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10 Questions with ... Todd Hollst
August 4, 2020
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BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
I began working in broadcasting in 1990 and have spent my entire career in Dayton, Ohio. I’ve worked at a number of area radio stations, two TV stations, two advertising companies, and even as the Director of Entertainment of our local minor league baseball team. I returned to CMG as a weekend DJ on our Classic Hits station, The Eagle, in 2017. I now host the afternoons on The Eagle and am also the Promotions Manager for our three radio stations; WHIO, WZLR, WHKO. In the fall of 2018, I launched the Sunday Edge talk show on WHIO and I’ve also hosted a number of shows and specials with expanded news coverage, when warranted. Including shows following a tornado outbreak, mass shooting, severe weather, news documentaries, and most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic.
1. How did you get into radio? Why radio?
From an early age, I was a fan of radio. Some older brothers of a friend of mine built a pirate radio station in their basement and that was my first introduction to the process. Then, as a Cub Scout, I went on a tour of WING in Dayton and saw people actually working and on the air. I was sold. In college I got a job at the campus station but wasn’t cut out for four years of school. I wanted a radio career sooner rather than later and enrolled at a broadcasting school in Dayton. I had my first paying gig before I graduated and have been working in broadcasting or media, in one form or another, for 30 years. My passion for radio is about the immediacy and intimacy of the art form. I was a shy kid and radio gave me the ability to be out-front while still safely hidden behind that but behind that veil was and remains the perfect place for me.
2. Let's focus first on your WHIO Sunday show: Your show is different from what you'd hear at other times on a standard talk station. How so? Describe "The Sunday Edge."
My show is a diversion from the anxiety of our times. I want to have fun on the radio and give listeners an engaging program that doesn’t ask them to take a side or argue. For me, it’s like hosting a bar-b-q at my house and inviting my friends over to hangout (remember when we could do that?) We chill, laugh, talk about life and try not to think too about how hard life can be. I just want to lighten their load. We recently talked about “chicken rental” -- it’s a thing. Look it up. (Editor’s Note: I’m afraid to have that in my browser history.)
3. During the pandemic, how responsive have you found listeners to be about topics that aren't about the election or the pandemic? Has it been harder to get topics other than those going, or has the audience been receptive to taking a break from doomscrolling?
My listeners are grateful for any opportunity to talk about something other than the pandemic or politics. I hear it all the time; “your show is a breath of fresh air.” I’ve even had callers admit my show is the only thing they listen to on the station. People want a break from the ugly rhetoric and discord you hear on political shows—and I’m not interested in stoking those fires.
I have some benchmark features like “Dumb Ways to Die,” or “Naked News” or the always entertaining “Florida Man” story (with accompanying theme song), but a lot of conversation comes from my observations. I’m no stand-up comedian, but it’s really that premise; here’s what I saw this past week, I’m going to riff on it, and now tell me what you think. My show has become appointment listening for many.
4. You grew up and have spent most of your career in Dayton -- how important do you think your local knowledge is to how you relate to listeners on the air? And how important do you think localism is to radio -- is there a strategic advantage to being local against voicetracking or syndication?
Having local knowledge is the number one tool in my bag of tricks. This is something I learned a long time ago and it’s always served me well. Listeners like familiarity and the localisms I interject helps me connect with listeners. It builds trust and they feel like they know me. Nothing against the national shows but I think most people want to spend their time with people they know and can relate to. I’m not some distant radio guy broadcasting from a palatial estate and experiencing life on a different plane of existence than most listeners. I’m the pudgy guy who lives down the road, has a leaky basement and lousy neighbors, who just happens to have a local radio show on a legendary radio station. So yes, I think being local is an advantage.
5. You have some experience doing streaming and podcasts; what did you learn from the experience, and what's your outlook on those media? Do you see them ever becoming the big business that radio was/is? Are they the future of audio, part of it, or something less?
