Temperature's Rising

How prepared are you for something bad to happen?

I'm not talking about natural disasters or emergencies. I've told you enough about the need for that. No, I'm talking about what can happen when someone in your audience takes things to extremes. That's happened from time to time over the years, especially in talk radio, but it can happen anywhere for anyone in any format, and while you don't want to be paranoid, you can't let your guard down, either.

Whether you go back to Alan Berg or consider the latest threat to a host, radio personalities have had to deal with the unhinged for a long time. Women on the air, in particular, have been subjected to unwanted attention from obsessed fans and self-appointed enemies since Marconi's time. Radio hosts -- lucky you! -- experience some of the less desirable elements of celebrity without the potential for the kind of big paydays "real" celebrities can make. Superstar actors can afford mansions with big walls and security. Not too many radio people can do that.

But your radio station can prepare, and if you do talk radio, you should make sure your station provides security that goes beyond having a reception desk and a key card. 30 years ago, when I was at New Jersey 101.5, we installed a big electronically-controlled gate after we started to get threats from people perturbed by what our hosts were saying. A lot of radio stations have that kind of security -- parking behind gates and fences, key cards or getting "buzzed in" -- but what about when you're not in the relative safety of the studio?

Your personal information is out there. Even if you use an air name and keep your personal life off social media, if someone wants to track you down, it's very hard to stop them. (Did I say you don't want to be paranoid? Sorry.) So, insist on a few things: If you're parking for work in a public lot or area, someone should be walking you out to your car. Your home should have some kind of security, even if it's just a doorbell camera. At remotes or club appearances, there should be professional security, not just a street teamer. And management should take any threat seriously.

Why all of this, why now? Okay, then, have you even SEEN social media? Society went off the rails a few years back, in case you haven't noticed. People feel emboldened to threaten, insult, and intimidate. Crazy has been amplified and rewarded. Most of the crazy comes from trolls content to do their thing by posting memes but not actually doing anything more. On the other hand, some of it comes from people who are willing to act. You don't know which are which until it's too late.

So, take a look around. If the crazy decides to invade your station, is there anything to stop it? Are you safe getting to and from the station? How's your home and neighborhood? How much can people find out about you with a simple search -- Your address? Your family? What's your comfort level with all of that?

Most of you will never experience the terror of someone stalking you, or threatening you, or deciding that you are the enemy and need to be "dealt with." You won't have to call the police, and there won't be anyone threatening there when you look over your shoulder. But if you're on the air, and especially if you're voicing your opinions on the air, there's a chance that someone will act on their obsessions. Even if it's just the most basic of precautions, it can't hurt to be a little more careful.

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

Sorry, I don't have a clever segue from that to the plug for All Access News-Talk-Sports' Talk Topics show prep page. Click here for that, and you can also follow the Talk Topics Twitter feed at @talktopics and find 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 I'm on Mastodon at @pmsimon@c.im.

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

On the other hand, radio host safety might be a problem AI can solve. If there are no human hosts left, there's nobody to threaten. Though I suppose someone could threaten to pull the plug on the server....

Perry Michael Simon
Senior Vice President/Editor-in-Chief and News-Talk-Sports-Podcasting Editor
AllAccess.com
psimon@allaccess.com
Twitter @pmsimon
Mastodon @pmsimon@c.im