{"id":86,"date":"2015-08-31T12:28:24","date_gmt":"2015-08-31T16:28:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.domtheodore.com\/?p=86"},"modified":"2015-08-31T12:28:24","modified_gmt":"2015-08-31T16:28:24","slug":"killing-radio-in-their-own-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.domtheodore.com\/?p=86","title":{"rendered":"Killing Radio &#8211; In Their Own Words"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A friend of mine was being &#8220;courted&#8221; by one of the big companies, and as is typically the case, he was told that in addition to hosting a show on one station, he would also be voice-tracking several other stations. They proceeded to give him a memo of instructions entitled &#8220;Network Talent Guidelines&#8221;, which outlined how and what he is supposed to say and do on the voice-tracked shifts.<\/p>\n<p>Here are some of the instructions word-for-word directly from the memo:<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em><span class=\"s1\">&#8220;To maintain the veil of you being local, avoid doing these things in network breaks:\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s1\">No time checks on the network. You\u2019re on the air in 4 to 6 time zones. Even dayparts can get in into trouble. Here are some guidelines (except if you have affiliates in Hawaii and\/or Alaska): \u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<ul class=\"ul1\">\n<li class=\"li1\"><em><span class=\"s1\">You can <\/span><span class=\"s2\">only<\/span><span class=\"s1\"> say \u201cGood Morning\u201d from 7 AM to 10 AM Eastern<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"ul1\">\n<li class=\"li1\"><em><span class=\"s1\">You can <\/span><span class=\"s2\">only<\/span><span class=\"s1\"> say \u201cGood Afternoon\u201d from 4 PM to 5 PM Eastern<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"ul1\">\n<li class=\"li1\"><em><span class=\"s1\">You can <\/span><span class=\"s2\">only<\/span><span class=\"s1\"> say it\u2019s \u201cNight\u201d from 10 PM to 2 AM Eastern<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em><span class=\"s1\">No weather or current conditions mentions. Saying the lunar eclipse looks beautiful gives you away in areas where it\u2019s cloudy or where it\u2019s not visible. Commenting on the brilliant fall foliage doesn\u2019t work in Bermuda or Hawaii.\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s1\">Avoid all descriptions of the locale. Depending on the context, even words like city, mountains, beach, freeway or mall can give you away. Small communities don\u2019t have freeways, you can\u2019t even be certain they have a Starbucks. \u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s1\">Rather than say the name of a state, opt for the name of a major city in that state. Example: Rather than say \u201cFleetwood Mac is playing in Englewood, Colorado tonight\u2026\u201d say \u201cFleetwood Mac is playing in Denver tonight.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s1\">Please do not give out local phone numbers on the network, only 800 numbers.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><em><span class=\"s1\">Please do not tease anything coming up outside of the hour you\u2019re in. Network affiliates are always coming and going. When they switch to local programming or a syndicated show it\u2019s always at the top of the hour. Local shows, promotions and features must be teased within produced promos that only play on that specific station.&#8221;<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">The real message here is &#8220;keep content as generic and universal as possible&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">The most successful radio stations of all-time have one thing in common: a shared experience with the listener. How can you possibly share an experience with an audience by following THIS plan? This is merely a set of instructions on how to deceive your audience.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">In an era where authenticity is critical to the success of every brand, how can you possibly expect to be successful following a set of instructions designed to simply lie to the listener? Generic, cold, and irrelevant content like this is another example of what&#8217;s killing radio. And by the way, the company that issued this memo operates some of the lowest-rated stations in nearly every major market. Geez, I wonder why?<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Seriously, if this is your idea of &#8220;operating&#8221; a broadcast property, and spending money on talent and \u00a0content is just a nuisance to you, why not just sell the assets to someone who actually WANTS to operate and is willing to fund content without lying to the audience? Then you can\u00a0invest into a\u00a0more lucrative business that can generate the huge profits that you seek.