From The Ground Up

Sometimes, you have to tear it down and rebuild from scratch. Or at least build from the ground up.

I thought about that in observing how radio is approaching expansion into podcasting and streaming, but it applies to the radio medium itself, too. As I've written way too many times, a lot of what happens in radio is predicated on what's been done before. That's understandable, because it's natural to base everything on experience. It's also natural to think, "let's do this because it worked before" or "can't do that because it flopped once" or "can't do that because nobody else has done it before."

That leads to today, when there's not a lot of innovation in radio programming. Formats are ossified; most formats are today what they were in 2000, and 1990. The adjustments made to please the PPM gods are set in stone now. Podcasts are falling into the same category, with any successes being followed by a ton of shows sounding the same. The style is the same, the spot placements are the same, the production is the same. And as radio continues to invade the podcast world, the idea that you can apply the lessons learned in radio to the new(er) medium is widespread.

Can we try something different?

Try this: Construct your radio stations, your podcasts, your web content, your social media from zero. Start with a blank page. Don't copy-and-paste a format, a style, anything from something that's been done before. Imagine reimagining.

As it turns out, there's no law saying that you have to adhere to the same clock everyone else uses. You don't have to use the same kind of imaging. You don't have to talk about the same topics. You don't have to have hosts that sound like, um, radio hosts. You don't have to do a true crime podcast or daily news update or an interview podcast like everyone else. You don't have to do anything that's already been done. You can apply lessons learned, but you can also approach the task of creating a new station or podcast as a chance to stretch your creative instincts and be different, damn the torpedoes.

And as for the blank page, remember: It's easier to paint outside the lines if there aren't any lines to begin with.

So, get rid of the lines. Start from zero. Think about what people want from a radio station or podcast. Think about what you would love to do on a creative level if only you could. And try to think about that without relying on your memories of what's come before, or what exists today. Yeah, you won't likely get to do that for the big radio operators right now, but you never know, and stations may very well land in the hands of buyers who aren't as deeply obligated to equity investors and are willing to see if they can do new things to grow revenue. And podcasts, by nature, are a blank page; there's no license, no facility, they don't exist until you make them.

Blank page. Empty lot. Start from zero and see what you can build.

=============================

Short one today, because I'm in pre-convention mode, but Talk Topics, the show prep column at All Access News-Talk-Sports, continues to bring you stuff to talk about that other show prep sites don't, plus stupid commentary from yours truly, all free when you click here and/or follow the Talk Topics Twitter feed at @talktopics with every story individually linked to the appropriate item.

Make sure you're subscribed to Today's Talk, the daily email newsletter with the top news stories in News, Talk, and Sports radio and podcasting. You can check off the appropriate boxes in your All Access account profile's Format Preferences and Email Preferences sections if you're not already getting it.

My podcast is "The Evening Bulletin with Perry Michael Simon," a quick (two minutes or less) daily thing, and you can get it by just clicking here, which should take you directly to the page or app that will work best for your device. It's also on Spotify; just search for it there, or ask for it on your Amazon Alexa-enabled device by saying "Alexa, play the Evening Bulletin podcast."

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.

=============================

Gonna be in Dallas for the unfortunately-titled Radio Show or for RAIN Summit Dallas? So will I. See you there.

Perry Michael Simon
Vice President/Editor, News-Talk-Sports and Podcast
AllAccess.com
psimon@allaccess.com
www.facebook.com/pmsimon
Twitter @pmsimon
Instagram @pmsimon