WNOU “I Don’t Believe You”
Kyle and Rachel at Radio Now, Indianapolis, do this fun, interactive thing with listeners on occasion called “I Don’t Believe You”. Listeners call, give a one sentence story about something they may have experienced in life, and the morning show has to determine if it’s believable. Most stories told are true, so they get the details and entertain the audience in the process. It’s just another fun way to get listeners participating in the show around a vicarious feature.
Great games have a vicarious aspect to them which allow people listening to play along. Here’s J & Julian, on B96, Chicago, doing “Pregnant, Pissed, or Happy”. This is where they put a female listener on the air, ask her questions unrelated to any of the three conditions, then, based on her voice, try to determine if she’s pregnant, upset with something, or happy today. If she stumps them, she gets a prize – and all listening are playing along trying to figure it out, too.
Great phone topics come from real life experiences. Tiffany, from the Tiffany and Michael Show, B101, Philadelphia, was convinced by her husband to have a yard sale. This prompted the topic to listeners wondering the oddest item people have ever had purchased from them during a yard sale. PPM always reacts positively to entertaining stories from listeners. You might be stunned at what was said.
Normally I am not a fan of any morning show cooking on the air. There is zero listener benefit to this. But here’s an exception. Eddie and JoBob, on K-HITS, Chicago grill in the studio right before the July Fourth holiday. What makes it work are the sounds they create and the fact that JoBo uses it to get to audio of him asking kids questions about grilling during the holiday weekend, which is really fun.
Back when the Arnold Schwarzenegger scandal broke, Jim and Kim, on Fresh 102.7, New York, gathered some notorious cheaters (Arnold, John Edwards, Jesse James, and Tiger Woods) and asked their listeners to list them from most to least egregious. One of the easiest things to do on a show to create some dimension inside breaks is get listeners to play along with you. In their novel idea called “Stack the Cheaters”, they did just that.
What happens when you’re grounded for the summer? The best radio is a reflection of real life. Nick is an 11-year old kid in Detroit who got grounded for the summer. Following the drama (something reality TV shows do quite well) is very memorable and fun. That’s why Mojo in the Morning on Channel 95.5, Detroit “adopted” Nick and is following his exploits.