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When Radio Hosts Podcast: Interview With Steve Migs Of KISW In Seattle
February 7, 2017
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Steve Migs has been a fixture on the Seattle airwaves in mornings for the past 20 years. Steve got his start in 1997 at Alternative Rock station 107.7 The End (KNDD), and for over ten years has been doing mornings at The Rock Of Seattle, 99.9 KISW. He's also been podcasting for several years. I asked him some questions.
1. Tell me about the different podcasts you are doing. What is the concept behind each?
I currently do two weekly podcasts. One is called The Migs Cast. This podcast features myself, along with The Rev (from our morning show), and Glenn Cannon. Glenn is the frontman of an incredible local band, Windowpane. Glenn has brought so much to the podcast with his humor and attitude. The concept of the podcast is a simple one: "Stay Positive." It's an opportunity for me to share stories of whatever is going on in my life or my head (for instance, my battles with insecurities or depression) and put it through a humorous filter and share how I find the silver lining in them. I stumbled across this over time...as the more stories I shared, the feedback from the listeners grew. I was unintentionally making a connection with our audience, as we all learned along the way that we are all dealing with problems in our lives and sometimes a good laugh is the best remedy. The podcast is very listener-driven, and the greatest compliment we get often is when someone will pull me aside and say "You have no idea how much your podcast has helped me through tough times." We have built a community with the podcast... something I am very humbled and proud of.
The other podcast I do is called The MegaCast. This podcast features myself and Thee Ted Smith, who is one of the hosts of The Men's Room (afternoons on KISW). This podcast is an awesome crossover opportunity to bridge our morning show and their afternoon show together. Ted and I bring a similar vibe to our respective shows, so it's a fun chance for us to deliver more content for our station. Selfishly, it's also a chance for two close friends to catch up each week; we just do it with microphones on. Ted also does a great podcast on his own called Thee Podcast.
In addition to the podcasts I am on, many personalities at our station do podcasts of original content as well. BJ has a great podcast that is focused on all things that fall into geek culture called BJ Shea's Geek Nation, a few of the ladies who work on our show/station do a podcast called The Broad-Cast, and the hosts of our specialty show Metal Shop have a podcast called Backstage Pass.
2. What have you learned about the differences between doing a podcast and a radio show? What will other radio broadcasters need to do to adapt?
There are many similarities; it all boils down to audio entertainment. One of the biggest differences is that I feel that the podcast audience is more forgiving... they are coming to you because they like you. They made the effort to track your podcast down, download/stream it, so they aren't so quick to hit the preset button to listen to something else. That being said, I think you still need to apply what we know in doing a radio show because if you aren't entertaining /compelling on the podcast, they won't keep coming back to listen.
3. You have said that hosting a podcast prepared you to make the move from producer to full-blown co-host of the KISW morning show with BJ Shea. Explain.
Doing a podcast gave me 100% confidence in being a host. It gave me an opportunity to learn how to lead a show, and there was zero risk in doing it this way. I am a very transparent person, and I have said for years on my podcast that I do it for many reasons, but one of the big reasons is to learn how to be a better host. It took years of doing the podcast before I felt comfortable in that role. The great thing is that the listeners were along for the ride. So when the moment happened where I became the co-host and my name was put on the morning show, the podcast audience was a major part of it. Along the way, not only did I learn how to lead, but my level of respect and understanding for what BJ does grew tremendously. That's not to say that it wasn't already there, but I started to fully understand how difficult it is to steer the ship when there are so many moving parts going on in the mornings.
4. Tell us how you have tried out morning show bits on the podcast before doing them on the radio.
I love the idea of using my podcast to see if something will "stick." Whether it be a bit, a topic, or even an interview... the podcast gives you a chance to give it a test run. If it's a home run of a segment, I'm immediately thinking of how I can transition it to the morning show, either by airing the clip or altogether recreating it. I truly love using the podcast for interviews; many times I'll do an interview with a celebrity or musician that either I am unsure if it will be good for the morning show (but I find it to be interesting) or it is with a celeb who can't call in early. If the interview is great, we will run it on air, and if there are only parts that are good, I'll edit it and run clips in the morning while redirecting people to the podcast if they want to hear the whole thing. Our morning show is my primary focus, so I approach my podcasts as a way to test content or create content to use for the morning show.
5. What does hosting a podcast allow you to do that being on the morning show does not?
Ha! To not worry about ratings! I got into radio because I love to entertain. I love to turn on a microphone and see what happens. On the air, there is always the self imposed stress of ratings, making sure we break on time, etc. With a podcast, those stressors are gone. It also provides me an opportunity to interview people that I find interesting, but wouldn't necessarily book on the morning show, such as local bands and wrestlers, as I am a fan of watching large men in tights grapple in a choreographed battle.
6. Have your podcasts opened any door for you?
The main door it opened for me is that it has given me the confidence to grow as an on air personality.
7. How does your radio station's sales department approach your podcast?
We have had advertisements on my podcast, and I have a feeling we will see more sales opportunities through the podcast medium for our station as we have a strong digital sales department. I think everyone is still figuring it all out. Right now, my main concern is creating fun content for our listeners with the podcasts that I do, as I still have to stay focused on the morning show and our on air product first and foremost. If the station finds sales opportunities with my podcast, that is a great bonus to why I am doing it.
8. What advice do you have for other on-air personalities that are thinking about starting a podcast?
If you are a side kick, co-host, producer, phone screener and you have aspirations of hosting a show, you are crazy to not do a podcast. Is it extra work? Absolutely. Trust me, it's worth the few extra hours a week. This is the best way to get experience hosting a show with absolutely no risk while doing so. Plus, you are providing original content for your website. If you are a host, you also should be doing one. It's a chance to give your audience more depth to who you are. BJ loves cci fi and board games...this doesn't come up a ton on air, but on his podcast he can go deeper into that side of his personality. Not to mention we should be where our audience is, and podcasts are a medium that many enjoy, so embrace it. It's only going to continue to grow. We all have the equipment and a place for the podcasts to live (station website), so there is no good reason not to do it.
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