Code Orange

What was I telling you not too long ago? Something about how times have literally changed and that there's no "off hours" anymore and the news cycle is now 24/7/365 and if talk radio doesn't adapt....

Last weekend, huge news broke late Friday and carried over all weekend. I'm referring, of course, to the immigration executive order and the protests and the controversy that consumed everyone all weekend until the next all-consuming controversy came up. No matter, there was a hot topic and millions of people wanted to talk about it and hear about it and weigh in. Was your station live and talking about it? Was your social media team working Facebook and Twitter all weekend? Were you doing the same?

Don't answer that. I already know.

I know all the arguments. You don't have the money. You don't have the personnel. You don't have the time. You don't have the management support. You don't make money on the weekend or overnight unless you broker out the time for infomercials. But you don't have a choice, not if you take pride in what you're doing and the content you're creating. This isn't new, but with the way the new administration in Washington is going, we've entered a world where the need to be live and on topic is more acute than ever.

Call it Code Orange.

That doesn't invalidate the need to talk about other stuff, of course. There's still value in being an escape, a release from the news. But when something massive is happening -- and, make no mistake about it, you were waist deep in something massive by Friday evening -- you need to be on it, even if it means doing it all night. Social media don't go to sleep at 6 pm Friday and wake up Monday morning. You can't, either, not anymore, not if you want to stave off being deemed irrelevant by your audience. You're no longer in control of the news cycle, and what's been happening since November 8th should be sending you off to figure out how you can be ready for anything at any time. The President of the United States is tweeting your topics at 3 am and you're not ready to talk about it until a few days later? That two hundred bucks an hour from the gold dealer or the boner pill company can't be foregone, I guess. But the more this happens, the more discouraging talk radio's future seems, even as I see others figuratively popping champagne corks because the election gave the format a little boost in that all-important 6-to-death demographic (thanks in great part from the segment closest to death, of course).

And I know I'm stuck in a fantasy, but, sue me, I love radio. I want the medium to do what it needs to do to be relevant. But I also love podcasting and streaming and the incredible future that's already arrived, allowing anyone with something to say to hop on the mic and be heard worldwide for free. There WILL be live, compelling conversation about breaking news. It just won't be on traditional talk radio if, when things are happening, traditional talk radio is asleep at the wheel. Wake up, please.

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Now that you're awake, you'll need more stuff to talk about, whether it's about the president declaring war on the Duchy of Grand Fenwick (Google it) or something far removed from the political noise of the day. You'll find what you need at All Access News-Talk-Sports' Talk Topics, where you will be able to access show prep topics for talk and personality radio by clicking here, and while you're at it, you really should follow the Talk Topics Twitter feed at @talktopics with every story individually linked to the appropriate item, too. And there's the Podcasting section at AllAccess.com/podcasts, plus "10 Questions With..." Dan Mandis, PD and host at FM talker WWTN (SuperTalk 99.7 WTN)/Nashville and a guy who has been-there-done-that in every facet of talk radio, from producing a household-word nationally syndicated show to programming to hosting.

You can follow my personal Twitter account at @pmsimon, and my Instagram account (same handle, @pmsimon) as well. And you can find me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pmsimon, and at pmsimon.com. Oh, and you might want to subscribe to my YouTube page, which has been quiet for a while but is about to not be quiet.

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It also appears that the technical stuff has been worked out and we're all set to go with that new thing I mentioned in the last few weeks, as soon as they have to show me how to do what I'm gonna need to do to bring it to you. Don't worry, you'll know it when you see it.

Perry Michael Simon
Vice President/Editor, News-Talk-Sports
AllAccess.com
psimon@allaccess.com
www.facebook.com/pmsimon
Twitter @pmsimon
Instagram @pmsimon