Radio Show Content | Audio Breaks

John and Tammy, KSON, San Diego, The Bill Cosby Update

July 18, 2021

One of the required attributes to be a truly great personality is having a natural curiosity about the world around you. An almost insatiable interest in whatever is going on in the world. As I’ve done this work, the million-dollar players I’ve worked with have this quality. That curiosity drives better topics. The conventional wisdom when Bill Cosby was released from prison a few weeks ago was that morning radio should not touch it. Why? It’s a big topic and if you want me, as a listener, to bond to you, you’ll share your thoughts. The day the story broke, I had my weekly call with John and Tammy, KSON, San Diego. They were outraged this happened and had a zillion questions on how it came to be. We leveraged their genuine interest in the topic to create a break that was relevant, interesting, and memorable by inviting on a lawyer who could answer their questions. All because the cast wondered why. What is your curiosity about the topics of the day? Are you forever reading about whatever is going on, looking for angles and stimulation to activate your interest so you can bring it to the audience? If you do, you’ll excel.

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

July 11, 2021

Want to win big with women? Do lots of relationships content. A new signature feature for us on Kyle, Bryan, and Sarah, WRAL-FM, Raleigh is called Love Him or List Him. Purposely playing off the HGTV show Love It or List It, this one works great as America re-opens and listeners get back to dating. The simple thesis of this weekly feature is that a female listener comes on who’s had a date or two with a new person. The quirk is that she saw something or an odd thing happened which makes her wonder if she should continue seeing him (Love Him) or move on to the next person (List Him). This is simple story-telling with a hook that is relatable and intriguing to other female listeners. She comes on, lays out her challenge, and then you take calls, asking the audience what they would do in that instance. The big win is that those calling with opinions probably have lived through it so you’ll get a lot of first-hand advice and stories. Once you field a few calls, get that gal back on and tell her what the audience thinks she should do. Here’s a version with a twist!

Dave and Mahoney, ALT 107.5, Las Vegas Fast Food Freak Outs

July 4, 2021

We all do well in radio using available audio of things that happen in the world. I’ve covered on this page the value of available audio to help make your break sparkle and give listeners some context in what you’re talking about. Dave and Mahoney, ALT 107.5, Las Vegas did something with audio that was so simple, yet so smart. There was a video circulating a few weeks ago of a woman who went crazy at a McDonalds. They got two other audio clips of people losing their shit at a fast food establishment. Theming it under the banner of Fast Food Freak Outs, Dave played the audio, then gave his team three options on what fast food restaurant it happened at. The brilliance of this move is that, as a listener, it drew me in, too. I wanted to hear the audio so I could guess from the fast food chains he offered at the end of each clip. There are passive breaks where the audience really has no role – you talk and they listen. Then there are active breaks where it’s designed to get into listeners’ heads and draws them in vicariously to participate.

Karson and Kennedy, MIX 104.1, Boston Karson’s Really Bad Day

June 27, 2021

I’m regularly asked two questions: when do you know a story should be told on the air and how long should a break go. To the first, a story should be told if it has a central theme and lots of elements with twists and turns and unexpected moments that will keep me on the edge of my seat. When the story defines you, makes me feel something for you, and gets me to experience some kind of emotion is when you know you might have gold. How long should a break go? Well, that’s like porn – I know it when I hear (see) it. A great story with all the attributes listed above can take as much time as it needs to breath and be expressed and not a moment longer. Here’s Karson and Kennedy, MIX 104.1, Boston with a story about Karson’s really bad day-before. From his car breaking down on a major Boston street, to issues with the insurance company and tow truck, followed by no power in his house for several hours. Sometimes it all goes to shit and that was what Karson dealt with. Tell the story around the central theme and let the chemistry of the room take over for however long it needs.

Mark and NeanderPaul, KSLX, Phoenix LGBTQIA

June 20, 2021

Two certain things that will resonate with any audience and make your break special: first, regardless of format, you must be on whatever relevant topics are happening on any given day. Contemporizing your show makes you be in the moment and any move you make away from being a generic, evergreen show is important. The other item is having destinations and surprises built into some of your breaks. Yes, conversation is critical in this day of “real talk”. But we still need to surprise the audience with payoffs which will make your break more fun and memorable. Enter Mark and NeaderPaul, KSLX, Phoenix, who execute this break perfectly. KSLX plays classic rock and targets a mostly older male audience. The rules don’t change there. During Pride Month, they still tackle former American Idol contestant David Archuleta’s coming out and then offer a surprise jingle at the end to remember all the letters of the alphabet when referencing that community.

Kick-Ass Audio Breaks

John and Tammy, KSON, San Diego, The Bill Cosby Update

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

Dave and Mahoney, ALT 107.5, Las Vegas Fast Food Freak Outs

Karson and Kennedy, MIX 104.1, Boston Karson’s Really Bad Day

Mark and NeanderPaul, KSLX, Phoenix LGBTQIA

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