Archive for month: September, 2020

No doubt everyone is looking for bright white lights in all the morass of the world. John and Tammy, KSON, San Diego excel at not only pointing out the positive, but being supportive of their listeners.  What do fans want more than people who will root for them, care about them, and make them the star of their show?  With all the wildfires in southern California, they heard about a listener (an ex-Marine) who’s dedicated to one mission:  saving the animals.  Here’s a break of total humanity, and a reminder that good does exist in the world.  This is exceptionally relevant given how big the fires are. The guy comes on, tells stories (in fact, he tells his stories), and moves John and Tammy as well as other listeners.  Go earn images, prop up your audience, and remind your fans that when they turn to you, the world isn’t such a bad place after all.

There are very simple things you can do to make a good, very relatable break, even better.  David, Sue, and Kendra, Magic 106.7, Boston were talking about the toys that are due to be inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame.  This is very logical content, especially for their audience.  The team gets to reminisce about toys from their childhood, bringing back terrific memories for listeners.  Psychologically, retro content like this makes people feel warm and safe and reminds them of a happier time in their lives, especially now with all the craziness. What accelerates this break below and makes it even better for the audience is the simple use of audio.  They talk about a toy, and here’s audio associated with it (i.e. the TV commercial for it).  It’s in that audio that the content comes more alive and they are in a better spot to keep listeners engaged in their topic.  In every break you do, ask when mapping it out, what audio exists (or what audio can you create) that will help that break perceptually for listeners who bore easily with just conversation.

We are always going for images.  Being real, having fun, and doing something different with a big topic.  Here’s MIX Mornings with Kyle, Bryan, and Sarah on WRAL, Raleigh.  First, hear how they accrue all those images above.  Then, listen to this break and ponder how much work it took to put less than three-minutes of a very strategic break together.  The main topics they fuse are back-to-school and the Calm App everyone seems to have.  They had to conceive the idea, then write and record the payoff, then find a listener to tell a relatable story (breaks are always better when a listener is involved), then construct the entire break.  There’s much pressure on shows to get it done faster because listeners’ attention is scant.  That, in most instances, requires more prep, not less.  Unless you are a completely defined show, which takes many years, the days of turning on everyone’s microphones and talking around a topic until you think you’re done are not as effective to hold on to listeners, who have a ton of choices for content, connection, and entertainment when you’re on.