7 ingredients for talent

I have been reading a great blog by radio consultant Larry Gifford who has set himself the almost impossible task of defining talent - and in particular radio talent.  He is also the host of the American Radio Stuff Podcast

He has narrowed the magic formula for radio talent down to 7 ingredients.  The first ingredient is to actually 'have something to say.'  It really does not require any talent at all to say "that was and this is."  It takes someone who cares and has passion, thinks and has a point of view, to make it as a broadcaster.

His second ingredient he calls 'make eye contact with the listener' what he means by this, I think in the UK, we would call 'stay grounded,'  live the lives of your listener, travel on the bus, shop in the supermarket.

Third is 'be hungry' that's about loving the business of radio and this works for Podcasting too.  It is also a little about the obsessiveness and attention to detail that verges on o.c.d. that you find in a lot of successful talented people.

Fourth is 'be now' a horribly American saying -  but very true in an age of instant media gratification.  So - what's going on right now?  Always forward looking rather than backward sounding.  Be tomorrow's headlines rather than yesterday's news.

Number five brings something called  'social currency' - he says arm your listener with shareable content.  In talk format we have been doing this for years.  That is looking for content that is so compelling a core listener will say to a friend 'have you heard about this amazing thing on XYZ radio? You really need to give them a listen?'

Number six involves the station management.  They can sometimes be the weakest link, particularly if you, as a presenter, do not actually know what they want from you?  Gifford suggests you ask the following questions:

What do you expect of me?
What is the target audience?
Where are we trying to go with this radio station?
Who are our competitors on either side?
Who am I trying to take listeners from?

You could easily apply all of those questions if you are producing a Podcast.

Ingredient seven is the ability to tell stories.  Stories that are personal and engaging and emotionally compelling engage more with the brain.  He has a good reason for this that you can read about on his blog. I also have to say I think Gifford has borrowed this idea from Radio Mentor Valerie Geller who has been saying the same for many years.  To find out more search Larry Gifford with two f's on Google. 

#Blog Alert When DJ's go bad

What do you do when as a Programme Manager your talent throws their toys out of the pram? Or you are a Producer of a live show when your presenter suddenly has a melt down?

1.Act Normally: Try not to feed off their emotional outburst and stay calm.  In the real world that doesn't always work .. but try.

2.What's wrong? Find out exactly what is bugging them.. remember it might not be that their coffee has no sugar in it - the real reason might be something else - like a family problem at home.

3.Behaviour: Bad behaviour should not be tolerated, but don't take it personally.  I use a particular stare when my talent kicks a chair or slams their fist down. (I call it the disappointed parent)  But I don't get cross with them.

4 Fear: Sometimes it's just insecurity - talent are an emotional insecure lot.  So reassure them, tell them they are doing fine and are valued. Love your talent.

5.Find a Solution: Ask them what they want? If reasonable then provide it! If they really want their papers cut and stories stuck on a bit of paper - do it. (I had to once and buy the bloody glue as well)

#Copyright Fright

the day #LBC973 got told off by the BBC.  It seemed like a good idea to play something to fill the small hours of the night when nobody called in.  It was a bad idea to pick "Hancock's Half Hour" but it had been released on record so what's the problem?

The problem was that the Producer in question decided to play a whole episode.  Three weeks later my boss Robin got a polite letter from the BBC it read something like this.

We notice that on the XX of XX you decided to play a whole episode of "Hancock's Half Hour." On this occasion we will not charge your radio station for this performance as we believe that you made a genuine error but for your reference here is a breakdown of performance cost that you will incur should you decide to broadcast again without permission.

It then went on to list every cast performer and their fees.  "The Estate of Kenneth Williams £80.05 - The Estate of Sydney James £90.05." and so it went on.  What the 5p was all about I am not sure.

So why did the BBC send us a bill for a properly released record?  I mean LBC had a PRS/MCPS licence .. aha BUT the BBC comedy releases were not signatories to BIEM (The world copyright protection society)  - This is the complicated world of copyright and how you can easily land yourself in a pile of copyright crap.

3s A Crowd

Ultimately #radio is the relationship between broadcaster (singular) and listener (singular) and adding a third person or more should be done with caution.  OK I am talking about radio shows that are interactive phone, text, social media.

