I never had the chance to work in news/talk radio, either on the public or commercial side of the aisle. But I always enjoyed listening to some of the best interviewers in the business on the radio. Perhaps having moderated more than 1,000 focus groups over the years has taught me how to ask questions, and then actually listen to what people have to say. Truly, interviewing is a high art.
On the rock side of the street, no one can match Howard Stern when it comes to asking that special question that brings out something surprising from a celebrity guest. In many ways, Howard perfected the art of asking questions that his audience wondered about – and even the ones they’d be afraid to ask. That fearless spirit is what made Stern famous.
In Detroit where I live, no one did a better celebrity interview than Drew Lane, formerly of The Drew & Mike Show on WRIF. Drew just recently departed from the Greater Media building, but left his Motor City audience with some amazing memories. I recall hearing him interview Alan Dershowitz during the O.J. trial, and asking the esteemed legal scholar questions no one else had thought of. For Drew, it was always about meticulous research, actually reading the book, and having a smart conversation with his guest.
On the public radio side, there’s no one in the same league as NPR’s Terry Gross who has hosted Fresh Air (originated on WHYY/Philadelphia) for four decades, continuing to amaze her audience with interviews that don’t sound like everyone else’s. From rock stars to authors to political activists to educators, no one gets more out of her guests than Terry.
At one of our Jacobs Media Summits a few years back, I had the honor of interviewing Terry about her craft. Talk about pressure. How do you prepare to interview the best interviewer in the business? And for Terry, she’s not used to being in the other chair, fielding questions.
She was incredibly generous with her responses, making for a revealing interview. When I asked her how she managed to stay objective when chatting with appealing, charismatic celebrities and mega-names, she told me the key is not being in the same studio with her guests. In fact, that’s the format on Fresh Air. Terry’s based in WHYY in Philadelphia, while Bruce Springsteen, George Clooney, and Hillary Clinton are in a remote studio somewhere else. What she loses in eye contact, Terry more than makes up for with the ability to stay dispassionate, objective, and even-keeled.
Coincidentally, The New York Times wrote a great piece on Terry earlier this week that highlights her career as broadcast radio’s pre-eminent interviewer. The money quote in that article is something that she told me as well: ‘‘I try not to make it about me.” Clearly, that’s one of the secrets of learning how to talk to people, whether you’re doing an on-air interview or moderating a focus group.
For WAMU’s Kojo Nnamdi, who has hosted his own show for nearly two decades, the secret to conducting a great interview with a big name guest is simple:
“I am never star-struck.”
Nnamdi told Washington Post reporter Annys Shin that reclusive types can be more interesting than celebrities. That may be true, but learning interesting things about fascinating people is what’s the most compelling to the audience.
So I’ve been blessed to sit down with some amazing people, and ask them questions that are a bit outside the boundary lines. Even though I don’t interview people for a living, I’ve had some great opportunities along the way.
I was honored to chat with fellow consultant, Jaye Albright, at Conclave back in 2013 where she was about to receive the Rockwell Award. Most people in radio know the outline of the story about how she made the difficult transition from Jay to Jaye. I wanted to know about her struggles, her acceptance by the Country radio community, and what it was like to endure the transgendered experience.
Jaye told me that her “format change” was made easier by supportive people in the radio community:
“Eddie Hilliard, who was my boss at the time at Broadcast Programming, was great about it and suggested we send out a FedEx letter to clients and all of them were amazingly supportive.”
I also interviewed the CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, Gary Shapiro, at a Jacobs Summit in Annapolis in 2010. At the time, Gary had been very critical of the radio broadcasting business, referring to radio as a “buggy-whip industry” for its efforts to seek a government mandate for an FM chip in mobile phones.
During that interview, Gary told Summit attendees that with wireless capabilities coming to future cars, “There will be thousands of people trying to get audio content into (the) car” which are “clearly competitors for stations.”
I ended the interview by handing Gary a buggy whip that he later told me is on proud display in his office in Washington, D.C.
Gary was right about the coming changes in cars, and that leads me to my next big interview opportunity – with iHeartMedia’s Bob Pittman at DASH two weeks from today in Detroit. Bob has been called the “Most Powerful Person in Radio” by our DASH partner, Radio Ink, and I’m excited about the chance to sit down with him and talk radio, cars, and the issues of the day as these two storied industries get together for two days of conversation, panels, and networking in the Motor City.
I’m moving into prep mode for this interview, as are the other featured speakers and presenters at DASH, representing companies that include Ford, Pandora, General Motors, J.D. Power, NPR, and Toyota.
As we’ve learned from more than a dozen Jacobs Media Summits, and now three DASH Conferences, it’s more than about booking great guests. It requires research, preparation, care, and craft – things I’ve learned over the years from Stern, Lane, Gross, Nnamdi, and many others who are the true professionals.
What will Bob Pittman say at DASH, and how will it be accepted by both the radio and automotive players in attendance? What can we learn from his experience as a radio DJ to the guy behind MTV and now holding the reins at iHeartMedia and iHeartRadio?
We’re honored to have Bob on stage at DASH, a validation of the automotive/radio relationship, as well as our conference.
What will Bob say?
As the slogan goes, you have to be there.
DASH takes place November 4-5 in Detroit at the Westin in the Detroit Metropolitan Airport’s McNamara Terminal. The agenda and registration information is available here.
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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I’ll put my two cents in for Ron Bennington. He’s the best I’ve heard since Larry King’s radio days.