Kick-Ass Audio Breaks

Nostalgia is in and I bet you remember all those family meetings you had when you were a kid.  Karson and Kennedy, MIX 104.1, Boston decided to air one.  Karson’s young son, Barrett, recently called a family meeting at the dinner table to discuss a few things that were bothering him.  This is awesome character development for Karson because we’re getting to know him as a dad.  That’s the core of character development – am I getting to know something about you that makes you relatable to me?  What’s fun about this is the interaction between Barrett and his parents.  Also listen for its execution.  Karson didn’t just record the table conversation and air it in its entirety.  He edited it and they talked around parts of it so the team could keep their in-studio chemistry and commentary at the forefront.  Great radio is doing relatable content in a unique way that allows for natural humor and humaneness.  This ticks those boxes.

One filter in your prep process should be – is there audio we can play in this break that will help make it sparkle?  There was a time (in the olden days!) when the only audio available came from the prep services you subscribed to.  But with the internet, audio is everywhere.  Breaks with the cast just talking about a TV show they watched are not as good as breaks that have audio from that TV show.  This is for a few reasons:  first, the audio provides much needed context for those who didn’t see the show (most of your listeners) so they understand better your comments.  Second, listeners need “audio stimulation” so they don’t drift and audio inside a break provides that, helping keep their interest.  So always look for audio for any topic you do.  Here’s a simple, yet effective character break from Christine and Salt, WTIC-FM, Hartford.  Christine got a letter from her son’s school and wondered if it was real.  A local TV station confirmed it.  Their use of that audio did the two critical things above, which made the break better perceptually.