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Radio Station Callers with Opposite Views

M

mediawatcher

Hey on-air personalities:

How do you deal with radio show callers who express opinions that are opposite yours yet become agitated at you for daring to fight back? Besides just dropping their phone line and dismissing them as loonies what else do you do to either change them or impress your opinion on them?
 
Ronald Reagan is the best person to reference on this issue. Whenever anyone challenged Reagan on Television or Radio Reagan would always respond with a smile and a shake of the head. He could take fierce powerful looking opponent slightly shake his head to the masses while smiling as if to say, "poor little boy...doesn't quite understand this issue" The key is to barely acknowledge that the opponent is even a threat and casually right off their stance. Let the opponent state their entire opinion even pause and space out your answers. If you show no signs of being flustered the style to which you are presenting yourself will prove just how secure your stance is on the issue.

Another dude that is very very good at this is none other then Howard Stern. The other day Howard Stern was discussing an issue about a couple that made love in the street. Stern casually pronounced that this couple was perverted!!! Stern did this!! Stern labeled someone a pervert. The man that puts women in tickle chairs, spanks women with dead fish, etc.... labeled this couple perverted! He did this by causually and intimately just chatting as if he knew the issue.

In sum, don't make sound like your trying... Now a few dudes are going to totally disagree with this. Some would argue that you need to but in, cut off, and get super worked up on the air. In my opinion this will work for about two maybe three books, but pretty soon these people become flat out annoying and the people that are talking casually and inimately become good friends/companions with their audience. The conversational/relational types have the potential to become legends and the "performers" become trends. That is my opinion

> Hey on-air personalities:
>
> How do you deal with radio show callers who express opinions
> that are opposite yours yet become agitated at you for
> daring to fight back? Besides just dropping their phone line
> and dismissing them as loonies what else do you do to either
> change them or impress your opinion on them?
>
 
> The key is to barely acknowledge that the opponent is even
> a threat and casually right off their stance.

And, in so doing, allow talk radio to continue being subject to criticism by media scholars and the public at large for its gate-kept propagation of irrational pablum rather than well-rounded, all-sided, substantial discussion of the issues.
 
> > The key is to barely acknowledge that the opponent is
> even a threat and casually right off their stance.
>

Don't concern yourself with callers. Who cares about them? You should worry about the 98-percent of the audience who will never call, but are listening.

Just let them state their views without comment from you. When they're done, thank them and move on. Usually, they'll hang themselves by saying something really stupid hoping to get a comment from you or get into a verbal fight with you...when you say nothing other than thanks, they'll be really shocked and not know what else to say. Dismiss them. You're still the winner because they'll feel better for being able to say what they want to say...and they'll think they won when you have nothing to say in response.

Much more important are your listeners - not callers. So what ever makes it compelling for them to continue listening is what you should do. Use your instincts.
 
If you were a media scholar you would know that the "medium is the message" and the idea of anything being "well-rounded, all-sided, substantial discussion of the issue" is impossible. The idea of doing this is the equivalent of doing philosophy with smoke signals. It can't be done. I am sorry but that just isn't how radio works. Radio is a silly medium....period.

Being an on-air personality is acting. That is all it is....

> > The key is to barely acknowledge that the opponent is
> even
> > a threat and casually right off their stance.
>
> And, in so doing, allow talk radio to continue being subject
> to criticism by media scholars and the public at large for
> its gate-kept propagation of irrational pablum rather than
> well-rounded, all-sided, substantial discussion of the
> issues.
>
 
> Hey on-air personalities:
>
> How do you deal with radio show callers who express opinions
> that are opposite yours yet become agitated at you for
> daring to fight back? Besides just dropping their phone line
> and dismissing them as loonies what else do you do to either
> change them or impress your opinion on them?
>

At KCJJ we usually explain to the caller that they are unable to satisfy their wife/husband. That usually works out pretty well. :)
 
TommyLang Said:
> At KCJJ we usually explain to the caller that they are
> unable to satisfy their wife/husband. That usually works out
> pretty well. :)
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Before too much longer, you will be able to snatch the pebble out of the hand grasshopper.

- Mr. Specimencup
 
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