Podcasting goes hand in hand with broadcasting. I would assume anyone reading this understands the relational aspects of building a show and building a podcast. The challenge is the monetization -- which is nothing new to those doing podcasts. With rare exceptions, most locally focused and produced podcasts aren’t going to be consumed at the same level, as over the air or even streaming products. So, if you’re trying to charge per download, I think you’ll find many advertisers aren’t going to bite. Sure, national podcasts with bigtime promotion might translate to millions of downloads and rake is the dollars but “The News Animals Podcast with Todd Hollst” isn’t going to make anyone rich (or fix my leaky basement). But I’m okay with that -- it’s just an extension of my on-air show. And that’s how it should be sold.
While podcasting and broadcasting do go hand in hand, they aren’t the same business models. The infrastructures differ and goals aren’t the same. I think instead of comparing podcasting to broadcasting, the better comparison is cable TV. You have a handful of national or regional platforms offering different shows. Digital technology has obviously changed the radio business over the decades, but it’s still a local brick and mortar type of business.
6. Who have been your influences, mentors, and/or inspirations in the business?
When I first got into radio, my focus was on becoming a morning show producer and writer. My childhood idol was David Letterman and I thought if I could write and produce “bits” for a morning show, maybe one day I could write for Letterman. Then, sometime in 1993, after being fired from a radio job after telling the GM he was running the station into the ground (which he eventually did), I heard Kent Voss on WHIO here in Dayton. Kent’s show was unlike anything I had ever heard before. It was basically the fun of a FM morning show, without musical interruptions. It was silly and ironic and the perfect place for me to hone my producing and writing skills. The Assistant PD was Pete Spriggs, who recently retired from WSB. Pete hired me and I became Kent’s “Imaginary Producer.” Both Kent and Pete have influenced me professionally and continue to do so to this very day.
Another mentor has been Nick Roberts, the CMG Dayton Director of Radio Operations. He’s given me countless hosting opportunities on WHIO and is a real champion of my show and local radio. His confidence in my ability has helped me become a stronger host and I’m grateful for his trust and inspiration.
Incidentally, I never wrote for Letterman. I did submit freelance material to the show in a Domino’s Pizza box, which resulted in a phone conversation with his head writer at the time, Steve O’Donnell. But a few weeks later I received a rejection letter -- though, the salutation was addressing someone else. I’ve always wondered who got my rejection letter? I’d love to have it.
7. Of what are you most proud?
I am most proud of how WHIO, and all of Cox Media Group Dayton, rapidly responds to the needs of our community. For the city of Dayton, 2019 was a stressful year. It began with a water emergency that left many residents without drinking water. That was followed by the Memorial Day tornadoes, when more than a dozen twisters hit our community. Then, in August, Dayton experienced a horrific mass shooting. Jump to 2020 and here we are in a pandemic. EVERY SINGLE TIME, Cox Media Group answers the call and mobilizes our resources—whether it’s providing supplies, financial supports, or just by doing our job as broadcasters and giving lifesaving information to listeners. That’s the legacy we should all want to leave.
8. Standard question for anyone who's done a lot of music radio shows and is now (also) doing talk: What do you find are the most important differences, if any, in creating content for talk versus a music station show? How much, if at all, has your experience doing shows on music stations prepared you for doing shows with no music (other than song parodies, that is)?
The material is basically the same but for the talk show, I spend more time mining a topic. For my talk show, I want at least 3-5 different takes on a piece of material. This helps me understand the topic better, gives me confidence delivering my narrative and gives listeners more entry points to engage in the conversation. For a music morning show, I think of the content little drops of candy. Every 10 minutes between songs, you give listeners a little treat to get them through their drive to work. It doesn’t have to go much deeper than a short set-up and maybe a couple points or punchlines.
I think one aspect music radio helped me develop for talk radio are my production skills. Every week I’m producing some sort of piece of sound for my show. Yes, I love parody songs, and you can hear some of them here. But having the ability to multi-track and mix has been a huge help. All the show opens, rejoiners, looped bumpers, etc., I produced on my own. It’s helpful when you need something quickly. I have a home studio, so I do a lot of my production there.
9. Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without ________.
…a kiss from my three girls; my wife Mary and our doggies Luna and Lily. But to be fair, I also like Miller Lite.
10. What's the most important lesson you've learned in your career?
Early in my career I was a bit of an arsonist. DON’T BURN BRIDGES. I’ve come back to WHIO/CMG three times now.
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