The Three C's of Morning Shows
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TEST,BILLBOARD.BIZ/NEWSLETTER TEST, TEST, TEST. / EDITED BY MIKE STERN OCTOBER 25, 2012 | PAGE 1 OF 9 INSIDE Billboard adjusts the sales-to-airplay ratio onThe the Three C’s Of Canadian Hot 100, Ali Slaight gives a lesson on chart successGood while still in school, and Montreal's High DialsManagers come into their own. All this and moreMorning Shows Focus On charts, Theiranalysis Best and industryBuilding news a new morningcan be show found is probably the most challenging, “it’s easier to buy chemistry than to create it.” by clickingPlayers onto the imagefrustrating below. and potentially rewarding thing a PD can do. Despite an But that doesn’t mean it can’t be done and that there aren’t >page 3 incredibly high failure rate, the opportunity to build something new ways to minimize the risks. Bicoastal Media mainstream top and affective, mixed with the potential for great ratings and revenue 40 KDUK Eugene, Ore., PD Valerie Steel suggests exposing the rewards, makes the process exhilarating. potential cast members to each other A Few More New morning shows come in several before making a hiring decision. Swift Strategies forms. Stations can plug in one of many When she set out to hire a co-host For ‘Red’ >page 3 syndicated options, hire an established for “The Morning House Party,” Steel show away from another station or, as involved current host Chino, who had CLICK has been the case at several top 40 sta- handled mornings on his own for HERE tions lately, assemble a new show by nearly two years, right from the start. Just In Time For Halloween: mixing new hires with existing staffers. Having him listen to tapes of potential Bobby Bones Unfortunately, this option may be the partners and provide feedback helped On your>page mobile 4 or PDA? Accessmost complicated this story, to execute breaking effectively. news narrow the field of candidates. Then, and 24/7 industry news by typing“We are mobile.billboard.biz very careful about who we when Janita Jones, who would even- in your mobile browser. wake up with in the morning, so you tually get the job, came in for her first Rihanna, can’t just say, ‘Let’s put our night guy in interview, Steel sent her and Chino off Ne-Yo Net morning drive,’” says Steve Reynolds, a to lunch together. “Before we took that New Top 10s Follow >pageBillboard.biz 5 former morning host and president of next step I wanted Chino to buy in. If the Reynolds Group, who coaches a num- he had come back and said, ‘Something ber of major-market morning shows. “You Building chemistry for a new morning team doesn’t really ring right,’ I would have Editorial Contacts: Tom Roland and Wade Jessen need chemistry, goals and content strategy. can be challenging. Just ask Bicoastal Media looked somewhere else,” Steel says. Can Taylor If not, you’ll just get on the air and talk a mainstream top 40 KDUK Eugene, Ore., But it’s not always possible to have Swift’s morning hosts Chino and Janita Jones (bottom) Sales Contact: Lee Annlot Photoglo about Linday Lohan, and that doesn’t the current host involved in the pro- ‘Red’ Start or Local Media rhythmic top 40 XHTZ (Z90.3) With 1 Million work.” cess. In the case of Local Media rhyth- San Diego’s Tati & Chunky (top left and right). Sold? mic top 40 XHTZ (Z90.3) San Diego, >page 5 THE FIRST C: CHEMISTRY PD R Dub! was looking for an after- Reynolds explains that it’s tougher to build a morning show by noon host when he found Chunky, who had recently left the combining hosts from other dayparts than hiring an existing night slot at CBS Radio mainstream top 40 WXRK (92-3 NOW) show away from another station or going syndicated, because New York. BILLBOARD TOP 40 UPDATE PAGE 2 OF 9 At that point, morning host Tati had been working alone for a while and was getting good ratings—consistently top three in demo—despite competing against higher-profile shows with bigger budgets. So, when the decision to hire Chunky for mornings was made, he immediately had a frank discus- sion with Tati to find out what concerns she had. Tati was primarily worried about what Chunky would be like to work with, because a previous morning show partner MIKE STERN of hers had been so difficult to deal with she had begun dread- EDITOR ing coming into work. To help get the team off on the right [email protected] foot, R Dub! held a number of meetings and phone calls with the