When a guest is introduced they become a third person in the conversation.  It's rather like being at a party chatting away to your friend when another person bounds up and your friend suddenly ignores you and just talks to this new third person.  How very rude! But that scenario happens time and again on radio shows, when the listener is completely ignored as the host indulges the guest.

If the show does not have interactivity there is already an expectation from the listener that although they will not be included in the conversation the host will make sure to ask questions that still keeps the listener onboard and on the same journey.  Again there are hosts who might know their guest personally and start talking about irrelevant personal experiences, which again alienate the listener.

Being Boring

Some presenters mistake their private lives, the endless and dull discussion of their private life, as 'personality' radio. Sure the odd mention of the family is OK but don't endlessly talk about yourself - it's boring. Personal views, though are universal and interesting and can be related to by the listener. source: Valerie Geller

Valerie is about 90% right, my caveat - if you can take something from your private life and use it as an example of a personal view, that's fine.  But vacuously chatting about everyday things, is frankly boring radio.

Doggie Fashion

You've got to treat people like dogs.  Another one of those interesting chats at my health club.  This from someone who is a team leader.  Although it sounds like a quote from 'The Office' TV show, I think he is right.  Anyone who has watched Cesar Millan will know that dogs like to be part of the pack, they like to know boundaries and like to be encouraged,  much like people, we like to know we can trust our boss that they will encourage and reward our hard work.

"Peace, relaxation, trust, respect; that is my goal" That's what Cesar says about looking after your dog and again you could borrow that quote, albeit swap Peace and relaxtion for the word calm and you have the mantra of many of the business gurus of our age.

The radio station is very much a 'pack' it's a close-knit group of people, often working anti social hours in close proximity of each other.  Within that pack there will be leaders, they should be assertive and create an environment where everybody knows their place but has the opportunity to succeed and improve.  And there should be regular rewards, that doesn't just mean monetary.

So treat you really should treat your staff life dogs.

It's all about ME

Human connection, that's what talk radio is all about.  They will listen to issues that involve them.  That's the view of Radio Consultant Valerie Geller.  She also thinks humour plays a crucial role in that connection.

Me issues about health, money or stories that appeal to an emotion and that tell the truth.  Whatever you do it should never be boring.  Read more about Valerie Geller and her new book 'Beyond Powerful Radio.'

Secret of great radio

Is easy, just stick with it.  Working with Doug Urbanski the other week I got a real insight on how US radio functions.  It's a billion dollar business.  So the big question, what makes a great talk radio show?  His answer was simple, just stick with it, and do it year after year after year. 

He told me of a talk show on WOR 710 a station in New York that began in 1928 and when the host eventually died he was replaced by his son. The reason? The show did well and generations of New Yorkers had listened the host and then his son were part of the family. 

There is a strong and quite intimate bond between listener and host in the talk format far more than some of the other music format stations.  I guess that's because after a while you get learn about a presenter, their likes, dislikes and yes they do become part of the family.

A right-wing slut

How far can you go? Great radio goes to the boundary but should never cross it.  But how do you know when you have pushed that little bit too far?  Mmmm I am not too sure. I have a kind of answer in it mostly comes from that kind of gut feeling that maybe we should not have said that on air.

Liberal Talk Show host Ed Shultz might be trying too hard to out shock-jock Rush Limbaugh and his like, as he decided to describe conservative radio host Laura Ingraham as a slut.  Now the meaning of the word slut is prostitute and in the UK that would be classed as a vulgarism and when used personally against someone it would be considered defamatory and likely to get a radio station in more hot water than a simple let-slipped f word.

MSNBC who syndicate the show have removed Shultz for one week without pay and he has made copious apologies on TV, radio and social media.  I dislike purely personal attacks.  Be as rude as you like about policy and the things people do in their public life but make an attack at a private level and that is quite wrong.

You still should travel up to that border, make compelling radio and always run away from the bland 'BBC local radio drivel' the populates much of the talk shows here in the UK.

The Show Must Go On

From a dose of the squirts to projectile vomiting the show went on.  It's one of those things about our business that being ill does not always fit in with your on air schedule.  It is time I heaped praise upon some of my past Host's who carried on in the face of adversity.

