(Larry) “And now let’s check that drive into work again. Here’s Don Googleheimer…”
(Don, the Traffic guy) “Thanks, Teresa. Good morning, everybody…”
I actually heard this the other day. The male half of a morning team intros the Traffic, then the Traffic guy thanks his female partner.
This shows the listener that it’s prerecorded. Or that the Traffic guy isn’t listening.
(And he needs to stop saying “everyone” or “everybody,” too; stay Singular. Talk to ME. And it also told me that if the morning team people DID listen to how the recorded Traffic report started, they forgot that “Teresa” needed to intro it. So many things to coach; so little time.)
So I recommended what I’ve done since about 25 years ago, simply getting to the end of your Content, then hitting a “Vroooom!” sound effect over the start of the Traffic music bed, and cutting right into the update with no intro or phony-sounding chit-chat. That makes the information actually be of service to the listener, and gives you more Momentum.
Oh, and make sure the Traffic person gives his or her name at the end. That covers all the bases.
Some stations that make a big deal out of “Traffic on the 8’s” or whatever may not want to do it this way. That’s fine, if you’ve built up that image. But most music stations should do the “Vroom” thing instead. (You could use a “beep-beep” sound instead. Or screeching brakes, if you want to add a little abrupt humor.)
