Archive for month: February, 2011
Take ‘Em To The Batting Cage
With spring training happening now, what kind of audio might you get if the guys on the show took a bunch of colorful women in the office to the local batting cage to celebrate spring training? This works if you choose fun people – record everything, and then have the women in the studio the following morning as you air the fun pieces of audio.
Lana Goes to Times Square
Here is an absolutely brilliant example of character develop (a critical building block for a successful show) through story telling on Karson & Kennedy, on MIX 104.1, Boston. Karson’s wife, Lana, the sweet southern belle, enjoyed her first trip to New York City. Listen as she tells her Times Square story what happens to define the people on the program. Kennedy, the big city gal, appears in almost every reaction to Lana’s experience.
Jersey Are You Sure
Everyone likes to beat up on and stereotype New Jersey. That’s one of the draws of the hit reality show “Jersey Shore”. A game to play from this is called “Jersey Are You Sure?”. Get interesting trivia facts about the state of New Jersey. Then make some up. Offer a nugget up to your contestant who must identify if it’s fact or fiction. Always after their answer, you’ll ask: “Jersey, are you sure?”
Intern Mark Sanchez
Here is a break from Mojo in the Morning on Channel 95.5, Detroit that is masterfully designed to play well in PPM. Not because if its length (it’s about 8 minutes long) but because of four “pivot points” the team created inside the break. A “pivot point” is where something is said or happens that says to listeners who might have grown bored with the break that they should pay attention because the next 60 seconds will be interesting. The break is about a show intern who’s dating someone younger than him. Listen for these “pivot points”: when Mojo calls him “Intern Mark Sanchez”, when the actual age of the girlfriend is revealed, when the first caller says the words “child molester”, and when the intern’s mother calls in. Every single one of these “lean in moments” was created by the team and did not happen by chance. That’s what prep does for you!
WBMX Ex-Boyfriend Poker
The most universal topic any show can do is relationships. There are many kinds of relationships and almost all conversation around them in relatable to the widest audience. Here’s Karson & Kennedy, from MIX 104.1, Boston, doing a new relationships feature called “Ex Boyfriend Poker”. This is where listeners come on and tell a story about an ex-boyfriend. Best story wins something.
Hot List Feb 14, 2011
Valentine’s Day
The Grammys
Lady Gaga
Elizabeth Taylor
Jeopardy
Westminster Dog Show
American Idol
Justin Bieber
Egypt
Black History Month
Rihanna
Representative Christopher Lee
Lindsay Lohan
A-Rod/Cameron Diaz
Jennifer Aniston
Verizon’s iPhone
Oprah
The Oscars
Christina Aguilera
Spring Training
Gas Prices
The Flu
Daytona 500
Charlie Sheen
Kelsey Grammer
Joan Rivers
Kids Comedy Corner
A female-friendly weekly bit that always works is the “Kids Comedy Corner” where you transcribe topical jokes from the nightly monologues from Letterman, Leno, Jimmy Kimmel, Conan, and the rest of that crew and find one cute sounding kid who’ll do a comedy routine with their material. If you produce this right (theme music, applause, canned laughter at all the right spots), you’ll have an endearing feature women will love. To make it sound even cuter, don’t let the kid see the jokes beforehand. Reading the jokes cold, with them stumbling, might make it sound more organic and better.
KMPS Hole in Wall Tour
Candy & Potter at KMPS, Seattle do a “Hole in the Wall Tour” each fall and spring to get out and meet listeners. It’s a Friday broadcast at a small breakfast diner in the metro. During the last tour, we decided to find the most famous person who hailed from each small town we visited. When we went to Sumner, WA, our choice was between the man with the Guinness Record for the world’s largest pumpkin (six tons!) and Wayne Northrup, who stars on “Days of Our Lives”. Here’s a fun interview with Wayne.