The first in my sick hall of fame must be Pete Murray who about 15 minutes before his show was violently sick in the loo and came out a nasty shade of green, noticeable because Pete always had a perma-tan completion.  He thought he had a bad case of food poisoning and went into a great deal of detail about his bowel movements and how many times sick he had been.  I suggested that he go home.  "It's too late and I am not going to let you all down." he said.  Armed with a Tesco carrier bag to be sick in and instructions to all staff to keep the nearest loo free, Pete carried on broadcasting.

The second distinguished member who was actually a guest on a recorded show, arrived looking a little green around the gills.  It was a book interview with Host Therese Birch and she sat the guest down in the studio, the red light on and the tape rolling she asked her first question. "What gave you the inspiration to write the book?" With that the guest jumped up put his hand over his mouth and ran out of the studio.

Unfortunately for the newsroom that's as far as he got and he was very ill into the waste paper basket next to the IRN Editor who turned to the guest and exclaimed "Jesus, what kind of a grilling is she giving you in there?"

A quick admission of my own self-inflicted illness, after spending most of the previous night celebrating a major sponsor signing, I was very unwell the next day.  As the Producer and Studio Producer I had to produce the days show in question and drive the desk (panel) As the one o'clock news approached I knew I could choose to be ill in the studio or in the toilet just behind it, I chose the latter and managed to hang on to the news.

Unfortunately the news was only three minutes long and I was rather unwell for about four minutes, when I returned I had missed the op and the news had finished and there was an eery silence in the control room, broken only by the Host screaming on the talkback, 'we're off the air, we're off the air!'

Finally Sandi Toksvig at a live OB (Remote) from the BT Tower in London.  She spent most of the show running up the little flight of stairs at the top of the tower that led to the loo.  Despite having a really unpleasant attack of the runs she carried on in front of a live studio audience and nobody except the production team knew the difference.  Well as they say the show must go on.

Sex and Angela Rippon

Sex with Angela Rippon. She claims that viewers don't care about sex or age when it comes to presenters.  I love Angela and worked with her for quite a few years at LBC, we had a fantastic nickname for her which I just can't tell you, apart from it had the initials T.T.  But is she right, do we like to see beautiful people on TV? Does age work for or against you in TV and radio?

I think she is probably wrong, men like to see boobs and women beefcake and thus it always was. I still admire her not worrying about make-up in her latest TV foray.  I would personally describe her as a tough old bird with a heart of gold.  I remember walking down a side road in Nottinghill one day, years after Angela had left LBC and there was a screech of brakes beside me and it was Angela waving out of the window.  "How are you?" She said. "I've just been playing tennis and I won."  Yes Angela you are a winner and my favourite quote form you in today's piece in the Telegraph:

“It may sound like a morbid thing to say but I’m 66 – I don’t know how many years I have left. My father, who was a Royal Marine, was a huge influence on me. He always said, ‘I never want to die with the words “if only” on my lips.’” - Go for it Angela I hope to follow on in your shadow.

Twiggy was So Good

Twiggy who still is the face of fashion although now for Marks and Spencer, ( I think that was a brilliant coup for the store as she is the perfect choice for their brand,) came into the studio - some years ago. Before she got her deal with M&S, she was promoting 'So Good' a soya alternative to milk.

It's interesting that most people of her celebrity standing would have an entourage around her, not Twiggy, she came down to the studio on her own lugging a great big cool box of the soya milk in one hand and in the other she had a copy of the Daily Mirror.

Like the professional she is, she had also turned up a good 30 minutes before her interview, so she plonked herself down beside me and after telling me I could keep the cool box, (which we still have, I lugged it back on the tube minus the soya milk) she started flicking through the Mirror.  It was then that she began talking about some of the stories in the paper, she spoke in a most cogent way about her take on the news.  I was really impressed, so when I heard a few months later she had been picked to co-present 'This Morning' the ITV daytime show I thought she would be really rather good at it.

Turned out I was wrong.  I caught an episode of the show and it was a total car crash.  I don't know why,? Maybe Twiggy wasn't comfortable about the mechanics of actually presenting live TV it might have been just too much for her?

Getting celebs to present radio or TV shows is often, in my experience, a big mistake.  Great guests and celebrities don't always make the transition to being great presenters.  So if you are a PD thinking about getting a celeb in ...maybe do a few 'dry runs' first just to see if they have the skills to do the job.

