Radio Show Content | Audio Breaks

Karen, Johnny, and Intern Anthony, WNEW-FM, New York Karen Forgets to RSVP

May 28, 2023

We’re story tellers. And one of radio’s greatest super powers is our intimacy – our ability to connect with the audience and remind them that we are just like them. When you have a story that has several participants, it’s always best told when the tension and drama that drives how compelling a story is, to put those in the story on your show to tell it, too. One of the greatest strengths on Karen Carson in the Morning with Johnny and Intern Anthony, WNEW-FM, New York is they have lives just like their audience. Karen forgot to RSVP to Intern Anthony’s fiance’s bridal shower. Average shows would just talk about it and maybe launch a phone topic. Not these guys. They made Karen call Anthony’s future mother-in-law to apologize. It’s this pivot in the story telling that keeps the audience hooked in the break to hear how it turns out, putting that tension on full display.

Kyle, Bryan, and Sarah, WRAL-FM, Raleigh Love Him or List Him

May 21, 2023

If you target women, it’s always encouraged that you have a regular feature on the show that is relationships-based. There are the standards that work: Second Date Update or War of the Roses. But here’s one you might not have heard called Love Him or List Him as done by Kyle, Bryan, and Sarah, WRAL-FM, Raleigh. You’re right about the name. It’s very similar to the show on HGTV. That’s on purpose because the name has equity. Its simple thesis: a woman comes on who’s been with a guy for a short time. She sees some odd behavior and wonders if she should love him (stay with him) or list him (stop dating him). Air listener’s advice then go back to her with the results. A few things to listen for in this segment: the quirky jingle up front to grab listeners, how quickly the show gets to her telling her story, they localize where the drama happened, all those listener calls (who had stories), and then the resolution.

Dave, Mahoney, and Audrey, KSLX, Phoenix with Dave’s Mother-in-Law Is In Distress.

May 14, 2023

New shows have a different strategy and work on different images than tenured programs. Enter Dave, Mahoney, and Audrey, KSLX, Phoenix. Replacing Mark and NeanderPaul (Mark retired and Paul moved to middays) only several weeks ago, we needed to form a launch strategy for the new cast. The core attribute of a Stage One show is unfamiliar people doing unfamiliar things. When we wake up, we crave what we know and familiarity plays an important role in the choices we make at that time of the day. So our primary goal is to be very familiar with our topics (because our cast isn’t familiar) and tell lots of stories that define our characters and introduced the team as real people, just like the listeners. Here’s a simple story, loaded with lots of drama, that Dave told about his wife and mother-in-law. Both strategic and powerful to serve the goals of launching the new show.

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.

Kick-Ass Audio Breaks

Karen, Johnny, and Intern Anthony, WNEW-FM, New York Karen Forgets to RSVP

Kyle, Bryan, and Sarah, WRAL-FM, Raleigh Love Him or List Him

Dave, Mahoney, and Audrey, KSLX, Phoenix with Dave’s Mother-in-Law Is In Distress.

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

Some of the Great Radio Stations I’ve Helped...