Think Fast(er)

A few weeks ago, I revisited a topic that I've talked a lot about before, how social media has altered the news cycle and how that means talk radio needs to keep up with news breaking around the clock. After this week, I have to revise my remarks. News isn't just changing every hour, it's practically changing by the minute. Whatever the big story is when you go to sleep, it's old news the second you wake up. It's quite remarkable, actually: Just when you're formulated your opinion on one thing, there are two more even bigger stories seizing the moment.

There's opportunity here. Let me explain.

The speed by which news is breaking highlights a strategic advantage, however shared, that radio has over the increasingly competitive on-demand audio space. Podcasts aren't designed for breaking news. The moment a podcast posts, it's by definition dated. Once upon a time, there was time for the kind of in-depth analysis that a political podcast can do, but now, by the time the on-demand listener fires up the show, there might be -- usually IS -- something in the news that eclipses whatever the podcast has to say. I've found myself skipping political podcasts lately because I want to hear what's happening now, not a day or two ago. And for that, there are two go-tos: social media and news-talk radio.

It's something I think traditional political talk radio should be stressing. Why wait when you can hear talk about what's happening now, right now? And with more entertainment value and depth than a 140-character post? Live and immediate is a strategic advantage for radio.

This requires, of course, that hosts and producers throw out some of talk radio's playbook. Show prep, if you're talking about what's going on in Washington, isn't what it used to be, finding stories and crafting a position and planning out how you're going to approach it and tease it and who you're going to interview. Now, it's one eye on Twitter, the other on cable news, and reaction to things as they break. You need to have your experts and pundits (oh, how I hate when you interview pundits, but that's another column) lined up and available at a moment's notice. You have to quickly have an opinion and reaction ready for anything, even if you're inclined first to just let your jaw drop to the floor. It's a different world, and talk radio has to do things differently to keep up.

But you can do it. And if talk radio is to be relevant as we move forward, and relevant to a larger audience than the (JARGON ALERT) P1 listeners, adjusting what you do to a much, much, MUCH faster paced news cycle. (It's actually something I can see being a prerequisite in the talk show host hiring process, the ability to think fast when the news changes.) News-talk radio used to be the place everyone would turn to find out about breaking news, and even if the role is now shared, it can still be just that. Seize the moment.

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But politics isn't everything. Whether you do a radio show or a podcast or just want something to talk about at lunch, you should be using All Access News-Talk-Sports' Talk Topics, which has stories ranging from thought-provoking to silly and from the latest news to evergreen stuff, and it's all available for absolutely free by clicking here and/or by following the Talk Topics Twitter feed at @talktopics with every story individually linked to the appropriate item. And there's the Podcasting section at AllAccess.com/podcasts. Also, don't miss "10 Questions With..." Jim Yelton, who's producing and hosting a new syndicated talk show about nerd culture, "Geek Universe." You know how I feel about geek stuff, considering my resumé. It's a category broadcast radio should be pursuing. Jim's doing it, and he has some good insight about why nerd culture has become everyone's culture. Read it.

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You can follow my personal Twitter account at @pmsimon, and my Instagram account (same handle, @pmsimon) as well. And you can find me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pmsimon, and at pmsimon.com.

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If I didn't mention it last week, thanks to everyone who came out to the Worldwide Radio Summit last week, which ended not only with a nice gathering sponsored by ABC Radio but with a Wilmer Valderrama sighting at the hotel pool next door, which is such a Hollywood thing that it hurts. You really don't live here until you've seen Wilmer Valderrama and/or Ron Jeremy in person when you least expect it. Hey, I don't make the rules.

Perry Michael Simon
Vice President/Editor, News-Talk-Sports and Podcast
AllAccess.com
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