Radio Show Content | Audio Breaks

Karen Carson with Johnny Minge and Intern Anthony, WNEW-FM, New York Johnny Is Banned From a Deli (The Narrative)

April 30, 2023

Narrative arcs are stories that last longer than one break on the show, intended to hook the audience to listen longer (or come back the next day). Chapter one sets the stage – this is the break of drama (the reason for the break’s being) and establishes the characters. You must then know your conclusion – if this were a book, what’s its last chapter where you wrap up the story line? Then, chapters in between that substantively advance the story from start to end. You can spread these out over days (at the same time to get another occasion, as long as you tell the audience what happens in the next day’s chapter so they come back) or across a few quarter hours to try and extend listening. Johnny Minge got banned from a deli and we told the audience all about it on Karen Carson in the Morning, WNEW-FM, New York City. Our chapters are in order below. Chapter one is the team setting the stage of drama, chapter two is listener calls telling Johnny where they’ve been banned (two breaks). Chapter three is the show calling Johnny’s parents to find out if they know. Chapter four (conclusion) is Karen calling the deli, trying to get Johnny un-banned. This is wonderful and creative character development and very sticky content.

Karson and Kennedy, MIX 104.1, Boston The Beard Bet

April 23, 2023

You get efficient character development when you pit two cast members against each other. A terrific example of this happened two weeks ago on Karson and Kennedy, MIX 104.1, Boston. We wanted to do a parody of March Madness’s use of a grid to get a winner. Karson loves music from the 90s. Producer Dan loves music from the 2000s. The central theme, pitting songs from the 90s against songs from the 2000s, ties the show back to the music format of the station (always smart). Listeners voted it down to one song from each decade with the loser having to shave his beard. The finale pit Chumbawumba’s “Tub Thumping” against Miley Cyrus’s “Party in the USA”, with Miley losing so Dan had to shave his beard. Here’s a fun chapter in the narrative where the show called Dan’s mom and Karson’s wife to get their take on all of it.

George, Mo, and Erik, KILT-FM, Houston The Louisville Shootings

April 16, 2023

One of your primary jobs is to make the audience care about you. That’s why great character development is rooted in honesty and vulnerability. You care about people you know and that’s why you reveal who you are to the audience. To bring them closer. There seems to be a mass shooting every week in America. You may opt in on talking about one, but not another. The bank shootings in Louisville last week were especially personal for George, Mo, and Erik, KILT-FM Houston. Instead of this becoming about gun control or mental health, listen to how it’s personalized by George, who couldn’t get a hold of his son when the story broke. His kid worked one block away and was on lock down. It’s one thing to talk about a topic as serious as this. It’s another to personalize it so humanly as is done here. You leave knowing George better and caring about him. Do that with your topics.

Lou and Shannon, WJLK, The Jersey Shore The Celebrity Name Game

April 9, 2023

Shows need benchmarks – these are appointments you set with listeners that they time their morning by. These features help insert you into the routine of your fans, which helps bring images to the show and higher ratings. Looking for a new benchmark, Lou and Shannon, WJLK, The Jersey Shore know that the best benchmarks are easy to follow along, fun, and have a vicarious quality to them – in other words, listeners are playing along in the car as they tune in. Add the need for it to be sustainable – meaning you must have enough content available so it could be on your show for years. Here’s the Celebrity Name Game (terrific name for a feature because it rhymes). It’s simple – they describe a celebrity and the caller has to name them – yet very effective because of the content and how it’s done.

Gregg, Freddie, and Danielle, MIX 104.1, Boston International Women’s Day

April 2, 2023

Lots of shows covered International Women’s Day a few weeks ago. Whether you target women or not, this was appropriate as the topic was high profile, placing it as a rare exception to my belief that doing national this-and-that days is irrelevant. Our job in radio is to connect with the audience from whatever position we have on any known topic. Where most shows probably asked the audience to name a woman in life important to them or to acknowledge some prominent women in the community, Gregg, Freddie, and Danielle, MIX 104.1, Boston did things one better. They introduced to the audience the women in each of their lives important to them. Making this topic personal and hearing their pride as they talked with who they chose defined them, leaving the audience with a sense of each as human beings. That’s taking a relevant topic and creating great character development. It’s no harder than that!

Kick-Ass Audio Breaks

Karen Carson with Johnny Minge and Intern Anthony, WNEW-FM, New York Johnny Is Banned From a Deli (The Narrative)

Karson and Kennedy, MIX 104.1, Boston The Beard Bet

George, Mo, and Erik, KILT-FM, Houston The Louisville Shootings

Lou and Shannon, WJLK, The Jersey Shore The Celebrity Name Game

Gregg, Freddie, and Danielle, MIX 104.1, Boston International Women’s Day

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