One of the realities about the past 18 months is that for most of us, fun hasn’t been in great abundance. In fact, the pressures of the world and the country, along with the pandemic and all its tentacles have made it challenging for so many people to smile in the face of darkness, tragedy, and disappointment.
That’s often when we turn to entertainment media – to have a little fun, to get away from the stress, and to escape for awhile. Radio falls into this same category. Our Techsurveys have long pointed out the “emotional benefits” of listening to broadcast radio, and entertainment value is a key factor when a consumer chooses radio, whether it’s music or hanging out with a favorite announcer or show.
It’s also the #1 reason why radio personalities enjoy their jobs. In our most recent AQ3 study, we gave our more than 500 on-air hosts a list of possible reasons why they’ve chosen radio as a career, and look what bobbed to the top of the list:
Nearly eight of every ten say the “fun factor” is a main reason why they enjoy being on the airwaves. And our sample includes personalities in the biggest metros and working at mom & pop’s, PPM and diary measured markets, and both music and spoken word stations. Sean Hannity, Elvis Duran, and Greg Beharrell may have little in common, but one thing they’d likely offer a collective nod to is this idea of having a good time when the on-air light goes on.
That’s why I was so intrigued when I read a profile of Survivor host Jeff Probst in the New York Times. Full disclosure: I’m not a fan of the show, never have been, and have probably watched it a couple times during its long, successful run.
That puts me in the minority, because the Survivor franchise has lived up to its name, surviving 21 years on CBS-TV. That’s 41 seasons of contestants getting voted off various islands. And Probst is engaged and thoroughly invested in the ongoing success of the show.
Like the late, great Alex Trebek on Jeopardy, Probst is all in. He isn’t just the host – he’s Survivor‘s showrunner as well as an executive producer. (Oddly enough, he hosted Rock & Roll Jeopardy for three years.)
Similar to virtually every TV series, Survivor was sidelined for most of 2020, but that gave Probst an opportunity to think about the show’s trajectory. His garage is his brainstorming center – the place where he “whiteboards” new ideas.
After a deep conversation with Mike White, the guy behind the terribly clever White Lotus (Netflix), Probst tore down all his previous Post-It sheets to boil Survivor down to one big idea – or rather, a simple question:
“IS IT FUN?”
And that’s the litmus test Probst, his team, and Survivor‘s iconic creator, Mark Burnett, now use to hold up ideas, concepts, new wrinkles, and surprises.
When you think about it, it’s the same standard radio programmers and their hosts should put into practice, whether a station is sports, country, hip-hop, rock, or yes, conservative talk.
Scanning radio’s rich history of personalities, the best of the best have all brought certain qualities to the table, including shock, controversy, opinion, or slapstick. But the truly successful ones incorporated a sense of fun.
Howard Stern may have been bombastic and outrageous, but it was a fun show where humor – OK, irony and snark – was always present.
Rush Limbaugh – love him or loathe him – was at his core a Top 40 DJ, and his style, his bits, and his humor always included a fun element.
Now if you’re in public radio, you might be thinking, “Oh yeah, what about us?”
And while most of the news magazines and interview shows don’t exactly exude fun, some of the most successful programs in public radio history have all been…well, fun. Car Talk and Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! (take a bow, Doug Berman) generate(d) lots of laughs, while A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor was all about whimsy, nostalgia, hokiness, and grins.
American Public Media’s Marketplace is a show about business, and it’s tons-o-fun thanks to its light-hearted host, Kai Ryssdal, who can make the Fed, the S&P 500, and Janet Yellen amusing. Kai brings his sense of humor, his wit, and his often raised eyebrow to a show that would otherwise be mundane at best, boring at worst.
When I listen to airchecks with Hubbard Radio’s Greg Strassell, he frequently listens to morning shows with this question, front and center:
“Where’s the funny?”
That’s a good pressure test for many personalities and teams, but it’s not everything. There’s no requirement a show needs a standup comic in the studio in order to be entertaining and amusing. In fact, most hosts don’t even need to make an audience laugh. Radio shows just have to be fun and make listeners feel good.
I would even go so far as to say the element of fun is often an instrumental ingredient in music, and the success – or failure – of many artists groups. I can only vouch for rock music, but would assert that while the bands of the past two decades have often been made up of accomplished and talented musicians, fun they are not. Many bands lack that memorable, identifiable, and outrageous front person who defines the band, adding elements of fun and irreverence.
A look back through rock’s history reveals bands from the Beatles to Alice Cooper to KISS found a way to keep things amusing, often outrageously so. And the hardest rockers – AC/DC, Van Halen, Ozzy Osbourne – had a definite sense of humor that served them well.
Whether it’s Survivor or your radio station’s morning show, success tends to be more fleeting when we take ourselves too seriously.
It’s so easy to get caught up in the moroseness of our times when seemingly every “BREAKING NEWS” interruption is another reminder of how mired we are in unsettling, disheartening stories. Yes, 2021 has been better than the dumpster fire of last year, but only marginally so.
We are going through a rough patch to be sure, but that opens the door for talent that gets it. Movie theaters thrived during
America’s Depression Era in the 1930s, providing fun, escape, and even hope at a time when things couldn’t have been bleaker. Radio could fill some of those same needs today.
