The job pool is barely a puddle today. If you want to grab one of the few choice opportunities that come up so infrequently your demo has to stand out of the pack. You are literally competing against hundreds of applicants in many instances and you can't afford a mistake on your demo. Here's what you don't want on your demo:
Blog
By Angela Perelli, Randy Lane & Cliff Dumas
The sole purpose of your demo is to move you to the top of the list and get you an interview.
Begin your demo with a quick imaging piece that introduces you. This adds a production element and sets up what your prospective employer is going to hear. Make it quick, no long intros. If you are using a musical or parody introduction the same rule applies; make it short, entertaining and relevant.
By Randy Lane
Rutgers' basketball coach Mike Rice was fired earlier this week when he was caught on video berating players, physically shoving them and using gay slurs. See the video here.
We talk a lot about the science of social media -- the strategy and the measurement of our efforts.
What we don’t talk about enough is the art -- the philosophy of social media that drives our presence.
by Brian Holt
"Trust but verify," Ronald Regan once said.
Those words never rang more true than in covering breaking news. The chaos and confusion surrounding a breaking news story is inherent; it's the very DNA of any such event. Misinformation is flying, facts are sometimes forfeited, and being first becomes first and foremost. It's not only a producer (and host's) job to ensure what they are reporting is factual; it's their responsibility. It is their responsibility to their brand, to the station they serve and most importantly, to their listeners.
by Randy Lane
Most great radio and TV shows have opening theme music, songs or stagers that become familiar to listeners or viewers as a signal that the show is starting. It’s an opportunity to brand your show and engage the audience. Several approaches can work.
by Angela Perelli
The more work you do studying radio/media/personalities, the less you can watch a show like the Golden Globes for the dresses [That’s what the Red Carpet show is for. Thank you Ryan Seacrest.], and the more you notice bigger themes like creativity, humor, personality branding, chemistry.
By Randy Lane
“No, I never type. I don’t like that cursor flashing at me saying, ‘Whassup? Whatta’ ya got?’” -Jerry Seinfeld
Shocker: Some of the most creative people write in longhand!
You’re probably saying, “Yeah, yeah… writing in longhand instead of typing is like using snail mail rather than email.”
by Stephanie Winans
It’s pretty difficult to stick to New Year’s Resolutions.
We create a laundry list of big picture things to focus on each and every day of the year… it’s no wonder why we lose sight of the list after a couple of months- it’s exhausting!
From Randy Lane:
Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery by Garr Reynolds
You’ll never do a boring PowerPoint presentation again after reading this book! Reynolds demonstrates and illustrates how to communicate effectively in the boardroom, the conference room or on stage. You’ll learn to ditch the bullet points and communicate naturally with your personality and with clean slides.
by Cliff Dumas
How important is purposeful storytelling to the success of your show or presentation? Even one of the biggest airlines in the world, Air Canada, is using storytelling to engage and earn new audience with a storytelling contest.
by Stephanie Winans
The Social Media Santa is watching you to see if you’ve been a good boy or girl. Making a list and checking it twice. Read on to determine whether you’re on the Naughty or Nice list.
by Randy Lane
Imagine reading a blog magazine or a book without punctuation none of the content would be memorable no points would stand out because without pauses sentences and paragraphs the message is unclear
Was that hard to read? Because that’s what you sound like to listeners when you rush through breaks.
By Brian Holt
Without a doubt the Thanksgiving holiday is my favorite time of year.
Between the short workweek, good food, time spent with family and friends, and Christmas and New Year’s still to look forward to -- what's not to like about Thanksgiving?
by Stan Main
1. Get out of the studio and meet listeners. Dedicate the time to contact different organizations, charities, clubs and let them know you are available to host any events they have. Now, get an act. Create a short routine that cuts through with the audience at these events. The goal is to have them walk away thinking about listening to Gene and Julie on the next day’s show instead of wondering who those two nice DJs were.
by Randy Lane and Cliff Dumas
“Listen to the radio!” FEMA director Craig Fugate told people that the best way to get information about hurricane Sandy was battery powered radios since the internet may go out and cell phone service may be congested.
by Dave Ryan
Endorsements are great. They pay well. They usually get us some sort of cool product to try or use. And they give us a little extra job-security because the station is going to want to hang onto the jock that has a ton of clients using him for endorsements.
So what's the downside?
By Cliff Dumas
What do great leaders, innovators and key players in any industry have in common? They communicate powerfully and effectively.
If the first Vice Presidential debate were a radio show how would you rate the hosts?
by Jon Miller, Director of Programming Services at Arbitron
Earlier this summer when I spoke at the Morning Show Boot Camp in Miami, I used the opportunity to reinforce the importance of daily occasions in PPM. Particularly among your primary (P1) audience, ratings success is directly tied to the number of times your listeners tune to the station every day.
by Randy Lane
Will Mitt Romney reveal his true self tonight on the first presidential debate? Who is the real Barack Obama – the hope-and-change champion of 2008 or the realistic president of the last four years?
Political pundits "definition of character is rather simplistic, turning on such superficial points as likability and relatability.”
Topicality is Possible on Music Stations
by Angela Perelli
How many times has one of your community’s hot button topics made you look at each other and think “We can’t go there on our show”? Maybe you think the topic is too heavy, too divisive or too “edgy”.
There may be topics that don’t fit your format or show brand, yet there are also times that stories become bigger than the “target demo.”
by Randy Lane
“Without conflict, you don’t have a story. You have a reality show. A story begins with conflict.” Writer Jeff Goins’ blog has several salient points on storytelling that apply to both your show and your life.
In May of 2011, Facebook released (quietly, of course) new guidelines for brands using the platform. Here at The Randy Lane Company, we notified our clients of the new rules, and tried to help you understand them.
Fast forward 15 months, and you’re still asking about it. Not only are you asking about it, but many of you are still violating the rules. Often.
I have never wanted to believe Lance Armstrong was using performance enhancers to win a record seven Tour de France races. Then I sadly heard that he decided to no longer contest the charges against him.
Like the news media and almost everyone in the world, I’m thinking “Here we go again… another fallen sports hero on the same team with Tiger Woods, Barry Bonds and Mike Tyson.”
Right now American Idol is scrambling to fill the judge’s chairs. X Factor went through the process last year, as did America’s Got Talent. And there will come a time when a key player of your show leaves and you have to replace them.
We have worked with managers who tried the copycat approach. One PD replaced a successful talent with a talent that sounded exactly like him vocally (but with a significantly less interesting personality). He added two more songs an hour and hoped no one would notice. Another manager hired a carbon copy of the cohost – young, single, party guy – that couldn’t help but be compared (negatively) to the original, more well-known, well-liked personality.
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