Don't drink and drive

Peter Stringfellow to whom the Daily Mail describes as a Lothario is very good company, I think? Some years ago we invited him to do a series of shows on LBC.  I was the studio producer and he would turn up with a collection of beautiful people (female and male) and five bottles of Bollinger Champagne, well I can certainly remember the first half hour of the show but after that it all gets a bit hazy.

The truth was we all, including the Producer, got completely smashed.  I think it was during one of those happy but hazy programmes it was decided we should do the show live from 'Limelight' - then a cutting edge nightclub in London.  

It was one of the most bizarre OB's I have ever attended.  At the club there were the usual beautiful people interspersed with really quite elderly LBC listeners.  For some reason we broadcast the actual show away from the nightclub area in the back of the building, which was an old Church.

We also had a bevvy of celebs, a man with a giant python and Sinitta who my senior manager here at home managed to tip into her lap a whole pint of beer.  Happy if slightly weird times.

For the journey

Your life is your story and everybody loves a good story.  OK so we don't all have roller-coaster exciting lives but you will be surprised how a conversation with your daughter or a chat with a friend can be used as material. Here are a few points to ponder by the way you can take this structure to create phone-in topics, documentary's and programme pieces:




Draw your listener in with a well crafted headline.
This is the focus of your chosen subject and it always contains a relevant question to ask the listener.  It will set the tone of the topic and the way you want a listener to react to it.

Get to the point
Once you've hit the ground running get to the point quickly and then fill in the details. See yourself as a hunter; hunting for an audience. You can put the trap out but if you don't set the bait you're not going to get your catch.

Empathy
My favourite word and remember it is a two-way street.  Create empathy for the subject by using personal experience, create empathy for your listener by saying to yourself ..what do they want to hear?

Make em' laugh
As they once said in Hollywood.  Even a serious topic can have light and shade even if the humour is irony.

And that's the way it is.
Give your audience closure.  Sum up at the end of a topic, say what you think and give your listener something to go away and think about.

So finally take each of these points and use them to structure your next topic and enjoy your story telling.

Just Say No

War of the Worlds with Jeff Wayne a brilliant spectacle and great music.  We were invited to see the show at the 02 last Sunday and it is a marvelous piece of work, faithful to the original book with some of the original stars of the record and new performances including Jason Donovan doing a very passable David Essex impression, albeit with an Aussie accent.

In contrast to this is the recent film version of War of the Worlds with Tom Cruise which I personally didn't like very much. It was too American and seemed to have lost the charm of the original story.  Back to Jeff Wayne - when the Speilberg/Cruise film was being planned Jeff got an invitation to see Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise who were keen to use the Wayne composed music for their film.

As a Radio Producer the hardest thing you can do is to say no.  No to pushy PR people who promise all sorts of freebies if you cover their event.  No to presenters who want to do something self-indulgent on air that has nothing to do with their show.  And no to yourself when deep down you don't think a show is going in the right direction and you know you need to change it.

So Jeff Wayne meets Spielberg and Cruise and they outline the film for him and explain the revised plot.  And Jeff had that feeling deep down.  I guess he thought that their treatment of the WotWos was quite right for his music.  If you have ever met Jeff Wayne you will know what a fantastic, decent man he is and also what a strength of character he also has, because he turned to Steven and Tom and said NO he wouldn't release the rights to his music. 

I wonder if they were surprised? In hindsight Jeff did the right thing, I think his composition would have jarred with the film and I am glad Jeff had the courage to say NO.

Is there a doctor in the house?

'Mad mean' Gillian McKeith, or why I regretted having her as a regular guest on a show I once produced. This was at a time when she had a regular TV show, speaking of regular she spent a lot of time looking at peoples poo to determine whether they were healthy or not. I thought she would be the ideal person to make up my healthy 'family' that I created for a daily change your life show I was producing.

After a lot of wheeler-dealing with her agent I negotiated a reasonable fee for a monthly appearance, as a value-for-money deal she would also record a few lines of wisdom that would be played during every show. I also got them to agree we could also use her image and create editorial on our website.

Her first appearance was good, she has a great passion for healthy eating and I was pleased with my decision.  Unfortunately her next appearance coincided with the press hounding her about whether she was a Doctor or not, you can read the wikipedia  entry for their carefully worded article about that.

