Tag Archives: Great Radio

January 27, 2026 · 11:38 am

If I Was a Teenager Today, Would I Dream of a Radio Career?

I became addicted to radio by listening to great nighttime radio personalities. But those hours are now filled by anything but inspiring, innovative personalities and that makes me sad.

Great Radio Delivered

Great radio stations delivered personality, stationality, promotions, jingles, and FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). Today, the difference between one radio station and another is about as different as one fast food restaurant from another. Not all that much.

On-Air radio production was exciting when I was growing up. Radio stations were tight and focused. Every programming element that was allowed to hit the air was overseen by a program director that was obsessed with maintaining his/her radio station’s mission.

Those days are history.

SiriusXM

The other day, one of my daughters was complaining that SiriusXM was tripling her current rate of $5/month. She said she called to complain and was told there was nothing that could be done, so she cancelled the satellite service.

That’s not the shocking part of this story however.

What she said next was sad. She said that the local radio stations “sucked,” and that there was nothing on her car radio worth listening to.

The following week, SiriusXM sent her a $5/month for a year offer in her snail mail. She quickly returned to the satellite service.

We’re Creatures of Habit

There are so many things we do in our daily lives without thinking. We’re creatures of habit, and our habits are like being on autopilot; we do them without giving them any thought.

For example, you might be able to remember the last time you showered, but do you know which hand you always grab the shampoo with? Which armpit do you wash first? Which foot do you always put your socks on first? These are just a few examples of the many things we do every day without giving them any conscious thought.

Radio Listening Is A Habit, or It Isn’t

What my daughter learned, without thinking about it, was, listening to SiriusXM had become a habit. A habit that she had become addicted to. Only when forced to listen to today’s broadcast radio did she realize that it had changed from the days when she was growing up. Sadly, broadcast radio no longer served her listening needs.

Spotify, Pandora, RadioTunes etc.

My wife’s favorite music listening habit is Pandora’s “Secret Garden Radio.” In my case, RadioTunes serves up the best music mix of instrumental Smooth Jazz music.

What streamers offer the listener is the ability to match the genre of music to their mood of the moment. A broadcast radio station is a one flavor option, while streamers offer a myriad of flavors like Ben & Jerry’s.

CES2026

The other day I sat in on the first of many CES2026 (Consumer Electronics Show) recaps. What struck me was that the potential of AI (Artificial Intelligence) to sense our mood and serve up a stream of music that matches our mood.

Even more concerning for commercial broadcasters, AI may also be able to sense when a commercial break starts and switch a listener’s audio source to continue the genre of music they are listening to, avoiding the commercials.

Broadcast radio depends on its commercials as the primary source of its revenue.

That’s scary!

Yet, it is something I don’t hear any commercial radio broadcasters being concerned about. Instead, they are focused on keeping a century old radio service (AM radio) in the dashboard of every vehicle. (And like coal, it ain’t coming back, as I wrote in August 2017. You can read that blog article here: https://dicktaylorblog.com/2017/08/20/coal-aint-coming-back-neither-is-am-radio/ )

Is this really the best place for commercial broadcasters to be focusing their time and money lobbying Congress?

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January 22, 2023 · 3:00 am

Great Radio Takes A Team Effort

Looking back on my radio career that’s spanned over five decades, one thing is crystal clear, the success of each of the radio properties I worked at, was due to a team of people.

It Takes A Team

Whether we’re talking about your education, working in an office, performing on a stage, participating in a sport or being on the radio, nothing would happen if it wasn’t for a team of people, all working together, to make the magic happen.

Great radio takes dedicated professionals in all areas, including engineering, news/information, promotions, on-air personalities, programming, sales, billing and management.

Successful teams are the ones that have learned how to work together to meet and beat their goals.

Your First Team

The first team you were on was “Team Family.” Your mom and dad, along with maybe brothers and/or sisters, offered you love, support and guidance. As you grew older school introduced you to learning and sports teams.

Each of these experiences prepared you for entering the workforce where you learned that personal limitations could be balanced by others who were strong in areas you were not; no one has all the answers.

We Need Each Other

Successful radio stations are filled with people who excel in different skills and caringly collaborate; much like the human body needs all of its parts working in harmony to produce a healthy person.

To carry this a bit further, for a radio station to truly be successful, it needs to become part of another team; “Team Community.”

Radio stations that are active participants in the area they are licensed to serve become interwoven into the fabric of their community. They bring people together and create a positive energy for the betterment of everyone.

If you’re a radio listener, can you name a radio station that does this for you?

If you’re an owner/operator of a radio station, can you honestly say your property is fulfilling this mission?

“If everyone is moving forward together,

then success takes care of itself.”