When I review the responses of hundreds of air personalities in AQ3, or better yet, attend Morning Show Boot Camp – the last in-person conference until ??? – I am reminded of the value of the “fun factor.” Any radio personality – local or syndicated, major market or in a one-stoplight town – can make that difference.
You might want to take a listen to your show with that filter in place.
Are we having fun yet?
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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As part of my afternoon show, I post a “Daily Question” on our station’s Facebook page. It’s never too serious. Last week, I got three angry messages telling me I need to, as one put it, “stop it with the dumb silly-*** questions”, because there are serious things going on in the world.
I made a bit out of this, answering them on air, replying “There’s always something serious going on. I’m not here for that. I’m here to help you get through the day, to say that we’re going to make it through. If being ‘silly’ from time to time helps with that, then I’ll be silly. To quote a line from an old sci-fi show, ‘There’s no point being grown-up if you can’t be childish sometimes’.”
There have been days I want to leave all this behind, but I go in to my show anyway with the mission to make someone’s load a little lighter. By the end of my show, I find out mine’s a little lighter, too.
Don, I don’t know your show or your station, so there’s that.
In most cases, listeners know what to expect from stations. Obviously, some shows are famous for controversy, while others are the antidotes to it. As you point out, your job is to provide relief from the madness. If they want to stress out, they can watch Fox News or MSNBC or listen to whoever replaced Limbaugh.
Appreciate the comment.
Right on, Fred. Radio should be fun, and the best radio genuinely is. I would just like to point up the elephant in the room: Fun compared to what? You know what–streaming services that are no more than jukeboxes with no human touch, and not fun. That touch is pure gold, and any radio outfit that squanders it deserves to go to the wall, and probably will.
100%, John. Thanks for pointing out what radio is up against on the Fun-O-Meter. Appreciate the comment.
If I’m not having fun then my listener(s) aren’t either … so why bother.
Pam, for pros like you who have been around for more than a cup of coffee or two, you’re exactly right. If it isn’t fun at this point, why do it?
Fred:
“Fun” is what’s missing from News-Talk today. Certain syndicated hosts (I won’t mention names, but this person is on radio and television) are boring as hell. If you listen on Monday, the Friday show sounds exactly the same.
As for me, being on radio itself IS still fun. I don’t miss turntables and carts like a lot of old guys do. Enjoyed the work when I DID do it. But, now I have time to do show prep and I’m sure I sound a whole lot better because of it.
No, I don’t do a morning show. But, I am a “known quantity” here in Dayton, since I have been on almost every major station in town over 30-some years I’ve been working in this market.
Kevin Fodor
Cox Media Group/Dayton
Thanks for this, Kevin. I thought about NewsTalk and how so many hosts are super serious – or angry. Aside from their ultra core, there’s nothing fun about their shows. Thanks for the comment.
I started doing radio just for fun. Had the time of my life doing radio for 45 years, and now that I’m semi-retired, continue doing radio just for fun.
And that is contagious.
No fun, no radio.
Couldn’t agree more, Tito.
Oh, boy, does this bring back so many great memories. Though I did some other formats, I mostly worked in Christian radio, and did a local Christian pop/rock/metal show years before anyone ever dreamed of a K-Love network. I grew up on such great, fun radio with some of the best over-the-top radio personalities (I’m looking at you, Shotgun Tom!) and now here I was doing the same, only with Christian music. One person labeled me “America’s first Christian shock jock” because I was doing things that “you just don’t do on Christian radio.” Of course none of it was blue, but it wasn’t just outside the box, it blew up the box. But we had the ratings and the sponsors and put on hugely successful concerts proving it could work. (A Christian music skate night I hosted at a local roller rink regularly had to turn people away because they would run out of skates.) I even remember hearing from people who happened across the show who said they didn’t like the music but they couldn’t stop listening to me. But my favorite comment will always be the woman who told me she struggled with depression for years, and that I taught her to “smile again.” Thanks to all the great personalities I grew up on in San Diego and L.A. for having SO MUCH FUN that I knew I couldn’t possibly ever want to do anything else. And thank you, Fred, for wonderful reminder of how truly special–and fun–radio was meant to be.
Dave, those lucky enough to work with great staffs and legendary talent were nodding along with your comment. Appreciate you chiming in on what turned out to be a ‘fun” blog post.
110% in agreement. The most fun I had was at stations where the PD let me do more than just read the liner cards, and ad-lib content (as long as I stayed reasonably within time limits … no pointless rambling!).
When I did afternoons at Y97 in Santa Barbara, our positioning was as “Santa Barbara’s Hot FM”. I would occasionally ID myself as “K.M. in the PM on the Hot FM” … and was encouraged when I would answer the request line and the listeners would ask if they were talking to me, using that same ID.
It was obvious to them that I was enjoying myself, and they responded to it.
So, yeah … it’s gotta be fun!
Great story, K.M. I have long believed the audience can “hear” when those studio monitors are cranked and the jock is rocking along with the music. Thanks for commenting.
If you remember my back story
I can tell you without a doubt I’m having fun……again. 🙂
they key how was well you dealt with it all while in between. That says a lot about who you are. 🙂