I suggested that during her next appearance which was due the following day, she should clear up the matter, I would allow her to use her choice of words and any questions would be agreed as I still, at that point wanted her on board.  Well I think mad rage would describe the response I got via her agents.  "How dare I question her qualifications, how dare I say this or that about her."  So we made a brave editorial decision to, frankly - dump Gillian.

Looking back it was the right thing to do, I just couldn't let her back on the air and ignore a whole week of press coverage about her qualifications and then have her talk about healthy eating.  It is an important part of your job as a producer to be sure that your 'expert' is qualified to talk on their subject.  That doesn't always have to mean academic qualifications experience also counts. 

As a footnote had Gillian been more open about her Doctorate I would have welcomed her back as she is an engine for better healthier eating - check out her website for more  click here

Freebies

A free holiday to Mexico and a ladder.  Sadly it was the ladder we got free.  The wonderful world of freebies, where various companies and PR groups send you things.  The holiday was procured by a Producer I overheard making a phone call to a travel company and asking if there were any 'facility' trips to Mexico as he worked on a travel show (lie)  judging from the phone call they appeared perfectly happy to let him have a free holiday.

The free ladder was featured on a DIY show I Produced and somehow we managed to get it back to Essex in the company car.  I remember I had to sit in the back seat as the thing filled the whole car up and made gear changing almost impossible - buy hey it was a freebie.

Journalists still get sent freebies and it can be very easy for some to be persuaded to give over airtime for a free hamburger or hamper of Christmas goodies - good journalists should never do this.  The guy that got his free Mexican holiday, a few months later produced a very misguided show  called 'Sex with Your Pets' it made the Sunday papers and got its own paragraph in the broadcasting code on bestiality and he of course lost his job straight away.

Jenny Eclair eats live maggot

I watched Jenny Eclair rip the head of a witchetty grub and eat it, and felt sorry for it.  The show was ITVs Celebrity Get Me Out of Here and Jenny is one of the contestants. Having Produced radio shows with her she really is pretty much that kind of person you see on TV.

I remember my first encounter with Ms Eclair - I was standing in for the regular Producer who had timed his holiday to coincide with Jenny's week presenting the Sandi Toksvig show.  Jenny greeted me with a 'Oh so I've got you have I?' as she knew I was the Assistant Producer I think she felt she was getting second best treatment.

I just allowed the comment to pass me by and we got on with the job of getting the show out on air. The week went well and Jenny is, as we have seen on TV, a complex lady but brilliant and funny and you can't help liking her.

Sometimes the talent will turn on you.  As a Producer you have to deal with it.  You need to remember they see you as the human face of 'their' show and working through their requirements and coming up with a conclusion which will suit both the needs of the show and radio station and the needs of the talent is an important part of your job.

Talent Management

The Talent have feelings, ignore them at your peril.  Victoria Wood who I recently blogged about is miffed at being sidelined and having to deal with the anonymous BBC management.  Her example was they moved her Christmas Special from Christmas Day to Christmas Eve.  Yes it was the right decision - it probably wasn't strong enough to play out on Christmas Day BUT why didn't anybody bother to tell Victoria?

I have never avoided situations with the talent I managed.  It is ALWAYS best to keep them in the loop and be aware of their feelings, it's part of managing people generally.  What a sad thing that at the BBC  management hide behind the bureaucracy of the corporation and make decisions without thinking about the impact on the people who are involved.

So if there is a difficult decision to be made - a face-to-face open discussion is always the right thing to do. 

As heard on radio

Victoria Wood, gifted, talented and the couple of times she has been in doing interviews - shaky and shy.  Comedians are a pretty miserable lot.  I can remember I once tried to make small talk with Ernie Wise and got mortgage advice back.  Wood is one of the 'worry too much' comedians but as a radio producer or presenter you could learn a lot from the way she operates.

Her love of language, her attention to detail. and if something doesn't work she changes it. She is a driven woman and focused on what she wants to do. I found this out from a recent biog on her life that I caught on iPlayer.

She also has an ego, essential if you are going to perform, but she tempers that with her insecurity.  It's never a bad thing to ask yourself - Am I doing the right thing? Is this actually working on my show? Could I do better? Should I come at this from a different angle.  It's easy to get lazy and comfortable - just listen to a lot of BBC local radio to hear that going on.

So take a leaf out of Victoria Wood's book and take a good hard look at your professional self.