Radio Show Content | Audio Breaks

WRAL, Raleigh The Barry Manilow Birthday Gift

October 28, 2018

We love when family members (especially funny ones) are included in the show. They have an immensely humanizing effect on the cast member and are a very efficient way to do character development. Two Men and a Mom, MIX 101.5 (WRAL-FM), Raleigh leverage family members in a terrific way. Bryan Lord’s father was having a birthday and is a freak for Barry Manlow (a quirky, memorable trait). Bryan has a unique relationship with his dad so he purchased and sent from Amazon an autographed Manilow picture, and made his father open the package on-the-air without knowing what’s in it. They hid the surprise so they’d get a natural reaction, which was followed by a story (a concert memory). I leave the break getting a glimpse into the fun relationship Bryan has with his father, felt like I was a part of the reveal, and laughed. Listeners are drawn to humanity and things that are real. This serves both goals and is memorable and strategic as a result.

Star 99.9, Bridgeport, CT What Made Anna Cry This Weekend

October 21, 2018

Sometime the most fun and authentic breaks and ideas come from the experiences of the talent on the show. Anna of Anna and Raven, Star 99.9, Bridgeport, CT is pregnant…check that, she’s very pregnant. And anyone who’s been around women about to give birth know it’s a journey that requires many guys to sit quietly and count to ten before reacting. In her final trimester, the team does a regular Monday feature called “What Made Anna Cry This Weekend?” Here’s an example – note the fun, relatability, and very short produced piece which sets the tone. Then all Anna has to do is cull from her weekend and share with the audience all of the absurd, smallish things which made her weep. This show is all about relationships. Listen to this simple break and note how you think both men and women are reacting to the content. Women are connecting, knowing it’s all true, and men are nodding up and down as they know this is their life, too.

Karson & Kennedy, MIX 104.1, Boston The Tooth Fairy

October 14, 2018

Karson & Kennedy We preach to all shows that it’s what you do with a topic that makes it resonate. Your imagination gets you noticed, Enter the tooth fairy on Karson and Kennedy, MIX 104.1, Boston! Karson’s young son Barrett called the hotline one morning to tell his father that he knew it was him who took his lost tooth and left five dollars under the pillow that morning instead of the tooth fairy. Both Barrett and Karson’s wife, Lana, were trapped, not knowing what to do. Here’s where their imagination took over. They aired the call, then, magically, the tooth fairy was listening and they deployed her to call Barrett back to cover for them. The tooth fairy knew all about Barrett’s room (geez, I wonder how!) and to tell him that she asked his father to cover because she’d been very busy. Never a wacky radio bit, this came from real life. It’s totally relatable, story-based, true, with a touch of imagination to capture the attention of the audience and make it memorable. What you do with the topic you choose is paramount to doing distinctive radio that you will own.

KSLX, Phoenix A Nigerian Prince Visits the White House

October 7, 2018

When the plot of your show is “smart meets stupid and the funny happens,” the most clever and humorous things appear. Mark and NeanderPaul, KSLX, Phoenix are two observant, funny guys, who lean to the clever. Several months back, a Nigerian prince visited the White House to see President Trump. The best shows can take something in the news and reflect their sense of humor in what they do with it. What’s paramount is being your plot, too. This is great use of the audio of the president plus the funny part, as done by the show the day after the visit. And if you think you need a lot of time to do this, note the length of the break – just over two minutes. Listen to what they strategically got done with this break: reflected a topic of the day, innovated around it, showcased their take and sense of humor, and did it quickly.

Stacey and Jonah, 1065 The Arch, St. Louis Running in the Opposite Direction

September 30, 2018

The challenge for this past week is to tackle the serious topics of Bill Cosby’s prison sentence and the Supreme Court hearings without alienating the audience. It’s a tougher needle to thread if you don’t have a deep relationship with the audience yet. That’s where Stacey and Jonah, 1065 The Arch, St. Louis are. They’re new to the station so you have to be cautious. The topics are so pervasive, they must be tackled. In our discussion, we noted how corrosive social media can be – it clouds our take on a topic and can easily anger us. You must come up with a portal to enter any topic that’s honest and resonates – they came in with the promise to turn off all social media this weekend and actually be with people – they would not let social media affect them negatively this weekend and ask listeners to join that tribe. Here are four absolutely stellar breaks that resonated deeply with all of their audience, without ever taking a social stand. They talk with Jonah’s sister in two breaks (she’s a social worker), Jonah’s mom just to tell her they love her, and a listener. This is the classic “running in the opposite direction” from where we are. Will listeners actually stop using social media (for those of you inside thinkers who worry we’re telling the audience to not look at our Facebook page). Nope, they will still use all social media platforms. But the messaging is awesome. All of this rates an A+.

Kick-Ass Audio Breaks

WRAL, Raleigh The Barry Manilow Birthday Gift

Star 99.9, Bridgeport, CT What Made Anna Cry This Weekend

Karson & Kennedy, MIX 104.1, Boston The Tooth Fairy

KSLX, Phoenix A Nigerian Prince Visits the White House

Stacey and Jonah, 1065 The Arch, St. Louis Running in the Opposite Direction

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