The Supreme Court of Grandmothers
Morning shows always have these silly dilemmas listeners like to chime in on. Recently, instead of buying new ones, I took the batteries out of a hotel room TV remote because those in my portable radio went dead. Did I steal? These frivolous scenarios have a place on morning shows. At B101, Philadelphia, we’ve decided to put together a new feature to deal with these called “The Supreme Court of Grandmas”. We’re going to find a bunch of very opinionated grandmothers, who’ll be our Supreme Court and when we have these, and they’ll rule on them before we go to the phones.
A guy friend of newsman Bill Tafrow is being “domesticated” by his fiance. His buddy’s walls have been painted peach and he’s upset about that. Which is why Michael and Tiffany, B101, Philadelphia’s morning show, decided to have a “mantervention”. They called Bill’s friend so Bill could confront him about how he’s changed. The first break below is the “mantervention”. The second is the fiance calling to defend herself.
Here is a terrific break showing how to do character development. Karson, from Karson & Kennedy on MIX 104.1, Boston, had to call the cops because his daughter was getting harassed on Facebook. Character stories must have three elements: the ability for listeners to see themselves in the story, a bold point of conflict, and strong emotions connected with the story. This had all three.
A couple of weeks ago when Oprah was going off TV, Jimmy and Yvonne at DAVE-FM, Atlanta decided to find a guy listener who wanted to watch Oprah’s last show live instead of from his DVR later that evening. So they called the guy’s female boss to get him out of work early that do. Very quirky and creative.
Here’s a fun and dark way to involve listeners in the upcoming execution of an inmate that might work on a male-targeted morning show. It’s called the Death Row Inmate Game. Karslon & McKenzie at WZLX, Boston describe the inmate and give listeners a shot at guessing an item in his last meal to win a prize. The approach adds dimension and emotion to the conversation and builds anticipation to hear the actual meal he’s chosen as his last.