension of family and friends and over time the listener goes through life changing events with them as if they were family. The listener feels they know the show. This is the real magic.

The real challenge is to put people on the show who not only have chemistry but who also are unique and uninhibited, willing and anxious to share there personal private thoughts, feelings, fears and weaknesses ... to put their lives and all of the comedy and drama on the air. From that, contrast is born.

Contrast between the players adds comedy, drama, conflict and creates a catalyst for more content.

Benchmarks and bits can always be copied and created but the real compelling stuff comes when your team reveals themselves to the listener in a way they relate to. For instance, your observations and feelings during an event that everyone has experienced. Getting fired, meeting a celebrity, buying a new car, hurting yourself, the birth of a child... telling these stories with the right detail is what will make your show addictive. You and your team must be great observers of your own lives. Your team, one by one, adds their own unique perspectives.

Strong well-defined characters and the way they interact are the roots to the success of every great ensemble radio show.

The more passion you put into the show the faster it will grow and evolve.

People instantly love, hate or love to hate unique personalities.

But they give the listener no choice but to listen to them because they are emotionally invigorated by the emotion of the characters. As a listener you choose sides and you remember the show and talk about it, because the players have made an emotional connection with you. Listeners will listen despite the person they don't like because of who they do but they listen because BOTH have sucked them in. How many times have you heard callers say," I hate this show," about your or others. They listen anyway and the longer they do the greater the odds they will grow to like it.

Polarization was the essence of Seinfeld. So was character definition, contrast and conflict.

It is important to remember that Seinfeld did not crack the top 50 in its first 3 years. We all know what happened after that. How long will your manger give you to succeed?

What would you want your show to be known for by the listener?

Fun, Funny, Honest, Local, Unpredictable, Smart, Passionate, Empathic, Informative, Real and Plugged in to what is going on?

How to get people talking about your show.

In Dallas during National Nude Recreation week we invited a nudist colony to be our studio audience and we, ourselves, all did the show nude. We walked into the studio at 6 AM and one by one took our clothes off. Then we made little reference and did a normal show. People talked about this one show for a year. How could they not? I just read about a bit that Mojo did in Detroit. One of the people on the show rode a horse and buggy to work to protest gas prices. He stopped at service stations to invite people to leave their cars and offered to give them rides to work. People will be talking about this too for a long time. How can they not? You need not offend or shock to get people talking. Train yourself to look for the opportunities. They are endless. The trick is to find an event that most people know about or will be talking about anyway, and then find a unique way to ride on it. If you show up where the press will be anyway and do a bit, you will almost certainly wind up on TV. Examples:

Opening day or the day before that at the ball park or race track; opening night of some huge talked-about film; or the opening of a new arena or road or bridge. Wherever the press goes you can maximize your exposure by simply cooking up a visual bit.

Good Luck and above all HAVE FUN.