Radio Show Content | Audio Breaks

Mark and NeanderPaul, KSLX Phoenix The Low Battery

August 9, 2020/in Audio /by Steve Reynolds

How do you take a relatable as simple as wondering if people with low cell phone batteries are bothered with not having a full charge and turn it into bolder content? Mark and NeanderPaul, KSLX Phoenix show you with this week’s audio. On a show call recently, Mark bemoaned that every time he looked at his wife’s cell phone, her battery was dangerously low. That’s a simple enough character story to tell on the air and leave as-is or use as a phone topic. But the show decided to add other elements to the content to elevate it. Mark talked with three listeners at a station promotion and asked their names, what they did, and the current status of their cell phone charge (element #1). Then he used that audio and asked NeanderPaul to guess what their battery level was, knowing that he would be funny with it (element #2). They turned what could have been a standard break or phone topic into a game listeners vicariously played along with in the car. Add elements like these on occasion to your breaks to present them differently to your audience so your content stays fresh and different for fans.

WRAL-FM, Raleigh, Kyle, Bryan, and Sarah Canceling the State Fair

August 2, 2020/in Audio /by Steve Reynolds

We have seen an increased emphasis on local content with Covid affecting every community. Here’s where live and local shines. Be the most engaging and entertaining local show and that’s the ultimate combination in any marketplace. Will the October State Fair take place in North Carolina? That’s been one of the big questions the locals have wondered for the last month in Raleigh. It’s an iconic event that all look forward to. On the run-up to the decision, Kyle, Bryan, and Sarah, WRAL-FM, Raleigh have kept a watch and groomed a relationship with the larger-than-life state Ag Commissioner, Steve Troxler, the guy making the decision. He’s a Dr. Phil-soundalike and colorful character. Once canceled, they had Troxler on their show to explore the decision and have some fun. Find colorful local characters that live all around you and figure out how to get them on your program. Live and local means much less when it isn’t fun. This scores on both accounts and separates this show from all the generic shows around it, doing content given to them by a prep service.

KSON, San Diego John and Tammy, Abby the Vegan

July 26, 2020/in Audio /by Steve Reynolds

The most entertaining guests on the show sometimes live on the fringe. When they are family of cast members, they also provide character development. Letterman taught us the importance of finding the colorful people around the show and figure out how to get them on so their oddities can capture the audience’s attention. John and Tammy, KSON, San Diego have some very fun family members. John’s daughter, Abby, just became a a vegan. This lifestyle is distant from the typical country partisan. So, John decided to interview his daughter to find out what that was like, and, loaded up with things to say, Abby judged the audience and created both fun and character development for her father in the process. Bottom line: look for the fun, odd people around you and introduce them to the audience to create some electric content. Here’s the break to hear how it’s done.

KSCS, Dallas Hawkeye, Katelyn, and the CEO of Southwest

July 19, 2020/in Audio /by Steve Reynolds

Often in personality radio, we don’t believe we can get the guest at the center of the story. So, we end up not trying as a default from this belief and put full weight on the cast to deliver the goods. Compare doing the break this way, and then imagine a deeper, fuller conversation with the person who can more authentically talk to your topic because they are its focus. Southwest Airlines is based on Dallas, as you probably know. What changes is that airline making with Covid-19? A fair question considering they are one of the country’s major airlines, they have a hub in the market, and many listeners will be using them for summer vacations. Instead of a break of speculation or reading about it online, Hawkeye in the Morning with Katelyn, KSCS, Dallas, put in for an interview with Southwest CEO, Gary Kelly. The effort was low for a big payoff, because Gary said yes. Hear this break, then imagine its opposite – the team just talking about it – and ask yourself: which is a better break to engage listeners, create talk, and is more memorable?

K-BULL 93, Salt Lake City Lexi and Banks Father Forgiveness

July 12, 2020/in Audio /by Steve Reynolds

A critical element to create great content is conflict – be it real or manufactured for fun. Content segments without that push and pull of tension do little to grab the audience emotionally, which is the one thing that will both intrigue them to hear it (hence, a powerful set-up or hook at the very beginning of the break) and provide a resolution to that dramatic thesis at its end. For Father’s Day last month, Lexi and Banks, K-BULL 93, Salt Lake City had the typical giveaway packages from the promotions folks. Not content to play a silly game or take caller X, they fished through social media looking for listeners who had borrowed money from their fathers and not paid it back. That was the thesis of real life drama they would use to tell a story, tie into Father’s Day, and get dad and and their kid on to give something out. Mining the story from both perspectives, as you will hear below, is appropriate and relatable. But at the end, they asked the father to forgive the “loan” in return for the prize package, thus providing resolution. All around, this is very well conceived and executed by the team!

Kick-Ass Audio Breaks

Mark and NeanderPaul, KSLX Phoenix The Low Battery

WRAL-FM, Raleigh, Kyle, Bryan, and Sarah Canceling the State Fair

KSON, San Diego John and Tammy, Abby the Vegan

KSCS, Dallas Hawkeye, Katelyn, and the CEO of Southwest

K-BULL 93, Salt Lake City Lexi and Banks Father Forgiveness

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