Steve Reynolds

Long derided for relying on voicetracking, syndication and liner card readers, radio seems to have done a 180 and start develop and optimize it on-air talent. That's the perspective of talent coach Steve Reynolds, who has been counseling on-air talent for two decades to create "personality radio." Here, he offers insight into the current radio environment, the talent pool and succeeding in these highly charged times.

How long have you been doing this - and have the fundamentals for a successful morning show changed over the years?

The Reynolds Group has been coaching premiere talent in large, medium, and small markets for 20 years and the fundamentals have not changed. Be entertaining, share your life, be honest with the audience, be relevant and fun, tell stories, and be different from anything else out there ... and you'll win.

You make it sound so easy, when in reality it's anything but...

Every market is unique. Every show and talent are different. My job is to understand the market dynamic and talent I am working with so well I can help them channel more of their point-of-view, their inquisitiveness, and their sense of humor on their show. Everyone is different and our job is to use those attributes to separate ourselves from everything else out there so we stand out. Because of the level of competition, you can't win if you're not strategic - what's your show about, how well are you defined to the audience so they can get to know you, how well are you earning very critical images, and do you have a feature or two that activates an occasion of listening? You have to be comfortable with strategy and be okay with being vulnerable with the audience. Some people take less time to learn these skills than others.

Overall, we harmed ourselves as an industry by having that dead zone period where we stopped truly developing air talent past reading liner cards and talking up song intros. We didn't teach them how to connect with an audience, tell a story, and entertain better so they became a point-of-differentiation for the radio station to bring in audience, build a brand, and matter. With the prevalence of voicetracking and syndication, there wasn't much room for talent to develop those skills. I am very happy to say I see that tide turning and more and more companies being committed to the growth of their talent so they can leverage that for both higher audience share and revenue.

Branding: Do you prefer to accentuate "the show" or "the stars?"

I want to brand the show and an ensemble cast where there's more than one voice. When you have a variety of characters, the listeners have a better chance of connecting with at least one of them. To me, the chemistry of the ensemble drives the success of the show. The audience feels it.

My preference is to brand the entire program around the distinct talent doing it; inside of that, everyone will attain their requisite level of stardom. If they are fun to listen to, can reveal themselves and be honest, good things tend to happen.

The anchor is the moral center of the program who's the ringleader of all the craziness in the room. There have been instances where the second or third mic turns into the biggest star. They don't even have to say much; it's what they say that creates more talk or humor. But I don't know any of that until I meet the cast and listen to the show and realize its potential to connect and entertain.

How does the use of social media impact the morning show?

Social media is another platform to develop and sustain a relationship with an audience. It's an efficient forum for those interacting with you to showcase what your program is about and its sense of humor. No matter where, the audience always comes for content - whether they turn on the radio show or consume you on the many viable social media platforms available. If you go on YouTube or Facebook, you're looking for content. Our listeners' need is the same. Give them engaging, fun content on social media and you will create a positive gross impression. Try and manipulate them to turn the show on or win something and you won't.

Are you concerned that morning shows are in danger of spending too much time on social media content and not enough on their own shows?

I'm sure shows can spend too much time on social media, but when you have that many platforms, it gives you more ways to grow your relationship with the audience. I do think you have to be smart, and broadcasters should use every platform as an occasion for the listener to get great, entertaining content. There are a myriad of choices, and that competition is fierce, but it breeds excellence.

Some shows get in trouble when their social media strategy is not concurrent with the content strategy of the program. Everything has to match. Sometimes shows are off-brand online. I know shows that have very entertaining mainstream programming, but their podcasts are dirty. They think that's their place to curse and do lewd and lascivious content, which is completely off-brand. Or others that use social media to sell stuff. That's where mistakes happen. The content on their show isn't reinforced on other platforms. You always want to use all the tools in the social media arsenal to stay top-of-mind with the audience, so when they want content from a radio show, they think of you first.

The newest platform may be smart speakers. Have you noticed their impact on morning shows?

Honestly, not yet because it is still emerging. They're so new their impact hasn't been processed. Ultimately when people come to radio, they want to be engaged, entertained and connected to content. I see smart speakers as another platform to eventually do that.

How have podcasts and cameras in the studio changed the way you do morning shows ... compared to how you did mornings back in the day?

What drives the success of every brand is its level of authenticity, so my counsel would be to not play to the camera. Don't worry about being made up to look good; worry about being who you are and be that. Remember, most people become loyal to talent and a show by the content they hear coming out of the speakers.

We do come up with ideas on shows that have a visual component because we have that ability now; we develop ideas that invite listeners in for a particular reason -- or for a special event and have them all do Facebook Live while they're there, as an example. For the sum cost of zero marketing dollars, a bunch of fans provide their own platforms for our broadcast -- and the exclusive video they shoot is highly entertaining and seen by thousands of their fans, thus benefiting us.

