Break Time

Just put it away. Turn it off. Take a break. Go away for a bit.

This is advice I do not take myself, but it's good advice. Doomscrolling -- constantly scanning social media and absorbing all the bad news -- is toxic. Talking about nothing but the pandemic and politics is not conducive to mental health. We all know this, yet we go ahead and obsess over the bad news anyway. And if you're doing talk radio, it's pretty much your job to feed that beast, because the news is what you talk about, and talking about what's top-of-mind for your listeners is paramount. So you talk about death and testing and federal troops and protests and misery. That's where we are, and it's going to intensify over the next few months as the election nears.

On a purely show-material level, this is good. You won't have a shortage of news to talk about. Granted, it'll probably all be BAD news, but it's unlikely you'll have too many moments when your show's about to start and you have no material ready. (This is in sharp contrast to this column, which is a weekly exercise in "I have absolutely nothing to write about and nothing to say" right up to deadline.) There are times when there's too much to talk about. Your mission is right there, set up for you.

That's a sign that you should take that social media advice. Take a break from the bad news. It's a departure from what your PD and your consultant and your instinct will tell you, right? You talk about the bold headlines, the biggest stories, the stuff people are talking about on Twitter and Facebook. It may seem nonsensical to talk about other topics. But you need to take that break, because your audience needs to take that break, and social media will offer you support for that even if it seems like every post is about politics and disease. Turns out not every post is about politics and disease. Granted, politics and disease get a lot of comments, but when you read those comments, you can feel hypertension building through your circulatory system. And you'll notice that there are plenty of people talking about much, much lighter topics -- food, family, Taylor Swift -- and that those posts can provide a needed release from the parade of stress.

That's not to contend that you shouldn't be talking about the bad stuff. You HAVE to talk about the bad stuff. It's not just your job but your duty. But if that's ALL you talk about, you're contributing to the doomscrolling effect. You have plenty of time to discuss COVID-19 and Trump and protests and whatever else is dominating the news and still take an hour or a few segments to lighten things up. Look, right now, we're in pandemic business mode. Ratings, revenue, everything is still in a weird limbo. You can bend or break some rules now without the usual impact one way or another. Besides, can a few moments of levity and peace and, really, normal hurt you all that much? We -- hosts and listeners -- need that break.

But don't read the comments. Whatever other rules you break, stick to that one.

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Topics other than viruses and politics, you say? I just happen to have a lot of them for you at Talk Topics, All Access News-Talk-Sports' show prep column. (There are also a lot of pandemic and political topics, because you can't avoid 'em.). Find them by clicking here and/or following the Talk Topics Twitter feed at @talktopics with every story individually linked to the appropriate item. You'll also want to read "10 Questions With..." John Clay Wolfe, a guy who turned working on auto auctions into a unique weekly comedy-and-cars talk show on some big music stations and is now on an impressive roster of stations. His story is quite different and inspiring.

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Speaking of taking a break... talk to you next week.

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