All posts by John Frost

John has been a successful major market DJ and Program Director for such companies as CBS, Gannett, Cap Cities, Westinghouse, Multimedia, and Sandusky and publishes the Frost Advisory.

Frost Advisory #774 – The Simplest And Most Profound Idea For How To Program A Great Radio Station

It’s a funny thing. With these weekly Frost Advisories, I try to share insights about programming basics (how the sausage is made stuff, don’tcha know), while also challenging the more seasoned to strive for The Big Idea to transform a station and a listener’s mood, perspective, and life. Some get this while many have never thought about it. In my career, I’ve been at either place in different seasons.

Just this week I was evaluating a station that sounded like it was nothing more than a sequencing of elements. Like the automation system was programming the station. One element played, then another. Then something else came on and another element played. No design. No emotional spectrum. No meaningful content.

It was like an audio version of Whack-a-mole. Hit it and move on.

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Frost Advisory #771 – Is Your Station A Commodity Or A Brand?

And now a little story…

In my other life I do some baseball announcing during Spring Training for the St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins. I’m the guy that comes on loudly on the loud speakers and tells you not to smoke, run, or have any fun, by golly! And I do it in both English and Spanish because they’ll pay me twice as much. No fumar, por favor!

At some point in Spring Training the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, and Philadelphia Phillies come to town. These games are sold out months and months in advance.

So why am I sharing this little story?

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Frost Advisory #770 – How Would You Graph The Emotions?

It’s interesting what you can see when you change perspectives. In a recent coaching session with a very talented team show I decided to move away from nuts and bolts, planning and execution and go to a 35,000 foot perspective and discuss the show’s strengths and weaknesses. Clever, don’tcha think? Mrs. Mahan in high school drama would be proud of me.

While this exercise of identifying strengths and weaknesses can be a common one for program directors and big time consultants, this time I heard an answer I’d never heard before.

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Frost Advisory #768 – The Power Of A Name

When I heard that Walt had passed away my first reaction was that he always called me by name.

He had been an executive for a major league club that I’ve been involved with for over 25 years. We would see each other every spring when I would occasionally interview him for a season ticket holder event. Walt and I traveled in much different circles so we certainly weren’t buddies; but maybe that is the point.

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Frost Advisory #766 – A Programming Lesson From The Masters, Part Two

On last week’s show I took to the driving range on what CCM programmers can learn from The Masters.

My co-author Tommy Kramer lofted the first drive reflecting on the name itself, The Masters, asking if your station’s name and imaging are ‘something that defines a different level, an ideal, like the Masters? ONE WORD can stand out among all others.’

In watching this remarkable tournament, I realized that the Masters isn’t about mere golf at all, like your radio station isn’t about the mere songs, artists, tours, deejays, and contests. Each is about something more meaningful.

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