jiggyjaguar
05-18-2006, 12:22 PM
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Hey, James!:
Last week's big radio news about the Star and Buc Wild incident in New York reminded me how difficult it can be to pull off "controversial" radio. It's hard to defend what Star said under any circumstances, and I can't- and won't- do that. But over the years, I've witnessed- or been involved in- controversies that got people suspended, fired, run out of town on a rail, practically drawn and quartered, and it always raises the same reaction from me:
All this from a RADIO SHOW? Geez, people really do listen!
That's what radio management SHOULD think when something gets people riled up. But they don't. They don't want the trouble, don't want to take the chance an advertiser- ANY advertiser- might cancel, don't want to deal with it. It's the kind of thing that gets GMs thinking how life would be SO much easier if your station was the "More Music Station." Nobody complains about "Today's Best Music." ("Dear Manager: I represent the Society For The Proper Transportation of Infants, and I wish to register our complaint over the playing of Britney Spears music on HotKissMixJamzLiteBeatQZ 108")
But if you shy away from controversy, you're missing a lot. After all, how interesting is a talk show if it strives for inoffensiveness and "balance"? You need to have an opinion, and most opinions are going to draw some offense. "Pudding is better than cake" will get some people frothing mad. (Your GM will get calls from the powerful Cake Lobby demanding your immediate resignation) So how do you make controversy work for you? Here are a few things I've learned:
1. Make it Real. Controversy for controversy's sake isn't good radio. Listeners can, believe it or not, tell when you're just faking an opinion to get people going. A handful won't, and those are the people who call Phil Hendrie. If you're going to say or do something outrageous or controversial or edgy, either mean it or make it really funny. Getting fired for something you don't even believe, or that wasn't even funny, just isn't going to make you proud. Might as well make it count. (And, no, threatening someone's child isn't something you'll be proud to have done, no matter how it makes you feel now)
2. Know That Management, Given The Opportunity , Will Disavow Any Knowledge Of You. Go ahead and make sure everyone in the building's on board with what you plan to say, but when the pickets show up and the advertisers start to pull schedules off the air, your GM will most likely not say "I approved the bit and support my talent's freedom of speech." Those GMs are someone else's boss, or in your fantasies. YOUR boss will tell the web guy to wipe your name and picture off the station website- there'll be an empty space in your slot- and will give the protestors their own weekend show. Funny- the bigger the market I worked in and the bigger the company that owned the stations, the more controversy-shy the GMs got.
3. The Dump Button Is Not Ornamental. If you just said something that you think may cause imminent unemployment, hit the button. If you're a producer or board op sitting by the delay button and you hear something that you know is going to be a career-ender, hit the button and deal with the irate talent later. Sure, it's aggravating when someone hits the button on you, but sometimes, you're better off that way. (That incident in St. Louis would have come and gone without trouble had someone just hit the button)
4. Don't Say You're Sorry Unless You Are. Try not to apologize if you don't mean it. But if you must, please, don't do it through your lawyer or agent. Do it yourself. Having your mouthpiece do it is just too, you know, Hollywood .
5. Don't Be Afraid. Yeah, with all that, if you have something to say that might be trouble but you truly believe is worth doing, do it. It's easier to live with yourself that way. Besides, you'll eventually find another job. Which reminds me that if you're on satellite radio, it's a different story. But most of you aren't on satellite radio.
If you still have a job after all that, you'll need topics, and Topics R Us at All Access News-Talk-Sports and the world's most majestic (majestic?) radio show prep column, Talk Topics. So far this week, you'll find the advance word on "The Da Vinci Code," the advance word on Tom Hanks' hair, the trouble with "Bike to Work Day," an actor that identified a little too closely with his most famous role, why cats and dentistry don't mix, more gator attacks in Florida, how Red Lobster infiltrated a sitcom script, why school textbooks suck, the seemingly contradictory concept of invisible tattoos, and why my hometown is refusing to let Donald Trump name a street after himself, plus "real news" items and links about immigration and alternative fuel and bears eating monkeys alive before a horrified (but strangely interested) zoo audience. All that plus "10 Questions With..." Laura Smith, PD/OM at the Lime channel on Sirius, the Talent Toolkit with sites where they post those movie clips and drops to which many of you are addicted, and the rest of All Access with the industry's best/first/fastest/most accurate news coverage, message boards, columns, and the Industry Directory and Job Market sections where you can find your next employer. And it's all absolutely free.
Next week: a Letter that isn't a day late.
