Stacey and Jonah, 1065 The Arch, St. Louis Running in the Opposite Direction
The challenge for this past week is to tackle the serious topics of Bill Cosby’s prison sentence and the Supreme Court hearings without alienating the audience. It’s a tougher needle to thread if you don’t have a deep relationship with the audience yet. That’s where Stacey and Jonah, 1065 The Arch, St. Louis are. They’re new to the station so you have to be cautious. The topics are so pervasive, they must be tackled. In our discussion, we noted how corrosive social media can be – it clouds our take on a topic and can easily anger us. You must come up with a portal to enter any topic that’s honest and resonates – they came in with the promise to turn off all social media this weekend and actually be with people – they would not let social media affect them negatively this weekend and ask listeners to join that tribe. Here are four absolutely stellar breaks that resonated deeply with all of their audience, without ever taking a social stand. They talk with Jonah’s sister in two breaks (she’s a social worker), Jonah’s mom just to tell her they love her, and a listener. This is the classic “running in the opposite direction” from where we are. Will listeners actually stop using social media (for those of you inside thinkers who worry we’re telling the audience to not look at our Facebook page). Nope, they will still use all social media platforms. But the messaging is awesome. All of this rates an A+.
One of the applications against relevant content in your arsenal is to find funny people in your orbit and figure out a reason to get them on the show. David Letterman was a master at this and taught all of us that funny people who float in and out of a program can significantly add to the humor you can develop. Enter The TJ Show, AMP 103.3, Boston who found a young, very precocious, opinionated kid by the name of Carter, who comes off not like the youngster he is, but as an adult. Both in his tone and how he views the world around him. Add in TJ with his weird questions and inquisitive way, and you get a terrific example of using a real life character to add a perspective and sense of humor to the show that helps it stand out. These “characters” must be real, must own a perspective, and radiate wattage (as Carter does) to add to the program.
The primary reason a listener chooses a specific show is because it affects their mood positively. We sometimes convince ourselves that the brands we frequent are for intellectual reasons only (“they play 12 songs in a row!”) when, in reality, listeners choose a show because of how it makes them feel. Each afternoon when listeners are headed home after a long day at work, Koz and Jen, 101.9 The Mix (WTMX), Chicago play Jen’s Show Biz Pop Quiz. No doubt you’ve heard some version of this game on radio shows. Why does it work everywhere? Because after a hard workday, this is mind candy for the audience. It’s not weighty being centered around Hollywood trivia, it’s vicarious (one of its critical features), it’s character defining for Jen, and it’s fun to hear. Outside thinkers know that we choose a brand to match or affect our moods. On listener’s long ride home in Chicago, this feature puts them in a happy place because of the content done and how it’s designed