It's Like A Death In The Family

By John Frost
Goodratings Strategic Service

"When your favorite radio personality dies, it's not just a headline - it's like a death in your family", wrote Corey Deitz in about.com. "....the reaction to the sudden death of Kidd Kraddick wasn't because he was famous. It was because he was like a family member to hundreds of thousands of listeners."

I never worked with Kidd but we were both hired into Dallas radio by the same man, my now close personal friend Randy Brown. I could hear for myself Kidd's extraordinary talent but others, like Randy, told me of his compassion for chronically and terminally ill children. USA Today said, "He died doing what he loved, and his final day was spent selflessly focused on those special children that meant the world to him."

It is interesting that the USA Today article did not mention the format Kidd Kraddick was on, the music that he played, or his 25 minute music sweeps with no talk. There's nothing wrong with programming tactics but that's hardly how legacies—or brands---are made. "A vital brand has a "relationship" with loyal users not unlike a healthy relationship between two people."

"Radio's secret weapon in staying competitive....has always been how personal it can be. When you, a listener, decide to listen to a radio host, deejay, or personality over and over again, you are creating a commitment.

You are in a relationship. A very special relationship.

Maybe it's because the singularity of voice coupled with words is quite pure and without distraction. Video often offers way too much information through superfluous video cues that can easily distract from the purity of communication and empathy that radio delivers....warm and personal, funny, heated, emotional, informative, or just background noise." Corey Deitz

A radio station without humanity is simply not worth listening to. We can get that from Pandora and Slacker. A Christian music radio station without humanity is a waste!

"We are not outsiders of the human race....People get offended when we act like their mother or, worse, like an expert who is trying to "fix" them. Maybe a bit more identification with the human race is in order." Steve Brown

The talent in Christian radio can learn a lot from Kidd Kraddick.

"People will not always remember what you said. They will not always remember what you did. But they will always remember how you made them feel." John Maxwell