two hosts—some informal so they could get to know each other, and some more business-oriented where they brainstormed ideas and discussed mechan- ics for the show. So far it’s working out well. “They have a great relationship and seem to be hav- ing fun on the air. You would think they’ve known each other for years.” THE SECOND C: CONTENT Once the players are in place for a show, the next step is determining what that show will be about. Reynolds suggests starting with an analysis of other shows in the market to assess what they’re delivering. “You have to have a strategy for con- tent that can’t be duplicated across the street.” Emmis rhythmic top 40 WQHT (Hot 97) New York afternoon host When he started working with J and Julian Angie Martinez tweeted this picture when Mike Tyson visited the at CBS top 40 WBBM-FM (B96) Chicago, Reyn- station recently. olds looked at their primary competition at the time and saw a show that was very Anglo-ori- early in their development I’d rather leave [the audience] wanting more than roll it ented. In contrast, J and Julian are Jamaican out too fast,” he says. “There’s so much to be gained from a slow build.” and Asian, respectively. “It hit me: We’re the multicultural show. Add in Showbiz Shelly, our THE THIRD C: CONFLICT hip, white sidekick, and our Hispanic producer Regardless of how good the team’s chemistry is or how well thought out the and we reflect multicultural Chicago.” content plan is, every morning show will inevitably hit bumps in the road and Once a show has a plot and direction, Reyn- have conflicts. olds says it’s easier for the hosts to focus on “Think back to the beginning of any relationship. How did that chemistry REYNOLDS choosing and delivering the right content. For ex- form?” Reynolds asks. “You have to go on a lot of dates. And while it might ample, he’s noticed the efforts of NBC’s “Today” be euphoric at the beginning, the path is going to get rocky at some point.” in helping viewers get to know new co-host Savannah Guthrie. That’s probably For PDs, Reynolds says it’s important to foster an environment of honest what led to a recent segment where she took a ride in an Air Force fighter jet pi- communication and instill a sense of collective responsibility into the team. loted by her brother. “That’s choosing content to reinforce your current plotline Of course, that has to include the PD as well. “We are all in the people manage- or content goal,” Reynolds says. ment business, and if a PD wants to get the most out of show, they can’t fake it. However, just because there’s a content strategy in place doesn’t mean a new Talent know if a PD means it or not.” show should go overboard. R Dub! says that as much as he loves what Chunky and When it comes to conflict, R Dub! suggests that PDs try to hold back at first. “I Tati are doing in the mornings, there are times he has to pull them back. “This like my personalities to be PD of their own show. When bumps come up, quite often BILLBOARD TOP 40 UPDATE PAGE 3 OF 9 they will work them out themselves. Then, when I’m needed, I’ll be there to guide The CHRonicler them. I will moderate and mediate and make executive decisions as necessary.” Steel says that quite often the best thing a PD can do to help shows get past GETTIN’ ALL UP IN bumps in the road is to simply listen. “Sometimes people just need to know they are being heard and that you take their feelings seriously.” T-SWIZZLE’S BIZZLE And while listening in, Steel says, try to stay calm. “As a PD you can dictate how they are going to deal with problems. If you fly off the handle with every little thing The song “22” from Taylor Swift’s new album Red refers to that goes wrong, how do you think they will react?” the superstar’s age, but it could just as easily be the number of retailers Swift’s partnered with, and media appearances OUTSIDE INFLUENCES: MANAGING she’s made, to promote both Red and herself. Radio is well- TOP PERFORMERS represented, given Clear Channel’s Monday release party Each week in Outside Influences we’ll share a piece of advice you might not have seen on iHeartRadio, along with special content, a contest and because it’s from someone outside of the world of radio and records. Swift’s intros for songs from Red on its stations. A team can’t be successful if its top players aren’t performing. Take the Boston While the media and retailer blitz has made Swift hard RICH APPEL Red Sox’s dismal season.