Perry Michael Simon
Editor
All Access News-Talk-Sports
psimon@allaccess.com
Hey, James!:
Last week's big radio news about the Star and Buc Wild incident in New York reminded me how difficult it can be to pull off "controversial" radio. It's hard to defend what Star said under any circumstances, and I can't- and won't- do that. But over the years, I've witnessed- or been involved in- controversies that got people suspended, fired, run out of town on a rail, practically drawn and quartered, and it always raises the same reaction from me:
All this from a RADIO SHOW? Geez, people really do listen!
That's what radio management SHOULD think when something gets people riled up. But they don't. They don't want the trouble, don't want to take the chance an advertiser- ANY advertiser- might cancel, don't want to deal with it. It's the kind of thing that gets GMs thinking how life would be SO much easier if your station was the "More Music Station." Nobody complains about "Today's Best Music." ("Dear Manager: I represent the Society For The Proper Transportation of Infants, and I wish to register our complaint over the playing of Britney Spears music on HotKissMixJamzLiteBeatQZ 108")
But if you shy away from controversy, you're missing a lot. After all, how interesting is a talk show if it strives for inoffensiveness and "balance"? You need to have an opinion, and most opinions are going to draw some offense. "Pudding is better than cake" will get some people frothing mad. (Your GM will get calls from the powerful Cake Lobby demanding your immediate resignation) So how do you make controversy work for you? Here are a few things I've learned:
1. Make it Real. Controversy for controversy's sake isn't good radio. Listeners can, believe it or not, tell when you're just faking an opinion to get people going. A handful won't, and those are the people who call Phil Hendrie. If you're going to say or do something outrageous or controversial or edgy, either mean it or make it really funny. Getting fired for something you don't even believe, or that wasn't even funny, just isn't going to make you proud. Might as well make it count. (And, no, threatening someone's child isn't something you'll be proud to have done, no matter how it makes you feel now)
2. Know That Management, Given The Opportunity , Will Disavow Any Knowledge Of You. Go ahead and make sure everyone in the building's on board with what you plan to say, but when the pickets show up and the advertisers start to pull schedules off the air, your GM will most likely not say "I approved the bit and support my talent's freedom of speech." Those GMs are someone else's boss, or in your fantasies. YOUR boss will tell the web guy to wipe your name and picture off the station website- there'll be an empty space in your slot- and will give the protestors their own weekend show. Funny- the bigger the market I worked in and the bigger the company that owned the stations, the more controversy-shy the GMs got.
3. The Dump Button Is Not Ornamental. If you just said something that you think may cause imminent unemployment, hit the button. If you're a producer or board op sitting by the delay button and you hear something that you know is going to be a career-ender, hit the button and deal with the irate talent later. Sure, it's aggravating when someone hits the button on you, but sometimes, you're better off that way. (That incident in St. Louis would have come and gone without trouble had someone just hit the button)
4. Don't Say You're Sorry Unless You Are. Try not to apologize if you don't mean it. But if you must, please, don't do it through your lawyer or agent. Do it yourself. Having your mouthpiece do it is just too, you know, Hollywood .
5. Don't Be Afraid. Yeah, with all that, if you have something to say that might be trouble but you truly believe is worth doing, do it. It's easier to live with yourself that way. Besides, you'll eventually find another job. Which reminds me that if you're on satellite radio, it's a different story. But most of you aren't on satellite radio.
If you still have a job after all that, you'll need topics, and Topics R Us at All Access News-Talk-Sports and the world's most majestic (majestic?) radio show prep column, Talk Topics. So far this week, you'll find the advance word on "The Da Vinci Code," the advance word on Tom Hanks' hair, the trouble with "Bike to Work Day," an actor that identified a little too closely with his most famous role, why cats and dentistry don't mix, more gator attacks in Florida, how Red Lobster infiltrated a sitcom script, why school textbooks suck, the seemingly contradictory concept of invisible tattoos, and why my hometown is refusing to let Donald Trump name a street after himself, plus "real news" items and links about immigration and alternative fuel and bears eating monkeys alive before a horrified (but strangely interested) zoo audience. All that plus "10 Questions With..." Laura Smith, PD/OM at the Lime channel on Sirius, the Talent Toolkit with sites where they post those movie clips and drops to which many of you are addicted, and the rest of All Access with the industry's best/first/fastest/most accurate news coverage, message boards, columns, and the Industry Directory and Job Market sections where you can find your next employer. And it's all absolutely free.
Next week: a Letter that isn't a day late.
Perry Michael Simon
Editor
All Access News-Talk-Sports
psimon@allaccess.com