Humans are creatures of habit. When we’re in the middle of something it’s easy to fall into a routine and spend the bulk of our work hours doing the same thing week after week. At various times throughout my career…

During a crisis like our recent unprecedented winter storms people are reminded of the vital role terrestrial radio plays in keeping the public in the know and connected to the outside world. Whether you’re stuck on the roads in stand-still…

Every station I’ve worked for, or with, over the years has said the same thing when discussing imaging, ‘We need a lot more imaging.’ They all feel like their programming staff isn’t cranking out enough imaging because they’re ‘hearing the…

Terrestrial radio’s biggest advantage over digital competitors like Pandora, Spotify, Apple Music Radio and others is our ability to engage with our listeners on a daily basis. Those consistent calls to action throughout the day with contesting, phone topics and…

We’ve all been there, the sleepless nights before the book comes out, refreshing your screen the day of anxiously awaiting the arrival of new numbers, praying to the radio gods that they’ll take pity on you. Hoping against hope that…

Whether we like it or not our industry is changing. The changes weren’t caused by the ongoing pandemic, the pandemic simply made it more obvious by fueling the fire and speeding up changes that were already underway. This monumental shift…

Within any company it’s important to have a healthy balance of creatives and critics. However, since radio groups are responsible for creating and monetizing content on a daily basis, for us that balance is mission critical. That’s because a group…

The ability to wing it on air is a rare and valuable skill that’s hard to teach, tough to learn and nearly impossible to master. But, it can also be the downfall of an otherwise promising on air talent. That’s…

With the pandemic lingering on and ad revenues down 20 to 60% depending on market/format/group, its an easy time to worry about the future of our industry. Yes, there is light at the end of the tunnel thanks to the…

My first radio mentor was my father and, to this day, he’s still the one I turn to the most for advice. But, I’ll never forget what he told me when I first starting trying to venture out and do…

The main reason a lot of on-air talent don’t regularly create content for their station’s websites and social feeds is because they simply don’t know where to start. Just like figuring out your voice and personality on air, figuring out…

A worldwide crisis has a way of acting as an accelerate for change that was eventually going to happen anyway and I believe we’re seeing that within our industry right now. The pandemic has poured fuel on a fire, bringing…

Nobody is better suited to podcast than a trained radio pro, yet many talented on-air personalities are still reluctant to start podcasting. I understand why some assumed it was a passing fad when it began, but now there is mounting…

My entire career in radio I’ve been told to stay away from politics on any music format radio station and for the most part I’ve agreed with that, adhered to it and preached that same philosophy to most of the…

Even prior to the pandemic we were seeing a trend toward increased listening in middays across most markets. But after Covid uprooted all of our lives and drastically altered our daily routines, that shift became much more pronounced. That’s why…

A website is still a radio station’s most monetizable digital asset. Beyond that it’s a great branding and marketing tool to introduce new listeners to our stations and educate them on what we do. But, for a station’s website to…

If a station isn’t creating digital content it’s often an indicator that their on-air product is lacking. When an air-talent are just reading station liners and the weather there’s nothing to work with on the digital platforms. I talk a…

Currently about 40% of American workers are working from home due to the ongoing pandemic. Recently several companies including Google, Target, Microsoft, Ford and the New York Times have extended working from home through the summer of 2021. Across the…

As the pandemic looms, and sadly surges in some states, it continues to impact every aspect of our lives. Since Covid-19 hit the US depression rates are three times higher than normal, illegal drug use is up 36%, alcohol…

When I hired and managed air talent there were a few key things I listened for when going through aircheck demos to fill open positions. They varied slightly of course depending on the daypart we were trying to fill. But…

Despite what many outside of the industry might tell you, terrestrial radio isn’t dying, but it is changing. The problem is, not everybody has gotten the message. For years that change has been slow and gradual, but the pandemic has…

Blogging is one of the most effective ways to organically increase the traffic to a station’s website. That’s because blogging drastically improves SEO, search engine optimization. Websites with regularly updated blogs have 434% more indexed pages. Indexed pages are the…

As radio stations transition to multi-platform content creators we face more competition than ever. At one time our only concern was outworking, outsmarting and out-performing our fellow radio stations across town. But, for years now Pandora, Spotify and Satellite Radio…

There are only so many songs you can play within any given format if you want to win the ratings game. That’s why the old adage, ‘Its what you do between the records that makes the difference’, still holds…