New to a market? Here’s a great tip:

Take a different route to work each day. You’ll see where construction is going on, what stores are opening (or closing), etc.

It’s easy. Just turn one street sooner, or one street later from your normal route. Learn the neighborhood, then learn the city. It’s much better to see and feel the vibe than it is to just be given some claptrap about who the “average” listener is.

Dallas radio legend Ron Chapman was a great example. One day, he was plugging a station event, and instead of just giving the name of the location or street address, he added, “You know … it used to be the bank building, and before that it was the Mexican restaurant ….”

Genius. Immediately, you know that he’s the guy from HERE, and everybody else ISN’T.

You could be that guy, too. It just takes a little exploring.

You may not think of it this way, but radio IS performance art. It’s not an “exercise,” it’s not just about mechanics. Yes, you want to play the right songs, the right number of them, and a solid rotation… blah blah-blah blah-blah.

But it’s really all just about connecting with the Listener.

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The great movie director Arthur Penn (Bonnie & Clyde, Little Big Man, The Missouri Breaks, etc.) often spoke of what he called ‘happy accidents’ occurring during the filming. Little movements or reactions or lines that weren’t in the script, but were magical.

I see the same thing in radio – breaks that just “appear” out of nowhere and crack people up.

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New York Yankees Hall of Fame shortstop Derek Jeter recently played in his first “Oldtimers Game.” At one point he was asked about the current Yankees team bringing up some young players, and how to handle the pressure of playing in New York.

I think it resonates to anyone in radio who’s looking to move up to a larger market.

He said, “It’s the same game, there are just more people in the stands. I think sometimes when you get up to this level you try to do things a little bit differently, but you have to be yourself. Don’t try to do something that you’re not accustomed to. You have to enjoy yourself, and try to improve each and every day. The bottom line here is you gotta win.”

Amen.