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Please don&#8217;t misunderstand&#8230; I&#8217;m not somebody who thinks that &#8220;profit&#8221; is a bad word. On the contrary, I want radio to be a very robust industry &#8211; I just believe we aren&#8217;t going to get there by employing these practices. History is proving me right&#8230; just take a look at spot rates today versus just a few years ago. We have no pricing power because we de-value content and those that create it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">The pyramid is upside down&#8230; the current model places content as the lowest priority, or &#8220;necessary evil&#8221;&#8230; and until we put great content, unique and compelling talent, and a great listener experience back at the top of the priority list, we will continue to lose ground&#8230;. and the best &#8216;sales tactics&#8217; in the world won&#8217;t be able to fix it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A friend of mine was being &#8220;courted&#8221; by one of the big companies, and as is typically the case, he was told that in addition to hosting a show on one station, he would also be voice-tracking several other stations. They proceeded to give him a memo of instructions entitled &#8220;Network Talent Guidelines&#8221;, which outlined [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-86","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5i4nE-1o","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":56,"url":"https:\/\/www.domtheodore.com\/?p=56","url_meta":{"origin":86,"position":0},"title":"Imaging for Millennials","author":"admin","date":"December 9, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Sadly, the produced imaging on most radio stations hasn't evolved much since the 1990's, and stations that target millennials are really missing the boat because of this. Millennials aren't impressed by your ability to add zaps, stutters, and efx to a produced piece of imaging. Words actually matter, and anything\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33,"url":"https:\/\/www.domtheodore.com\/?p=33","url_meta":{"origin":86,"position":1},"title":"Your True Calling","author":"admin","date":"November 6, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I admit it. I'm a sucker for those YouTube clips from shows like America's Got Talent, X-Factor, etc, where you see an awkward looking misfit who \u00a0works the fast-food window as their day job get up on stage and the judges all roll their eyes as if they just KNOW\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":137,"url":"https:\/\/www.domtheodore.com\/?p=137","url_meta":{"origin":86,"position":2},"title":"Radio&#8217;s Greatest Era, or the Last Chapter?","author":"admin","date":"August 28, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Not a day goes by lately without more bad news for the radio industry. From major layoffs, more voice-tracking, eliminated positions, major heritage brands disappearing, to wild ratings swings, and bad quarterly revenue reports, it feels like the end of our industry is inevitable. Many of those who still have\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 1 comment","block_context":{"text":"With 1 comment","link":"https:\/\/www.domtheodore.com\/?p=137#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.domtheodore.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/DomTheodore-e1725206995694.jpg?fit=619%2C625&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.domtheodore.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/DomTheodore-e1725206995694.jpg?fit=619%2C625&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.domtheodore.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/DomTheodore-e1725206995694.jpg?fit=619%2C625&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":18,"url":"https:\/\/www.domtheodore.com\/?p=18","url_meta":{"origin":86,"position":3},"title":"Budget Season","author":"admin","date":"November 4, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I used to dread budget season when I was a RVP of Programming at one of the big companies... mostly because it never made sense to me. The process would usually start with corporate sending out a spreadsheet asking me to outline the on-air lineup station-by-station, and whether or not\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25,"url":"https:\/\/www.domtheodore.com\/?p=25","url_meta":{"origin":86,"position":4},"title":"Announcers versus Personalities","author":"admin","date":"November 5, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"In all the years I've programmed radio, I'm not sure that I ever hired an on-air \"announcer\" - I'm not even sure what that title means or why ANYBODY would have the need for one. I've always searched for personalities. Even when I've hired a station imaging voice, I never\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"disrupt\"","block_context":{"text":"disrupt","link":"https:\/\/www.domtheodore.com\/?tag=disrupt"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35,"url":"https:\/\/www.domtheodore.com\/?p=35","url_meta":{"origin":86,"position":5},"title":"Your Own Transmitter","author":"admin","date":"November 8, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"According to his employer's website, Dan Thorn took the path that many others do who want to be on TV. He earned his degree in Broadcast Journalism from Brooklyn College. He interned at a couple of New York City TV stations before landing a starter job in production in upstate\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.domtheodore.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.domtheodore.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.domtheodore.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.domtheodore.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.domtheodore.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=86"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.domtheodore.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87,"href":"https:\/\/www.domtheodore.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86\/revisions\/87"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.domtheodore.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=86"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.domtheodore.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=86"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.domtheodore.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=86"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}