In Talk Radio, TSL, the amount of time spent listening by the audience is critical. And the good news is that growing a talk show by increasing TSL doesn’t need to cost a dime! However, trying to attract new listeners (new Cume) can mean investing a lot of marketing dollars that most stations just don’t […]

Ear Candy” is one of the key ingredients talk hosts use to keep listeners stuck on their shows. It’s the sticky stuff that makes up part of the magic that pushes the emotional hot buttons of listeners and helps build audience and thus ratings!
Over the past few weeks I’ve been browsing the internet, visiting […]

Did you see the silly waste of ink from some pundit in the UK blathering that “right-leaning talk’s audience is dying off”? Talk about looking stupid by writing a newspaper column before he’s done his homework! Read the following. Then we’ll take a breath and respond with some facts…
“There’s really only one rule in talk […]

Differentiation is critical for establishing and maintaining your station’s niche. One easy way to reinforce how your station is different from the competition and sell the unique benefits you offer is through liners.
Just remember: Promise only what you can deliver. NEVER use a liner that does not match what you actually do on air. It’s […]

As Yogi Berra said, “It ain’t over till it’s over”. About a month ago Radio America’s Roger Hedgecock sounded the alarm on censorship plots being hatched in Washington. The response was incredible. Americans - right, left and center - are angry and want to fight censorship!
It remains to be seen whether this will be […]

QUESTION: What’s the most common mistake you hear talent making on the air?
PACKER: When a talent falls into a rut. When the surprise factor is gone and the listener can predict what will happen tomorrow on the show, the host is in trouble. The thrill is gone. The listener becomes desensitized and searches for other […]

In its long climb to the top of the format charts, the number of stations involved in some form of News/Talk, Talk or Sports/Talk has mushroomed from around fifty in 1979 to well over one thousand six hundred today! Some are successful, some are not.
In reviewing the management styles of the most successful stations, […]

Yes, it does cost to listen to your radio station! We’ve all heard the expression that radio listening is free. It’s true that the audience does not pay a monetary fee to tune into their favorite station. But, in reality, radio listening costs the audience what is most precious, TIME.
TIME they can spend doing lots […]

Back in the early 1980’s I noticed that while Television had promos running non-stop promoting their shows, talk radio was doing hardly anything.
TV would air 5, and 10 second liners teasing their upcoming local news and 10 and 30 second promos for their shows.
I was at Detroit’s WXYZ Talk Radio 1270. We had a weak […]