small market but trying

[DaleGriffin]

sorry this post was in responmse to the thread below. Please Delete

I think local and being fun is the way to pull in a younger audince, granted I am 26 so my knowledge is limited. And maybe my station hooks some of the younger crowd tuning through the dial as a FM Talk station. But in order to keep them entertainment and information are key, the main key should be staying local. Tell people what is going on in your area, even if it is boring "old fart talk." Approach it differently and give it a fresh look. Being local and entertaining is what matters, My listeners can get national news the rest of the day via syndicated shows or the internet. My show is local so we talk local issues.

Dale Griffin
"The Attack Machine"<a href="http://www.talkradio101.com">
www.talkradio101.com</a><P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by DaleGriffin on 02/16/06 01:58 AM.</FONT></P>

 

[jcolletta275]

> I think local and being fun is the way to pull in a younger
> audince, granted I am 26 so my knowledge is limited. And
> maybe my station hooks some of the younger crowd tuning
> through the dial as a FM Talk station. But in order to keep
> them entertainment and information are key, the main key
> should be staying local. Tell people what is going on in
> your area, even if it is boring "old fart talk." Approach it
> differently and give it a fresh look. Being local and
> entertaining is what matters, My listeners can get national
> news the rest of the day via syndicated shows or the
> internet. My show is local so we talk local issues.
>
> Dale Griffin
> "The Attack Machine"
> www.talkradio101.com

Localism and entertainment value are always the keys to good talk radio. Sure you've got the monsters... Rush, Sean, etc. But look at local-oriented stations in big markets like WGN, KMOX, KGO... they're not getting those ratings by bartering in syndicated voices. And the hosts know they have to make it entertaining.

I think if you're looking to attract a younger audience, you have to put it in language that they're going to relate to. I'm not suggesting speaking about politics in ebonics... but look at talkers like Andrew Wilcow in Albany or Mac Watson in Richmond. They talk about local, state, national and world issues, and they do it in plain English with a sense of humor and reality (read: logic). Granted, I have no clue what their numbers are like in younger demos... but I can tell you that at age 21, I relate to them and listen to them whenever I get the chance. Of course, I'm not an average example either... I was listening to talk radio at the age of 10. But I know many others my age who currently listen as well, and the stations and hosts they listen to are local voices who speak plain English and are fun to listen to.

Localism and entertainment value. Rate those two factors on any given station, and you'll pretty easily figure out if the station is doing well or not.<P ID="signature">______________
The Radio Blog: regular updates are a good thing.
http://theradioblog.blogspot.com</P>

 

[Oldbones]

> I think local and being fun is the way to pull in a younger
> audince, granted I am 26 so my knowledge is limited. And
> maybe my station hooks some of the younger crowd tuning
> through the dial as a FM Talk station. But in order to keep
> them entertainment and information are key, the main key
> should be staying local. Tell people what is going on in
> your area, even if it is boring "old fart talk." Approach it
> differently and give it a fresh look. Being local and
> entertaining is what matters, My listeners can get national
> news the rest of the day via syndicated shows or the
> internet. My show is local so we talk local issues.


Trouble is, if you do "old fart talk", all you're gonna attract is old farts.

Local programming is all well and good, but it has to be quality programming. If you suck, or are boring no one will listen. The days when people would sit glued to the radio just because you were the "local" station are long gone.