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New Midday Host for KDKA
- Thread starter Boss Radio
- Start date
I had the opportunity to listen to Kevin Miller in Nashville, and he was kind enough to talk to the Radio Programming class that I teach at Belmont University. Kevin is respectful of callers and has a nonconfrontational style that I think will play well in the friendly city of Pittsburgh. It may take awhile for listeners to get his dry sense of humor though.
I give them credit for looking past the usual suspects who have been kicking around the market for the last 15 years.
R
Radio_Realist
Guest
I give them credit for looking past the usual suspects who have been kicking around the market for the last 15 years.
Yeah, heaven forbid that they'd actually hire someone from Pittsburgh.
Live and Local. Right! They might as well have just plugged in some nationally syndicated show off of the satellite.
Yeah, heaven forbid that they'd actually hire someone from Pittsburgh.
Live and Local. Right! They might as well have just plugged in some nationally syndicated show off of the satellite.
Yes, heaven forbid you'd ever hire someone from outside the market.
Stations did that in the past and look what they wound up with:
Bob Prince, Mike Lange, Jack Bogut, O'Brien and Garry, Jim Quinn, Bob Dearborn, Don Berns, Al Julius, Bob DeCarlo, Jack Wheeler, Al "Jazzbeaux" Collins, Bumper Morgan, Mike Frazer, Alan Cox, Scott Paulsen, Clark Race, Ed and Wendy King, Jim Horne, John Cigna, Mike Pintek, Bill Currie, Bob Tracey, Lynn Cullen, Doug Hoerth, Bob Kmetz, Dave James, Hal Murray, Bob Wilson, Fred Winston, Harry West, Jackson Armstrong, Jim Woods, Roy Fox, Perry Marshall.
Since none of them were born and raised here, they might as well have just plugged in some nationally syndicated show off the satellite.
Stations did that in the past and look what they wound up with:
Bob Prince, Mike Lange, Jack Bogut, O'Brien and Garry, Jim Quinn, Bob Dearborn, Don Berns, Al Julius, Bob DeCarlo, Jack Wheeler, Al "Jazzbeaux" Collins, Bumper Morgan, Mike Frazer, Alan Cox, Scott Paulsen, Clark Race, Ed and Wendy King, Jim Horne, John Cigna, Mike Pintek, Bill Currie, Bob Tracey, Lynn Cullen, Doug Hoerth, Bob Kmetz, Dave James, Hal Murray, Bob Wilson, Fred Winston, Harry West, Jackson Armstrong, Jim Woods, Roy Fox, Perry Marshall.
Since none of them were born and raised here, they might as well have just plugged in some nationally syndicated show off the satellite.
One of the biggest problems with the medium today, in fact, is that stations are lazy about finding talent and only look locally for all but the highest-profile openings in a lot of cases, or view their only choices as local vs. syndication.
That's even true in New York, which once upon a time was where only the best of the best from around the country could work, and now is staffed by a lot of very average locals.
When your only options are Lynn Cullen and Doug Hoerth you might as well plug in the satellite (or sell the time to a snake oil purveyor, or hit "2" and "lower" on the transmitter).
There are talented people in other markets, and they can bring fresh viewpoints as well.
That's even true in New York, which once upon a time was where only the best of the best from around the country could work, and now is staffed by a lot of very average locals.
When your only options are Lynn Cullen and Doug Hoerth you might as well plug in the satellite (or sell the time to a snake oil purveyor, or hit "2" and "lower" on the transmitter).
There are talented people in other markets, and they can bring fresh viewpoints as well.
Indeed, parttimer, that was my point before the discussion got sidetracked (again) by the resident contrarian.
When 1250 needed new talent. they kept an open mind, which led them to hire Madden and the Cannon Brothers. I personally don't care for Madden's show, but there's no doubt he's been successful. The PD there (Bruce Gilbert) was willing to think outside the box when he could have played it safe and gone with George Von Benko and Keith James, who had been doing some of the fill-in work. Madden and the Cannons happened to be from Pittsburgh, but they hadn't done radio.
I have no idea how this new hire will work out for KDKA, but it's a more interesting path than turning the time over to someone like Dimitri or Ruth Ann Dailey or Rick Bergman.
When 1250 needed new talent. they kept an open mind, which led them to hire Madden and the Cannon Brothers. I personally don't care for Madden's show, but there's no doubt he's been successful. The PD there (Bruce Gilbert) was willing to think outside the box when he could have played it safe and gone with George Von Benko and Keith James, who had been doing some of the fill-in work. Madden and the Cannons happened to be from Pittsburgh, but they hadn't done radio.
