John and Tammy, KSON, San Diego On the Protests

You cannot ignore the protests.  Some shows fear tackling a topic as big as this, but to build a brand in 2020, you must take a stand.  Don’t conflate taking a stand against racism or for the Black Lives Matter movement with politics.  You can easily wade into the former with your honest feelings without ever touching Trump.  After all, who’d call to say they would no longer listen because they were for racism?  Part of connection around a topic of this size is first being honest with the audience, and then understanding the tone with which you deliver your perspective moderates any “stop listening moment” your audience could have.  John and Tammy, KSON, San Diego handled this perfectly last week when they admitted to listeners that as white people, they truly don’t understand what it’s like to be African American.  So they found a black pastor to come on the show to teach them what they did not get in their everyday American experience.  This never became about politics – it was affirming, uplifting, positive, and, at its end, might even move you to cry.  This is relevance – not fearing the topic, but thinking through how to present it so the audience leaves understanding your values as someone they wish to wake up with everyday on the radio.