THE SECRET OF SUCCESSFUL RADIO IS BASED ON PERSONALITY AND TALENT. THIS BOOK WILL TELL YOU HOW TO FIND AND DEVELOP THAT TALENT.
YOU WILL LEARN:
* How to make an aircheck session
productive and still keep the respect of your talent.
* To find and identify winning
talent
* To take a slow news day and still
build exciting programming around it
* What top programmers say about
getting results with airchecking
* Successful tips for improving
the news, by making the most of your news talent
*Improving an average voice and
how to move up the ladder
WHAT THE INDUSTRY IS SAYING ABOUT
Valerie Geller's NEW BOOK:
THE POWERFUL RADIO WORKBOOK
FOR PROGRAM DIRECTORS AND AIR TALENT
The Step-by-Step Method to Improve
On-Air Performance
"As radio becomes big business
and as technology makes 'radio in a box'
possible, we are likely to face
boring radio if we don't start developing strong talent now."
Randy Michaels
CEO Jacor Communications,
"Success is never just a lucky break. You need to personally plot out your
journey. 'The Powerful Radio Workbook' is the Thomas Bros. Road (road map)
guide to radio success!
Andy Vierra
PD
KXNT
CBS Owned News/Talk Radio AM 840
Las Vegas, NV
"A must read for today's on air talent and programmers, a road map for
tomorrow's stars."
Frank Raphael
Director of Programming and News
WCBS AM, (Newsradio 88) New York
"If you've ever asked, ' Why can't
I find any good talent out there?'
You need this book!"
Alan Eisenson
Program Director
WEVD, New York
"THE POWERFUL RADIO WORKBOOK is
full of the small but essential tricks of
the trade that usually take an
entire career to learn."
Lee Harris
Morning Anchor
1010 WINS/New York
"Now I've got the help I need to find and develop 'hit talent'"
David Gleason
Director AM Programming
Heftel Broadcasting Corp.
"No PD should be without this book!"
Jack Landreth
Program Director
WWTN/Nashville
Learn methods that work to develop
and grow winning talent through
airchecking.
Plus, tips and techniques
for Programmers, Managers, Talk Hosts.
Personalities
From Internationally-known News/Talk
consultant Valerie Geller, president of
Geller Media International.
A FEW TIPS FROM THE WORKBOOK
FORMATICS:
What is the secret of getting the staff to do formatics?
They will do them if they understand
why and the reasoning behind them.
Always explain "why" every
fifteen minutes you need to benchmark the call letters, the name of
the host, the station etc.
But formatics are not the
most important part of the show.
What you say on the air is.
Yes, I know Howard Stern pays
little or no attention to formatics,
but he is a rare exception.
Get me Howard Stern's ratings and I'll get off your case
about saying the call letters.
LEARN THE SECRETS OF WINNING
TOPIC SELECTION/SHOW PREP
from the POWERFUL RADIO WORKBOOK:
Ask hosts:
1) DO YOU CARE about what you are
talking about or did you pick a subject
because the author was in town
and could
show up at the station at 4:00
PM?
2) WHY THAT?
Are you genuinely curious or interested
in talking about this? Is this topic
a producer pick or your pick?
3) BE SPONTANEOUS. No matter
what was planned.
Be willing to drop everything
and do something ELSE immediately.
4) FOCUS THE QUESTION. The sure way to engage the audience.
5) WHAT DO YOU THINK? Do you
have an opinion on the topic?
(*A note here, you do not always
have to express it, but it is good for a
host to have knowledge of the issue
and have an opinion.)
6) TELL ME A STORY. Storytelling is what rivets an audience.
7) MAKE IT PERFECT. Anything
pre-taped or pre-recorded must be perfect.
THE GELLER MEDIA INTERNATIONAL
Powerful Radio Rules:
* Tell the truth
* Never be boring
* Speak in terms the listener can
picture
* Describe the details
* Listen to your own station
* Dare to be great
* Be who you are on the radio
Ask:
* Is it relevant?
* Does it matter?
* Do you care?
* Do your listeners care?
A FEW TIPS FROM THE WORKBOOK
ON EFFECTIVE AIRCHECKING
* Wait to critique until the aircheck
session. Don't scare your talent with
an impromptu meeting unless it's
an emergency.
* Never do an aircheck session
just before a show. Do it the following
day at a time that is mutually
convenient.
* Remember, the aircheck session
is for improvement of the host
only, not for the ego of the programmer.
The focus should be only on the show.
* Always use specific examples
backed up with tape. Tape every moment on air.
A discussion can degenerate quickly
if the actual facts of the case are in dispute.
* Let the talent select the tape.
Encourage him or her to pick a tape of
an "average" show where some of
the stuff was great, some good, some not so good.
* Be clear, direct and non-punitive.
No matter how angry you
are, avoid verbalizing your
negative reactions until you can express
it calmly and rationally.
* Be honest with talent.
Ask a lot of questions and listen. Ask why the
talent did what he or she did.
How did your host want the listeners to respond?
Did it seem to work?
If not, why?
* Look for truths, humor, passion
and showbiz elements.
* Do not put copies of aircheck
evaluations in the talent's personnel files.
Nor should you discuss an
aircheck session with others. Keep it private.
* End each session
with achievable goals that can easily be accomplished by the next
scheduled session. Try to
let the talent initiate goal-setting.