I have no idea how this new hire will work out for KDKA, but it's a more interesting path than turning the time over to someone like Dimitri or Ruth Ann Dailey or Rick Bergman.
R
Radio_Realist
Guest
Madden and the Cannons happened to be from Pittsburgh, but they hadn't done radio.
Which is what I was referring to. Are there no newspaper columnists or other people in Pittsburgh who couldn't have made the transition over to local talk radio? What about people who are currently music disc jockeys or radio new reporters? Why would the only choices for a local talent to take over a local radio talk show in 2007 be those few people you named?
That long list of radio personalities you listed who moved to Pittsburgh from elsewhere moved here quite some time ago. You might not be aware, but things change. In 2007, the airwaves are over-saturated with satellite sourced programming. Right now, this year, what local radio needs are bona-fide local people doing local talk. If it was 1997, then bringing in a hired gun from out of town would make perfect sense. But it's not 1997 any more.
Which is what I was referring to. Are there no newspaper columnists or other people in Pittsburgh who couldn't have made the transition over to local talk radio? What about people who are currently music disc jockeys or radio new reporters? Why would the only choices for a local talent to take over a local radio talk show in 2007 be those few people you named?
That long list of radio personalities you listed who moved to Pittsburgh from elsewhere moved here quite some time ago. You might not be aware, but things change. In 2007, the airwaves are over-saturated with satellite sourced programming. Right now, this year, what local radio needs are bona-fide local people doing local talk. If it was 1997, then bringing in a hired gun from out of town would make perfect sense. But it's not 1997 any more.
Madden had done some radio, he filled in occasionally when Bruce Keidan was off.
You're confusing the timeframe. The original opening at 1250 was when they had rotating hosts and two nights per week were open after Tom McMillan quit to work for the Penguins. At that time, Cope was still doing two nights, McMillan had two and Ed Bouchette and Gerry Dulac teamed on Fridays after Bouchette struggled as a solo.
They had open on-air auditions and Madden emerged from that group. He quit 1250 when they wouldn't put him on full-time status. Frank Iorio was running things then. It was during that hiatus that he did some fill-ins for Keidan on WJAS and then on 1360. Madden then went back to 1250 full-time.
There was a brief time when 1360 was an all-sports station and Keidan was PD. He wanted to hire Madden for mornings, but Renda was never willing to commit much money to the station and would only authorize one local show. When 1250 switched to all-sports, Renda quickly flipped 1360 to non-sports talk and tried to grab the old WTAE listeners.
They had open on-air auditions and Madden emerged from that group. He quit 1250 when they wouldn't put him on full-time status. Frank Iorio was running things then. It was during that hiatus that he did some fill-ins for Keidan on WJAS and then on 1360. Madden then went back to 1250 full-time.
There was a brief time when 1360 was an all-sports station and Keidan was PD. He wanted to hire Madden for mornings, but Renda was never willing to commit much money to the station and would only authorize one local show. When 1250 switched to all-sports, Renda quickly flipped 1360 to non-sports talk and tried to grab the old WTAE listeners.
R
Radio_Realist
Guest
if you can get someone from another market who is already good
There's more to "good" that on-air presentation skills. "Good" is more than how one speaks words, "good" refers to the words one speaks. Someone skilled with words who doesn't know Pittsburgh very well will take as long to learn Pittsburgh well enough for his show to have good Pittsburgh content as it should take someone who knows Pittsburgh well enough to have strong Pittsburgh content from day one to learn to say his words well.
Either way, it'll take a break-in period. Whether it's time for the carpetbagger to learn the local scene, or time for the local expert to learn his way around a mic, it'll still take time.
I think that in 2007, with so many syndicated talk alternatives on the air already, KDKA would have a better chance of a fast start against the smooth-talking synidcated out of towners with someone who has ultra-strong local content right from day one, even if his presentation needs a little work.
There's more to "good" that on-air presentation skills. "Good" is more than how one speaks words, "good" refers to the words one speaks. Someone skilled with words who doesn't know Pittsburgh very well will take as long to learn Pittsburgh well enough for his show to have good Pittsburgh content as it should take someone who knows Pittsburgh well enough to have strong Pittsburgh content from day one to learn to say his words well.
Either way, it'll take a break-in period. Whether it's time for the carpetbagger to learn the local scene, or time for the local expert to learn his way around a mic, it'll still take time.
I think that in 2007, with so many syndicated talk alternatives on the air already, KDKA would have a better chance of a fast start against the smooth-talking synidcated out of towners with someone who has ultra-strong local content right from day one, even if his presentation needs a little work.
