'Be The Star Player'

There is a radio station based in the city I live in that isn’t a great ratings performer.
Each book that comes out they have either held their lowly position or gone down slightly.
It’s a little sad to see because it is a station with great potential.
They just seem happy to plod along and maintain their current status.
I have been listening to them on and off for the past week trying to figure out what it is that isn’t working for them.
The list is long.
The music is wrong, the focus is wrong and their overall image is disconnected.
However, that’s not what interests me.
I pay special attention to the presenters.
Even with a poorly focussed product, a good presenter can pull decent ratings out of the fire.
But in order to do this, they need goals. They need direction.
It’s obvious, listening to this station, that they get none of these.

Today I listened for one-hour non-stop.
I ended up shouting at my radio (I can get a bit passionate about bad/good presentation)!
‘Stop talking’, I cried. ‘For the love of God, quit talking now’!!

I’ll give you an example of what I was listening to and why I got a little carried away.
Let’s say the station is an Oldies format. Just for argument’s sake.
And let’s say I was listening to the afternoon drive presenter.
The first thing that drove me crazy was the amount of crutches he used.
“A very good afternoon to you”
“Hope all is well in your world”
“How is your Friday afternoon going for you”
“The weather is awful out there today”, that sort of thing.

Next was the biggest crutch of all: the time check.
It was great to know that it was “5:15” and then”5:21” and then”5:25” and let’s not forget “5:31”.
I would never have thought to look at my watch if I needed to know the exact time (every five minutes)!

Then there was the needless back sell.
An example being, “That was Elvis Presley there”, (no kidding).
This was followed by more needless back selling that told us nothing, moved the station no where and sounded like the presenter was speaking just for the sake of it (which he was).

The biggest crime I heard, however, was two fold.
In this one particular link, the presenter proceeded to do a piece about Lindsay Lohan, the actress.
This could be a fine piece of showbiz fluff.
However, let’s remember the format here.
We’re talking Oldies.
We’re concentrating on an audience that enjoys that style of music and the people that went along with it.
Is Lindsay Lohan someone that an Oldies audience will relate to?
In my opinion, no.
To me, it’s like working on a Country format and doing a major piece of 50 Cent,
What is the point?
Well, you say, she’s a big star.
That’s true. Sometimes big stars are worth the mention.
That could come down to you making a programming decision on that one yourself. I only give my opinion on that.
However, the Lindsay Lohan piece lasted a full two minutes and twenty three seconds, (yes, I did time it. Pathetic, I know)!
That’s a lot of time on one idea. On a music station.
The killer for me, though, was the fact that the presenter was reading it. Out of a magazine. A magazine that I had read last week.
I remember the article. I remember sitting down and reading the very same article. Word for word.
He was reading something to me that I had read for myself one week ago.
Why did he do this?

He did this because no more is expected of him.
The station’s standards are low.
Their expectations are low.
Their level of commitment is low.
Their basic requirements are low.
Their feed back to the presenters is low.

They really sound as if they don’t care.
Why should he put any extra effort into his link if he doesn’t feel the need?
The PD won’t say anything.
The GM won’t notice.
Why bother?
The very fact that it ‘sounds’ as though he his presenting is enough for him.
By reading an article, he is giving the listener nothing.
If you are going to present a piece on Lindsay Lohan, wouldn’t it be better to put it into your own words? Put your own unique spin on it? Make it your own?
The journalist that wrote the piece did just that. Why would a radio person be lazy and think that that was good enough.
Well, possibly for that very reason: it’s just ‘good enough’.
Not ‘good’, just ‘good enough’.

Even if the expectations placed on you by your PD are low, there is no reason to plummet to that level.

That presenter let himself down.
He didn’t let the station down (they’re doing a pretty good job of that themselves, without his help).
For the four hours on the air, he was the radio station. He could have made it sound like the market leader, just by raising his game.
He could have related to me and been my friend and sounded the same as me.
Instead he was just another ‘DJ’, going through the motions waiting to go home.
In fact he said so:
“I’ll be here until six o’clock”.
He actually told us when he was quitting work. It was obviously on his mind.

No matter the feed back or level of expectation – you be the best you can be.
You give it all you can give it.
Hey, if the station is performing poorly and you are performing brilliantly, just think how you will stand out!
Your work rate will sound amazing compared to any lethargic co-workers that happen to be on the schedule.
You will be the main person on the station.
That presenter I listened to didn’t sound bothered and neither was I.
I won’t be listening to him again.


To find out more about being the ‘Star Player’ contact brian@bmacmedia.com

http://www.bmacmedia.com
Passionate About Radio.