How hard is this? Kim Kardashian announces she wants a divorce after 72 days to Kris Humphries. So Kyle and Rachel, Radio Now, Indianapolis, ask cute eight year olds to give her some advice. Yes, some of this was fed to them, but the audience is probably laughing hearing it so, goal served!
Recently, Producer Blaire on the Tiffany and Michael Morning Show on B101 Philadelphia went grocery shopping. As she loaded her groceries into the car, she noticed that a shopper had accidentally left a case of water in the bottom of her cart. Instead of bringing it back into the store, she decided it was up for grabs, so she took it. Which lead to the moral dilemma “did Producer Blaire steal.” Unbeknownst to Blaire, amongst the calls we decided to take from listeners to comment, we set up a call from someone who’d claim that it was her water just to see how she’d react. The fun prank led to a great reaction when Blaire figured out it was a set up.
Boston is long known for it’s cynical, always complaining residents. Which is why we developed a new feature for Karson & Kennedy, MIX 104.1, Boston called “Enough Already”. This is where listeners come on to complain about the topic they’ve heard too much about lately, then exclaim “enough already”. We purposely screen out those calls about traffic (because that’s all we’d get) and end up with this fun!
We are in the process of defining our new morning show Kyle and Rachel, Radio Now, Indianapolis. So, there’s a healthy emphasis on this team revealing their lives in ways that the audience can see themselves. Recently, in an on-air conversation about going back to school, Kyle decided to have on one of this childhood teachers to tell stories about him. This does the trick because it adds dimension into the break around the telling of a story.
Here is a break perfectly designed for PPM. In an on-air chat in September, John and Tammy, KSON, San Diego, were talking about helping their kids buy school supplies. John never really lived up to expectations, according to his wife. So she called into the show to comment. This is not only excellent character development, what they get done to entertain the audience in less than three minutes is amazing – John’s wife and listeners participating to create dimension around the topic to have fun.
Bill Tafrow, the news guy on B101, Philadelphia’s Tiffany & Michael morning show is a first time homeowner. This was his first official Halloween having a house. Which compelled us to talk to neighbors to “coordinate forces” for the big candy giveaway. Bill has a very self-depracating sense of humor. Listen as the neighbor pokes fun at Bill, and what great character definition comes out of this chat.
For the record, I am not a big fan of Hollywood reports. I’ve just seen too many listeners comment on how the information is ripped off from TMZ or Perez Hilton’s website (whether it’s true or not, that’s their general perception). The goal of a show’s Hollywood report should not be to convey information (especially information any listener can now get on their smart phone), but to entertain the audience. Here’s Steve Kemble, America’s sassiest lifestyle guru on KVIL, Dallas’s Gene and Julie. Steve is a howl – it’s not the stories Steve covers, but how he covers them (total fun) that makes listeners want to come back the next day for more!
Like many shows, Mojo in the Morning on Channel 95.5 plays some throw back music each Friday. Besides playing the tunes, the team also plays the “Throw Back, Throw Down” game. Listeners choose a show member to play on their behalf. Mojo then plays the first second of a throw back song. The first show member to buzz in and identify the song wins a point for the listener en-route to a prize. It’s lots of fun and you really get the playful chemistry of this team.
The syndicated Rickey Smiley Morning Show out of Atlanta is one of the quirkiest shows you will ever hear. In this clip, Rickey and his team call the front desk to welcome the new receptionist to the station. She is a minority hire – she has no hands! Listen as they talk with her and note that even though this is a total put on (and the audience knows this), they are smart in that they never make mock this character directly, which makes it funnier.
Kevin Karlson, from Karlson & McKenzie, WZLX, Boston, is always making fun of his mom. In this break, Kevin pokes fun at and creates a game only he can do with listeners, over how his mother mangles words in the English language. Using your relatives is always smart…even better if you do something with them that’s unique and playful.