It’s Kind Of A Funny Story...

The other day, I was listening to a podcast that a couple of friends of mine do, and it reminded me of the problem of determining what's funny for radio and... well, let me digress here for a minute.

It has been my privilege over the years to work with some very talented, creative people in radio. At least, I thought they were talented and creative, and their track record, at the time and since, would bear that out. But in more than one case, my superiors disagreed. I'd be called into the boss' office and told... well, more like asked whether the show on the air at that point was funny. Actually, the question was phrased, "Do you think this is funny? Do you think this is (expletive) funny? This is not (expletive) funny." i'd say yes, that it WAS funny, which would be met with sharp disagreement. And I'd be dispatched with the implicit order to somehow make the show funny.

One manager had a different way of putting it, which brings me back to my friends with the podcast. They're professional comedians, and at the time, several years ago, I was being charged with the job of molding them into radio hosts who could do what radio hosts need to do, like develop topics and do the formatics. The manager agreed I'd succeeded with that part, but had a question for me. She looked at me with a quizzical expression and asked one thing over and over:

"Where's the funny? I don't hear the funny."

The what? That was the first time I'd heard someone use "funny" as a noun, with an article, no less. Again, I tried to explain to her that the show was aimed at young males, a group of which she was definitely not a member and from which I had left to join the not-quite-as-young male demographic. Plus, I thought they were funny. But she kept telling me that she didn't "hear the funny." It didn't end well.

But you're a manager and you want something that's funny. After a lot of trial and error, I found that there's a formula that works. Ready? It's this:

1. Hire someone who's funny.
2. Give them the parameters of what they need to do.
3. Offer the host and producer the guidance and resources they need to do the job right.
4. Get out of the way.

Now, that can also apply to hiring people who aren't funny. You want to hire a host who can do an entertaining show about, say, politics? Try this:

1. Hire someone who's entertaining and smart.
2. Give them the parameters of what they need to do.
3. Offer the host and producer the guidance and resources they need to do the job right.
4. Get out of the way.

But wait, what about airchecks? Sure, if you must, but that's part of the third step; done right, it qualifies as guidance and resources. (Done wrong, it qualifies as a violation of the Geneva Convention) The key thing to remember is this: if you hire a creative person, let him or her be creative. Try to understand the creative mind, and how, often, you have to trust it to test the boundaries or try things and sometimes fail. Some bits don't work, some topics flop, but you have to let your talent see for himself or herself. Besides, sometimes, what you're sure won't work might surprise you when your host tries it out anyway.

And back to the podcast. I taught those guys a whole bunch about radio, and what they're doing now... isn't radio. They're swearing, they're rambling, they're talking about things you wouldn't dare say even when you're NOT on the radio, they're being foul and grumpy and angry and beyond profane. And I find it really entertaining. In fact, I listen to a lot of talented people on podcasts breaking a lot of radio "rules" and being compelling and interesting. I'm not suggesting you let your hosts swear and talk about body parts and threaten to eviscerate each other, but I'm saying that when I hear that stuff, it works for them. It's where their creative instincts are taking them. And, like several of those podcasts, it's helping them sell more live show tickets than ever. I have no doubt that if you took some of these guys and gave them the parameters of what they can and can't say on the radio, they'd be able to do it, but I'm not sure they'd want to. Being free of restrictions can be a lot of fun.

I'll address how podcasts are changing comedy in another column -- they're not radio, and they don't yet reach mass audiences (if they ever do), but there's value there that isn't measured in advertising dollars. In the meantime, your takeaway should be that for radio to thrive, it's not enough to hire someone who can read liner cards or recite show prep jokes with a deep voice or play prerecorded bits that worked on a sister station last week. Radio has to be more hospitable to people who approach the medium with their own ideas and sensibility, even if the General Manager doesn't think they're funny. In an era where audiences can find "the funny" in countless places other than radio, it would be nice to hear some fresh ideas on broadcast radio, too, and for the leash to be loosened a little bit.

(Oh, yeah, that podcast -- it's called "Walking the Room," with Greg Behrendt and Dave Anthony, and you can find it on iTunes, but beware that it's extremely unsafe for work or anyone who's sensitive to cursing of the rankest sort, aggression, implied violence, hoboes, and incessant references to Australian candy. Plus, they record it in a closet. Seriously, it'll take a few listens to get used to it and figure out what they're talking about, but they have a growing following who get it. And in the interest of full disclosure, I do work with yet another website with a podcast, Nerdist.com. But, again, podcasting, and how some people have finally found ways to make it work for them, is a topic for another column)

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Here's something for you creative types: Talk Topics, the show prep column at AllAccess.com, which is here and where you'll find hundreds of topics, conversation starters, kickers and news items from which you can build a show. While I offer my own commentary and stupid jokes in there, the material's meant not to be read verbatim so much as to give you an idea of what you can do with it. The rest is up to you. Among the goodness there this week: cameras watching what kids eat in the school cafeteria, a man arrested for possession of tortilla dough, some overreaction to the arrival of In-N-Out Burger in Texas this week, the reason that couple got lost in the Nevada wilderness, how four people were shot in an argument that started with a pregnant cat, another thing for which chocolate's good, Toronto's mystery odor, another guy peeing in a casino, how hockey has somehow become the focal point for the gay marriage debate, a very big reason to not let the bedbugs bite, the guy found living atop a Waffle House, the Queen's iPad, whether a court was justified in denying a breast cancer patient custody of her kids, whether using a discount coupon on the first date is a reason to end things right there, the return of the slashed-exercise-ball fetish guy, a war over "heart attack" sandwiches, and Larry the Cable Guy at a nudist camp. Plus much more. Add to that "10 Questions With..." Tim Montemayor, who's holding down mornings at the new SportsRadio 95.7 FM in San Francisco for the launch, and the rest of All Access with all the news and resources the radio industry needs, all in one place, and, um, that's a lot. Plus, it's free.

Hey, want a convenient way to have a rolling, updated list of all the topic headlines at Talk Topics with links to the individual articles? Sure you do. So follow @talktopics at Twotter and you'll get that. How about the top headlines in Net News? Follow @allaccess. And my personal incoherent ramblings? Easy: @pmsimon; it won't take up too much space on your timeline, but it might occasionally make you laugh. Or confuse you. Probably confuse you. I'm good at that.

And speaking of stuff I do outside of All Access that might confuse you, come on by pmsimon.com, my personal site, which has daily updates whether I have any ideas or not. Fun! But there's also the aforementioned Nerdist.com, which I edit and for which I write, and where you'll find me and several other nerds highlighting the best and worst of "nerd culture," which you might also find worth talking about on the radio. Those aren't related to All Access, so please don't blame Joel. It's on me.

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Thanks again to those of you who donated and/or sent good thoughts our way for last weekend's Revlon Run/Walk for Women, which went well, as walking should go (no trips, no accidental detours, just... a walk). Halle Berry and Alyson Hannigan were there; they say hello. (No, actually, I didn't get closer than about a half-block to them, or any other celebrity) And it was only some dust in my eye, I swear, when the elementary school class took the stage to honor their teacher, who died two weeks earlier of breast cancer, with a song and... oh, okay, but YOU try not crying when you see that. Anyway, I'll leave the donation link up for a few more weeks in case you're interested; it's here. But, again, thank you.

Perry Michael Simon
Editor
All Access News-Talk-Sports
psimon@allaccess.com
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