Back when you were on-air, your competition was usually the same-format radio station across the street. Today, isn't radio's main competition the Spotifys of the world instead of the stations across the street?

In some measure, yes. But we compete against everything now. Today, your competition is Pandora, Spotify or Apple Music. It's also the many TV networks and cable channels with viable shows - Good Morning America, Today, Fox & Friends, Morning Joe on MSNBC, Mike & Mike on ESPN. Even social media. They all want our listeners so they offer relevant, real, entertaining content.

We have to do that, too, for our audience to come back the next day for more, verses one of the many other choices they have.

I'm excited about our industry right now. I feel radio has turned a corner and once again believes in the importance of quality on-air talent. This course correction happens when you finally recognize that the only way to be different as a radio station is to have credible talent on the air, who have the power to not only command an audience, but the power to command advertiser money. That's why live endorsement spots sell at a premium rate. When a credible talent tells you to buy this mattress or use that moving company, you tend to believe them more than someone reading a liner card.

If you don't invest in premier talent, you'll never get passionate fans - and you'll never get top revenue.

Many successful morning shows are being syndicated or tracked for other markets. How can that show stay local when doing so? And just how important is being local nowadays anyway?

You have to construct the clock to allow them to get involved in the local community; it's a simple fix. While it's true that a local show can be more relevant to the community, just being local is not a trump card, and it's not enough to get anyone to #1. You have to be local and the most entertaining. The audience doesn't care if you're local if you're not entertaining. I've been in focus groups where the group debates a local show vs. a syndicated show, and there are instances where they chose the syndicated show because it's more entertaining than the local one. That said, be local and most entertaining and it's a lethal combination.

Considering these highly charged partisan times, how do you counsel morning shows on taking strong social stands and being politically outspoken?

Generally, you can't get in trouble for what you don't do, so the basic rule is don't talk politics unless you're a show about politics. I do work with some conservative Talk stations that can go there, but for many other stations, mornings are about escape. There is a lot of anxiety in the world and, unless the news cycle compels you to be on a serious topic (which happens only a few times a year - the Las Vegas shootings being the most recent), go be fun to help them combat the stresses of life.

Some shows are uncomfortable with those rare times to be serious. Las Vegas was a story that could have easily turned into a political conversation about gun control. But it's more important to understand the emotional reaction listeners are having in the moment and show that side of your humanity - sadness, shock, grief, compassion. You express that publicly and the audience will feel that you are speaking for them, which becomes another connection point.

But as a general rule, the audience comes for fun on an average day so the more you give them that, the better you will do.

Obviously, you cut the hijinks in the immediate aftermath of such a tragedy. When do you start up again?

Usually within a few days, depending on the nature of the tragedy. The first day after it, the show should be about what might be new as they begin to transition back. You'll have first-person stories of heroism that listeners can empathize with. You should be able to get back to regular programming within a day or two.

Let's touch on morning show team chemistry. Say you put a new morning show together or add new members to the team. When do you know it's working or not working and when do you change?

The cast's initial job is to define themselves and create chemistry. You can't force it. It's just like the start of a personal relationship; the magic doesn't happen overnight. When it comes to three or four people, you should give the show 18-24 months to get its sea legs and start to blossom. You cannot force chemistry on an audience as they'll feel that. As part of an introductory strategy, you scale down the content and add to it as the chemistry develops.

In a PPM world, with monthly report cards and daily feedback, does radio management have that kind of patience to wait 18-24 months for a morning show to pan out?

The companies I work for have this kind of patience. When we do something like this, we discuss our tolerance for a new morning show's growing pains. Great managers know it doesn't happen overnight. But it also can't happen by chance, which is why we hire talented people and develop an introductory strategy to carry the audience along. We all agree that this will take some time, and we check each other on it. If one of us on the strategic team gets itchy six months in, most everyone else will remind that person to be patient. We'll know internally if something's happening with the show; we'll see the interaction in the hallways and the work ethic of the talent.

How do you prepare for the eventuality of one of the morning show members striking out for another job?

I like the model used on the Today Show and Good Morning America, where they have backups for all positions. For instance, when Matt Lauer is on vacation, Willie Geist steps in. That way, a comfort level with Willie is built up should Lauer leave. I like that strategy; you need to have a core group people so that when you have to swap one role, you don't have to start over and the audience's comfort level with the team is not disrupted.

Finally, where do you see the next generation of radio stars coming from?

Typically, you look in small markets. I do work with companies in small markets and the talent there is phenomenal in many places. We also look for entertaining people not in radio and we teach them radio. That's a very viable strategy -- and they don't solely focus on the morning show. Some companies I work with who truly believe in talent have some unbelievable afternoon shows that have built a unique brand. Our mission is to just look for engaging, real, fun people in life -- and see if they have any interest in being on the radio.