The People’s Choice

Are you in touch with what radio listeners want?

No. No, you are not. Okay, you might be, but I bet you're not, because you're in talk radio and you think like a talk radio person. You think people want to hear nothing but politics, and angry guy politics at that, so that's what you feed them. Or you're on social media a lot, and you see nothing but political sniping, and you think that everyone out there is all about that stuff. So that's what you do.

Friday morning, the latest NuVoodoo survey of likely PPM panelists was accompanied by an online survey of talk radio professionals, and they were all asked whether a topic is important to listeners. Needless to say, what the pros think is on listeners' minds and what's really on listeners' minds are different things. People are interested in the economy and how it affects them. They're interested in celebrity news. They're interested in health, consumer tips, true crime. Yes, they're interested in politics, too, but those other things are on their minds and they aren't hearing enough of them on the radio, because the pros don't think that's what they want.

There's a wide, wide range ot topics you're not talking about that listeners are interested in hearing. There's a wide range of viewpoints and perspectives that people want that you're not providing. The audience is diverse; talk radio is not. (It is striking to me, and apparently nobody else in the business, that TSBC's panels and presentations were 100% White.) The audience for what talk radio is doing is shrinking; the people who remain available to be attracted to talk radio and aren't listening now is vast...

...And they're being trained to expect to find what they want elsewhere. Podcasts. Public radio. Clubhouse. Social media. Games on their smartphones. Are you keeping up with that? Are you doing content that will appeal to people who have so many other options? Are you listening to what they're telling you?

I hope you are. I hope you do some research into what the available audience, not just your P1s, wants to hear. I hope you can look at some of the shows and stations that are succeeding with non-traditional talk and more diverse hosts and viewpoints and build on those. (Shouts to myTalk 107 in the Twin Cities and WSB's "Word on the Street," and I'll get in trouble for forgetting people I shouldn't forget so I'll shut up now.) Talk radio should be a big tent open to all; For decades, it's been a small tent with the flaps glued shut, closed to anyone but the insiders, who are unfortunately dying off. It's past time to let more people in, and the way to do that is to find out what they want and give it to them.

The trick is to know when you DON'T know what they want. That's step one.

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

Unusual topics? Things people care about? Funny stuff you can use to make your show more... what is that word again... oh, right, "fun"? It's all at All Access' show prep column Talk Topics. 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.

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. I'm also on Clubhouse at pmsimon, so if you're in there, feel free to follow me.

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

Two more things: One, you should be talking a lot about the vaccine, which is about as top-of-mind as topics get these days, and has a lot of angles to discuss, especially how hard it is in some places to get a shot. I finally got one the other day, and it was not easy or intuitive to get an appointment and that fact alone is a topic as much or more than the decision on whether to get the shot. Second, another reminder to register now for the 2021 virtual All Access Audio Summit, including my panel on moving from radio to podcasting, with Atlanta's Jeff and Callie Dauler and Steve Goldstein as the experts who have done what you're thinking of doing, and me as comic relief. It's on April 21st. Register now.

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