Don’t Treat Your Show Like a Self-checkout Lane
It’s an understatement to say that self-checkout lanes can be frustrating. As a food researcher at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia told CNN: “We’re in 2022. One would expect the…
Edit Everything
Edit on-air conversations. Edit show prep service elements. Edit newscasts. Edit commercial copy. Edit stations promos. Edit station imaging. Edit sales proposals. Edit client remotes. Edit artist stage welcomes. Edit…
What to Say When You Get a Job Offer
They’ve heard your demos. They love your social media skills. You both know you’d be a great fit for the station. They’re going to offer you the job. Here are…
Radio and Podcasts Have an O.L.D. Problem
Brad Meltzer is celebrating his 25th year as a novelist and has just published his latest thriller, “The Lightning Rod”. Radio and podcast talent can learn a valuable lesson from…
What I’ve Learned After 50 Podcast Episodes
After my top-rated morning show was canceled during radio’s “Pandemic Panic Downsizing,” I decided to launch a hyper-local interview podcast. It’s been a great way to stay in touch with…
How Three Morning Shows Handled ‘The Slap’
The morning after the Academy Awards I tuned in to three morning shows in three different markets to hear how they were discussing The Slap — the most talked-about Oscars…
April Fools’ Day Jokes That Won’t Get You Fired
CHANGE THE AIR IN YOUR TIRES — Remind listeners that it’s time to change out the air in their your tires from “winter air” to “summer air”.
The Right Way to Use Celebrity Birthdays
Dan shared on the InterPrep discussion forum: Just wondering if anyone else does a quote of the day. We do it very early, on the other side of a spot…
Organize your online show prep with Diigo
Need a way to highlight, clip and collect show prep items from various sources without an extra app? I love Diigo. Install the extension in your Chrome browser and you…
Pocket app is a top tool for radio show prep
Pocket is my go-to “read it later” app. When I find an article or blog post I don’t have time to read “right now” I send it to Pocket. Saving…
Fired, or contract not renewed? It doesn’t matter
By now you’ve read about the dust-up over KLBJ-FM personality Dale Dudley’s termination. Shortly after Dudley was let go he did what most of us would: share the news on…
It’s official: You can lose this word
Writers are very often paid by the word. Hire someone on Fiverr to bang out a blog post about ghosts or barbecue sauce or running and the first decision you’ll…
Mac users doing an interview: Here’s the first question you should ask your guest
It’s a great time to be in the audio business. With little more than a laptop and a USB mic anyone can record an interview from almost anywhere. And while…
Hey Podcasting, Don’t Do What Radio Does
Radio is trying to generate revenue any way it can. Actually, radio has been trying to generate revenue any way it can for many, many years — very often with…
How Not to Start An Interview
Here’s the start of a real radio interview (in a large market) that reminds us of the importance of planning ahead, getting to the point, pre-recording, and editing… Host: Hi…
Upgrade Your Radio Show with 3 Questions
Remember when on-air talent and Program Directors frequently met to evaluate the content and structure of radio shows? Some of these meetings were simple and vitally important aircheck sessions; others…
Easy Content for Your Radio Station Instagram and TikTok
Here’s a simple way to up your Instagram and TikTok games. Find a social media post, old or new, and take a screenshot on your phone: Then use…
My Favorite Productivity Apps
By Steve Holstein In my never-ending quest for efficiency and organization I download and test productivity apps quite often. These are the apps which are helping me to get things…
Becoming A Content Creator
By Steve Holstein Remember when you had a Program Director? Now he’s your Brand Manager. That station General Manager? She’s now your Market Manager. And you’re no longer a Morning…
Royalty-free Images for Your Radio Station
If your budget for stock photos, graphics and other images is zero there is an option: Creative Commons Zero.Creative Commons Zero means you can copy, modify, distribute and use the…
Ban These Phrases from Your Radio Commercials
InterPrep asked radio pros to share the words and phrases which should be banned from commercials. The question was asked about six weeks into the COVID-19 pandemic. • We’re all…
Audio is the Not-So-Secret Ingredient Your Radio Show is Missing
Let’s talk about the not-so secret radio show prep ingredient that your show is missing. I got a message from a subscriber the afternoon of the Kobe Bryant Memorial and…
Train Your Brain: Radio Show Prep is Everywhere
As I said in Episode 2 of the InterPrep Podcast (featuring WQDR’s Mike and Janie), today’s radio professionals shouldn’t struggle to find show content — the difficult task is deciding…
Love the Flub
On a recent episode of the BBC podcast More or Less: Behind the Statistics, the narrator begins by telling listeners that the episode was almost pulled because of an error….
Radio Pros Recycle
Never treat a break as “one and done.” If it’s good enough to air once it’s likely good enough to rerun later in the show or early tomorrow. Is the…
Add to an Evergreen Folder Every Day
Every day, commit to adding at least one of your show’s best breaks to an ‘evergreen’ folder. This folder is your backup in case half of your two-person show is…
Go Ahead, Do Your Show for One Listener
When you have benchmark features like offbeat news or good news, it’s not uncommon to get suggested stories from listeners. Very often these stories are days or weeks old, so…
Why You Should Use Video Submissions for Radio Station Online Contests
Why You Should Use Video Submissions for Radio Station Online Contests Steve Holstein Your radio station has likely been doing online contesting for years. The formula is quick and easy:…
Radio Blast from the Past: The PD Planner
Radio Blast from the Past: The PD Planner Way back in the 1990s, Programmer and Consultant Michael Langevin published “The PD Planner,” a planning tool to help radio program directors…
Temi is a Personal Assistant for Radio Pros
Some of your best show prep and promotional ideas probably come while you’re driving, out for a walk, or at the gym. Every Radio Pro has an audio recorder app…
Local Guests: 7 Ways to Maximize a Community Interview
Local guests are a great way for your show stand out from voice-tracked, satellite-delivered national radio shows. One segment of local guests many shows shy away from is community organizations. Why?…
Free Tools for Powering Up Your Radio Station’s Social Media
By Leigh Detzel, WRVL-FM Lynchburg, Virginia Working in radio means you’ll always wear more than one hat. I happen to co-host our morning show, direct the intern program and run…
Next Level Radio Show Prep with Trello
Radio shows sound better when there’s a plan — a daily roadmap that lets everyone involved in the show know what’s coming. You can plan your show with anything: a…
Power Your Radio Show Prep with Twitter Lists
One of the best sources for free radio show prep is Twitter. But have you fine-tuned your Twitter feed to help you get to the prep you need most when…
Show Prep Smarter with These 4 Apps
Show Prep Smarter with These 4 Apps Do you long for the good old days of doing radio show prep with stacks of newspapers, Post-it notes, highlighters and scissors? Me…
We Found an Entertaining Entertainment Report
We Found an Entertaining Entertainment Report Somewhere it must be written that every morning show do an entertainment report. But nowhere is it written that your entertainment can’t be entertaining. The…
Radio Show Prep for the Holidays
The (Song Title) Blackout During the holidays there are dozens of lists of the worst holiday songs. Reading these lists is not entertaining, so here’s how you have fun with…
5 Uncommon Radio Show Prep Sources
5 Uncommon Radio Show Prep Sources 1. Reddit Random and Trending – Reddit’s front page is practically a show prep requirement but the social news website’s content goes much, much…