-Henry Ford

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April 25, 2021 · 3:00 am

Leadership is Like a Three Legged Stool

It’s never been more challenging to be a leader, but some of the basics are as important today as ever.

Leadership is about inspiring and empowering people to believe in themselves, their company and the path that lies ahead.

Leg One: Lead by Example

People will follow more what you do than what you say. I remember having one of my department managers tell me that people in our building were afraid to swear around me, because I didn’t use swear words. It’s not that I didn’t know those words, but I personally chose not to use them, resulting in others following my lead.

“Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

-Mahatma Gandhi

Leg Two: Create a Unified Vision

A lot of companies have very lengthy and detailed “mission statements.” The problem is that few people can hardly remember, let alone put into practice everything that’s in them. Created by committees, these mission statements call to mind the old joke about what a camel is—it’s a horse created by a committee.

I prefer the idea of creating a “unified vision.” My favorite is the one that Steve Jobs created for Apple: “Create insanely great products.”

Notice he didn’t say they would create the world’s best computer, tablet or smartphone, but that whatever Apple committed to making, it would be “insanely great.”

Leg Three: Inspire Everyone to be Their Best

It’s not one thing that makes an organization the best, it’s everything. Great radio stations are great in programming, promotions, engineering, sales, facilities and community engagement. They should super serve everyone they come in contact with.

“Nobody remembers who finished second,

but the guy who finished second.”

-Bobby Unser

Great leaders hire the best people for each area of their operation, and then, get out of their way to let them excel. Leaders praise in public and correct in private, mentoring everyone in their charge. They stand ready to tackle any obstacles that prevent their people from being their personal best and inspire them to become leaders.

Leaders don’t create followers,

they create more leaders.

-Tom Peters

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July 24, 2016 · 5:10 am

Your Idea Is Ugly

44Ever had someone say that to you? How did it make you feel?

Well, all ideas start out as ugly.

Ed Catmull, CEO of Pixar writes in his book Creativity Inc. that early in the creative process every movie Pixar has ever made sucked.  They all start out as “ugly babies” that are “awkward and unformed, vulnerable and incomplete.” And that’s OK, because the public never sees these “ugly Pixar babies.” Catmull says it’s the company’s job to protect these original, fragile ideas from being judged too quickly. They understand that great ideas aren’t born; they are created from ugly ones.

Ideas Are Born Ugly

The problem today is too many ugly ideas are released to the world while they are still ugly. No one has invested the time, love and attention to craft them into something great. Or, just as bad, ideas not ready for broadcast are put on-the-air piecemeal. Radio is famous for doing this sort of thing when they change music formats and start off with 10,000 songs in a row. You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. So why put something on the air that is not going to be what it will be when it’s finished?

Practice, Practice, Practice

You don’t see a Broadway show open without there being a lot of practice first. You don’t see any type of performance art take to a stage without practice. “All of showbiz except for radio has rehearsals,” observes programming genius George Johns. Why is that?

When Did Radio Stop Rehearsals?

Ron Jacobs, the first Boss Radio PD in America at 93/KHJ writes in his book KHJ Inside Boss Radio that before the new KHJ launched, every air personality and board engineer spent two weeks practicing for the station’s debut. “Every word and every nuance was critiqued on the fly by Jacobs and (Bill) Drake,” said Boss Jock Gary Mack. “More up! More energy! Faster! I remember the distinct odor of flop sweat. But every day got better, and we made our mistakes off the air,” said Mack.

The entire original Boss Jock air staff was all seasoned radio professionals by the time they were hired to launch the new KHJ. But they all had to attend “Boss Jock Kindergarten” before they could go on the air. Boss Jock Tommy Vance put it this way, “I was to spend six hours a day doing it (practicing) until he (Jacobs) decided I would be ready for the real thing. He would be listening in his office. If the red phone rang, pick it up and listen to every word he said – very carefully. Take notes and follow his directions to the letter. Jacobs left me in my Boss Jock kindergarten.”

“Six hours every damn day I played the records. Read the commercials. Again and again, and yet again. The red phone never ceased ringing. Criticism was heaped upon me hour in, hour out. I began to picture Jacobs as the force behind the Spanish Inquisition. As the Marquis de Sade. Jack the Ripper. Eventually I was let out of the bag and given the six to nine pm shift,” said Vance.

That Used To Be Us

This was the way radio worked once upon a time. Nothing went on the air unrehearsed. Everything that went on the air was screened to insure it would meet the standards set by the station. “Ugly babies” were nurtured until they became great ideas that became great radio stations.

Great radio takes work. Great radio is exciting to listen to. Great radio gets results.

Let’s make radio great again.

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