Oh, yeah, here's this week's All Access newsletter, plus, because my headache made me forget last night, I want to mention that yesterday would have been Mom's birthday. Happy birthday, Mom. I miss you still:
A lot has been written, including right here, about the demise of local radio programming across the country. Most of the time, when somebody pontificates about the lack of localism, the assumption is made that local is always preferable to nationally syndicated programming. Stands to reason, doesn't it? Isn't local better?
Not always. That's where I depart from some of the criticism that I read from other radio "experts." You see and hear people decrying "repeater radio" all the time, and in some cases, they're right. I'm not crazy about the way voice tracking has been implemented on many music stations, for example. And diminishing local news commitments are, I believe, really hurting radio; if a local radio station isn't going to have a solid local news team digging for stories and on the scene for emergencies and breaking news, it's abdicating its responsibility as a local station to be, you know, LOCAL.
But when it comes to talk and personality radio, whether it's on talk stations or morning shows on music stations, I think the complaints aren't quite as valid. First, by yearning for a return to the days when most radio was locally produced, we're forgetting that some of the national and regional talent available in syndication is there for a reason: they're good. Not all are that good, but there ARE several shows that deserve wider distribution than a single market, and there's nothing wrong with listeners everywhere having the option of listening to them. And why should radio be any different from television, where everyone gets to see "American Idol" and nobody's demanding that it get replaced by local versions ("Des Moines Idol"), or cable, on which everyone gets to see HBO and HGTV and the Flaxseed Channel or whatever else is on those high-number digital tiers nobody watches? Talent is talent, good is good.
And that leads me to my ultimate point here: If you're a local host and you're looking at fewer and fewer opportunities for local hosts, you have to step up your game. You have to be better than anything else a station could put on the air instead of you, and you have to make yourself an economically better bet than for the station to take something off the satellite.
How do you do that? Just look at the most successful local hosts. Here's what they do:
1. Seize every local issue and own it. Is the Mayor proposing something stupid? Is the legislature poised to raise taxes again? Don't just talk about it for an hour. Seize it. Protest it. Hold rallies, launch campaigns, get in the papers and on TV news. Chances are, not only will no other radio station be doing that, no other media outlet will be paying attention, either, until you make it an issue, an issue with your name and face and call letters all over it.
2. Relate everything to the local listener. For every topic, ask yourself: Does this really matter to the local people? Why should they care? Why should local people, in particular, care more than anyone else? If you can't answer those questions, maybe you need another topic.
3. If it's something the national shows will or can talk about, don't. The goal is to be the ONLY host on the dial talking about a particular on-target topic, and that's easiest if it's a compelling local issue. If it's a typical national talk radio topic, ask yourself why someone would choose to hear YOU talking about it rather than, say, Rush or Hannity. If you don't have a ready answer for that ("because I'm good!" is not an adequate response), talk about something else.
Yet I hear local shows across the country that sound like they could be anywhere. That's not necessarily a good thing. If you're competing with shows that ARE "anywhere," you need to offer an alternative. If that's not a good enough reason, consider this: the only way for a local host to survive right now is to make himself or herself totally economically indispensable, more costly for the station to let go than to leave alone. You get there by establishing yourself as THE show where people will hear what's REALLY going on in town. In other words, make yourself indispensable for listeners, and that, ideally, will lead to your being indispensable to the folks who sign your paychecks.
I suppose what I'm saying is this: GREAT local radio should be the goal. Local for local's sake is pointless. And you need to be able to make a case to the GM and EVP and equity partners that you are a wiser investment of their dwindling resources than dumping you and dropping into the lineup something they got for barter. Okay, so it's not as glib as making a blanket indictment of "cookie-cutter radio," but it's reality.
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And now, for the last time this year (applause): my wife Fran and I are raising money for breast cancer (and other women's cancer) research and treatment at the Revlon Run/Walk in Los Angeles Saturday (5/9), and there's still time to donate. We're grateful for your support, especially in this economy, and it's a great cause. Go to http://tinyurl.com/perrydonate09 and donate; your help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
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One place to find stuff to talk about, whether you're local or national or podcasting or using a Mr. Microphone, is, of course, All Access News-Talk-Sports' very own Talk Topics column, where the show prep keeps piling up with items about stuff like the botched chicken giveaway, pet "psychics," the intersection of germophobia and SWINE FLU!!!, the reopening of the Statue of Liberty's crown, unemployment, celebrity arrests, how Facebook is bad -- no, good -- for your kids' grades, bank stress tests, economizing, the World's Oldest Dog, the late-arriving SWINE FLU!!! vaccine, divine salami, Paris Hilton's finances, a giant Pabst Blue Ribbon bottle, the possible demise of NHL hockey in Phoenix, how a bird smuggler gave himself away, the race car fueled by chocolate, bedbugs, death by beer pong, and much more. Also available: "10 Questions With" NextMedia WSGW and WSGW-FM/Saginaw OM/PD/morning host Dave Maurer and the rest of All Access with the usual great news coverage, columns, and resources, all for free, and, unlike what happened with the KFC coupons, we've got plenty on hand for everyone.
Once again, Fran and I thank all of the folks who donated for the cancer charity walk this year. Our pride in representing radio at the walk will more than counterbalance the fact that, as we cross the finish line at the 50 yard line of the L.A. Coliseum, we will be serenaded by Michael Bolton. I think we're up for that challenge, but it won't be easy.
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