Frost Advisory

Frost Advisory #824 – The 800-pound Programming Paradox

It’s the essence of programming. Every element needs to add value.

For a music station it begins with the music. That means that every song you play has to ADD value. The songs that add the greatest value are the songs that have the most value; the ones that are most loved.

For everything else it is about the value of that which interrupts the music. On one hand we can argue that if people come to us for music we should never interrupt it.

But here is the 800-pound programming paradox:

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Tommy Kramer Tip

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #678: Talk Less, Mean More

It seems like everybody’s “stretching” out conversations to an alarming level these days.

And yet, it’s the shortest statements that have the most meaning. Examples:

“And in the end…the love you take is equal to the love you make.” The Beatles. Add anything else to it, and it becomes watered down.

“Walk softly and carry a big stick.” Theodore Roosevelt. He certainly didn’t need any additions to that statement.

“Jesus wept.” The Bible. The saddest passage, to me. No more words necessary.

The lesson: Try to resist that “one more thought” impulse. You’ll find that talking less equals meaning more.

Frost Advisory

Frost Advisory #822 – If People Don’t Want To Listen No One Is Going To Stop Them

“Off air,” the TV schedule indicated. “No programming scheduled at this time,” the box on the lower left read. It was 7:30pm. Prime time, I think they call it.

I recently attended a major league baseball game where the concession stands on the third base side were all closed. If you wanted to give them your money there was no one there to take it, presumably the very reason they were there in the first place.

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Tommy Kramer Tip

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #677: Something Worth Listening To

The one Constant that any great air talent or station needs to have:

Every day, every single day, your primary goal is to deliver something that’s worth listening to.

“Memorable Moments” (a Mark Ramsey term) are what put you on the map, and the more of them you consistently have puts the station on the map more prominently.

I hear so much “social media post that I thought up a punch line for” stuff lately that it makes me want to scream.

WORK at it. Try to get better and more consistent each day. All I’m looking for is something worth listening to. If I hear it, I’ll stick with you.

Frost Advisory

Frost Advisory #820 – What Christian Radio Can Learn From Eric Church

There will be those in our format that will push back from my observations that follow because Eric Church is not specifically a Christian music artist. I get that. (Oh, the irony that Church is his name).

That friction is likely from a perspective that our format is fundamentally about the Christian music industry, not that that our format is about the message, articulated by numerous talented musicians, songwriters, and on air personalities. (One tends to attract a smaller audience while the other has the potential to attract a much larger audience).

If you’ve yet to see his remarkable commencement speech at UNC Chapel Hill this might be a good time to do so. I’ll wait.

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Tommy Kramer Tip

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #675: You Need to Know Them

This is the starting place – especially when you’re new to a station:

People don’t need to know you. You need to know them.

Streets have names that are pronounced differently than you would have thought.
Food tastes are different. (I once went to a corporate meeting in York, Pennsylvania. EVERY store and every restaurant I went into had candy machines in the entrance. Dentists must love that place.)

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