Whether it's a music format or long-form programming like talk, people make their first judgment on whether they like a host enough to keep listening on fundamental stuff like their voice, pacing and timing. In short, like any public speaker in any forum, they have to be entertaining from the get-go or they have no chance.
Phil Musick comes to mind... although his content wasn't bad, his weak, mousy voice and total lack of energy always bored me to tears. Keidan wasn't much better. This isn't conversation or a lecture, it's a SHOW. It's entertainment.
In my real life I've done a lot of sales and product training. Undoubtedly there were people who knew more about each subject than I did, but I was chosen for my presentation skills. That's what this is about as well.
The Limabaughs and Hannitys didn't get where they are just on content, it's the whole package.
Phil Musick comes to mind... although his content wasn't bad, his weak, mousy voice and total lack of energy always bored me to tears. Keidan wasn't much better. This isn't conversation or a lecture, it's a SHOW. It's entertainment.
In my real life I've done a lot of sales and product training. Undoubtedly there were people who knew more about each subject than I did, but I was chosen for my presentation skills. That's what this is about as well.
The Limabaughs and Hannitys didn't get where they are just on content, it's the whole package.
R
Radio_Realist
Guest
In short, like any public speaker in any forum, they have to be entertaining from the get-go or they have no chance.
You mean, someone with a voice like Myron Cope's would never get past his first show, right?
The thing is, there's more to being "entertaining" than having a smooth and sonorous voice. I don't dispute the two examples you listed who had boring presentations. But that only proves that Musick and Keidan were newspaper guys who couldn't move over to talk radio. It doesn't prove that no newspaper guy could make the move.
And a total lack of energy and being about as boring as listening to paint dry hasn't hurt Jack Bogut's career any.
In my real life I've done a lot of sales and product training. Undoubtedly there were people who knew more about each subject than I did, but I was chosen for my presentation skills. That's what this is about as well.
Then that's something that we share in common. There must be a balance between raw talent and content knowledge. And since finding a candidate who has both in large and equal measure is almost impossible, whoever hires someone is going to have to decide which shortcoming to live with while the new person improves whichever of the two is lacking.
But I submit that if one must choose between the two, I think that content knowledge is more important in this specific instance. Generally speaking is one thing, this specific situation is another.
One of the key principles of marketing warfare is to attack the weakness of your opponents' strength. Right now, every single talk program on the air in the mid-day time slot is a nationally syndicated talk host. The strength of a nationally syndicated talk host is his professional demeanor and presentation on the air, and his knowledge of details of topics of national interest. The weakness of that strength is a total lack of local content.
By putting another national style voice on the air, even if he is sitting in a studio with a Pittsburgh ZIP code, is countering the other stations' strength with the exact same thing they're already offering. That's why right now, in 2007, in Pittsburgh, countering those national syndicated hosts with someone who is extremely local, even if he's not as polished, attacks the weakness of the opponents' strength, and would have been a better tactic for KDKA to use.
Attacking the weakness of your opponents' strength is not the way to beat them and become #1. But KDKA can't win that fight anyway. But attacking the weakness of your opponents' strength is the best way to keep and hold a solid and profitable #2 position.
I really believe that the new guy on KDKA, by the time he learns the local area and catches on with the listeners, will be #3 behind Rush and Miller.
You mean, someone with a voice like Myron Cope's would never get past his first show, right?
The thing is, there's more to being "entertaining" than having a smooth and sonorous voice. I don't dispute the two examples you listed who had boring presentations. But that only proves that Musick and Keidan were newspaper guys who couldn't move over to talk radio. It doesn't prove that no newspaper guy could make the move.
And a total lack of energy and being about as boring as listening to paint dry hasn't hurt Jack Bogut's career any.
In my real life I've done a lot of sales and product training. Undoubtedly there were people who knew more about each subject than I did, but I was chosen for my presentation skills. That's what this is about as well.
Then that's something that we share in common. There must be a balance between raw talent and content knowledge. And since finding a candidate who has both in large and equal measure is almost impossible, whoever hires someone is going to have to decide which shortcoming to live with while the new person improves whichever of the two is lacking.
But I submit that if one must choose between the two, I think that content knowledge is more important in this specific instance. Generally speaking is one thing, this specific situation is another.
One of the key principles of marketing warfare is to attack the weakness of your opponents' strength. Right now, every single talk program on the air in the mid-day time slot is a nationally syndicated talk host. The strength of a nationally syndicated talk host is his professional demeanor and presentation on the air, and his knowledge of details of topics of national interest. The weakness of that strength is a total lack of local content.
