To get attention, the audience must be invested in a radio station's personality, not just the music. If I can listen to your station and not feel anything, I won't think about it or talk about you. And when you're not top of mind, you're dead in the water. Getting attention used to be much easier, but today there are so many options and distractions. Consistency in performance is important. But if you really want to win on the air, you have to surprise your audience. And that's hard. It's made even more difficult when management is more cautious and resources are tighter. But don't let those distractions get you down. Personality and characters attract audiences by creating original, one-of-a-kind personality. No matter what your promotional budget, you can delight your listeners.

Increasing competition often leads us to re-position a format that may have done well under less stressful competition, but is straining under attack today. An even more serious question of "recognition" looms large whereby some operators are literally in denial over ...

Mega-groups are struggling with capital debt, which means less emphasis on performance underscored by fewer PDs who have the time or training to recruit much less coach their air staff under the toxic presumption, "Listeners don't really care about personalities." The ...

It is said in Proverbs 29, "Where there is no vision, the people will perish!" Can it be any different for a company? I have been reading about Apple's meltdown in the stock market, but nobody is talking about the meltdown in vision. Someone is always looking for a ...

We encourage talent to share stories and life experiences. Vulnerability is a powerful way to connect with the audience. However, if you are a new show or a new character on an established show, be careful about revealing too much too soon. In the beginning it's best ...

What would happen if Santa Claus were an air talent, and a programmer were to review his performance? Here's how it may go if a programmer airchecks Santa. It's a one-way discussion, because the PD has a lot on his mind: A Programmer Airchecks Santa Okay, Santa, ...

Is your show relying too much on tried-and true-benchmarks? I've seen many shows get stale by simply filling in the blanks with too many features. It's time to move beyond your comfort zone and create fresh, new content. It's true that a few well-executed benchmarks ...

The Randy Lane Company believes the future of radio is talent. Smart broadcasters have always invested in personality-based programming, but that will increase along with the cost of music streaming. The fees for playing music on AM/FM are costly, but in music ...

So you've heard about this newfangled podcast thing and want in? Well, step right up and I'll share my lessons in podcasting success with you! For just $150, you can sign up for... A scam. The real secret? From someone in his 12th year of podcasting? No one has any ...

Co-Authored by: JoAnn AuBuchon Lane This was a tough week for our Southern California community. On Tuesday, while students from Pepperdine University, Cal Arts, and other local schools were enjoying college night at a favorite Country music venue in Thousand Oaks, a ...