By putting another national style voice on the air, even if he is sitting in a studio with a Pittsburgh ZIP code, is countering the other stations' strength with the exact same thing they're already offering. That's why right now, in 2007, in Pittsburgh, countering those national syndicated hosts with someone who is extremely local, even if he's not as polished, attacks the weakness of the opponents' strength, and would have been a better tactic for KDKA to use.
Attacking the weakness of your opponents' strength is not the way to beat them and become #1. But KDKA can't win that fight anyway. But attacking the weakness of your opponents' strength is the best way to keep and hold a solid and profitable #2 position.
I really believe that the new guy on KDKA, by the time he learns the local area and catches on with the listeners, will be #3 behind Rush and Miller.
I just fail to see how someone who is offered a job and accepts it is a "carpetbagger" whereas someone who has done nothing more than live here is an "expert". Under this rule, no business would go out and get the best employee for the job, just the best local employee.
I would question how many people that post here would leave their current job for a better offer in another town/city. Wouldn't they too then be "carpetbaggers"?
Certainly, in some businesses, having someone who knows the region is a benefit, but it is certainly not the be all, end all.
I would question how many people that post here would leave their current job for a better offer in another town/city. Wouldn't they too then be "carpetbaggers"?
Certainly, in some businesses, having someone who knows the region is a benefit, but it is certainly not the be all, end all.
R
Radio_Realist
Guest
Under this rule, no business would go out and get the best employee for the job, just the best local employee.
I'm not describing a generic, universal principle here. I'm saying that for a job in which a major amount of local knowledge and familiarity are an important and bona-fide requirement, then having spent a significant amount of time here and knowing the lay of the land is an important criteria for being the "best" employee.
If you ran a taxi company, you could hire mechanics from anywhere in the world. As long as the person knew how to fix cars, he could fix them in Pittsburgh, Seattle, or anywhere else. But for hiring drivers or dispatchers, employees who have to know the streets and alleys of the town really well, then a local candidate should have an edge over someone from out of town.
Remember, we're not talking about a DJ talking between records. We're talking about a radio talk host who needs to know about the local area if he's going to do a talk show with a high level of local content. And I presume that the new guy on KDKA will be expected to lead conversations about topics of local interest. If he's going to sit here in Pittsburgh and talk about the same national topics as the syndicated guys he's up against, then why bother having him sit in Pittsburgh?
I'm not describing a generic, universal principle here. I'm saying that for a job in which a major amount of local knowledge and familiarity are an important and bona-fide requirement, then having spent a significant amount of time here and knowing the lay of the land is an important criteria for being the "best" employee.
If you ran a taxi company, you could hire mechanics from anywhere in the world. As long as the person knew how to fix cars, he could fix them in Pittsburgh, Seattle, or anywhere else. But for hiring drivers or dispatchers, employees who have to know the streets and alleys of the town really well, then a local candidate should have an edge over someone from out of town.
Remember, we're not talking about a DJ talking between records. We're talking about a radio talk host who needs to know about the local area if he's going to do a talk show with a high level of local content. And I presume that the new guy on KDKA will be expected to lead conversations about topics of local interest. If he's going to sit here in Pittsburgh and talk about the same national topics as the syndicated guys he's up against, then why bother having him sit in Pittsburgh?
>>In short, like any public speaker in any forum, they have to be entertaining from the get-go or they have no chance.<<
You mean, someone with a voice like Myron Cope's would never get past his first show, right?
No, no, no. The point wasn't about voice quality, it was about entertainment value. And Myron had that right out of the box, because of his energy, his unique way of expressing himself and his willingness to take chances. Myron's approach is exactly what a talk show should be. Myron came to radio and TV through writing, but he always grasped the show biz aspect necessary for on-air work.
You mean, someone with a voice like Myron Cope's would never get past his first show, right?
No, no, no. The point wasn't about voice quality, it was about entertainment value. And Myron had that right out of the box, because of his energy, his unique way of expressing himself and his willingness to take chances. Myron's approach is exactly what a talk show should be. Myron came to radio and TV through writing, but he always grasped the show biz aspect necessary for on-air work.
Boss Radio said:
Couldn't have said it better.... you don't have to have a classic voice for it to work, just know how to use it.
And I'm honestly not sure that people WANT shows with high levels of local content anymore. Yes, there are local tax issues and local elections where intelligent discussion is a benefit, but I don't think anyone under 70 has the inclination to sit through that.
I think you stand a better chance as a local host with non-political entertainment talk (generically classified as FM talk by some). It can range from Stern wannabees to the Paulsen genre, but arguments about school taxes, or reiterating for the 10,000th time that the Pirates still stink after we built PNC Park are not going to draw any sort of a fan base.
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