The old comedy axiom is that the 3rd time gets the biggest laugh: watch any old sitcom or comedy movie and you see it over and over.  Something gets a laugh.  A few minutes later, it gets repeated, and gets another laugh.  Finally, much later, there’s a “call-back” and it gets said again, and that’s the “big” laugh.  That’s the Rule of Three.

But now, that’s outdated.  Everyone’s attention span is shorter now.  The Rule of Three doesn’t apply anymore.  Now it’s just 1, 2 instead of 1, 2, 3.  To sound like TODAY, you need to shorten that rhythm of yesterday.  If you do it a third time now, it usually just sounds like you’re trying too hard.  (Or maybe it doesn’t even make sense, because Time Spent Listening is so much shorter now.)

Watching ‘Jeopardy’ these days is strange for the millions of people of all ages who grew up watching Alex Trebek emcee the show.  First, Ken Jennings, the greatest contestant of all time, hosted.  Then the Producer of the show, Mike Richards, came in with his “Don Draper” looks and professionalism.  Then Katie Couric, enthusiastic, but…

While we know a little about Jennings and a lot about Couric (but in another setting), we knew a lot more about Alex.  He loved travel, his pride in Canada was cute, and just the WAY he conducted the show spoke volumes about his respect for what could have been just another Game Show.

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The whole key to Content is one simple thought – “tethering” the Subject to the Listener.  You have to meet her or him where they live.

Just recently, I watched an old “Andy Griffith Show” rerun about a Mayberry High School reunion.  It touched everything I felt about my own reunion, how it reawakens old feelings, puts things in perspective, etc.  (Andy saw his High School girlfriend, wondered why they drifted apart, then realized why when they got into an argument over staying in Mayberry as a “big fish is a small pond” instead of her moving to Chicago to compete in a larger arena.)

Over the years of watching what are now classic sitcoms, two names keep coming up: Everett Greenbaum and Jim Fritzell.  Name any big show in that era – Andy Griffith, M*A*S*H, Mary Tyler Moore show, etc. – and they wrote episodes for it.  They had the knack of writing something very particular to each character, but framed by what the viewer had in common with them.

That’s your challenge, too.  If you need help, get some coaching.  This is an Art, not just a technique.

It’s a big challenge for a Programmer.  You want people to listen, so you play their favorite songs.  But if all you are is a playlist, you’re not even competing in the radio world.  You’re competing with entities like Pandora, Spotify, Amazon Music, iTunes music, etc.  (Even my cable TV network has dozens of music channels.)

What every station should want is effortless flow and momentum, but still having (or taking) time to DO something.  “More music” can often mean “less Personality.”  That’s a death trap.

But on the other hand, “No restrictions,” the opposite side of the coin, is a trap of a different kind.  Great personalities have to be as good as the best song you play, too.

Music. Personality.  You don’t want one without the other – in ANY daypart.

It’s easy to wonder why radio stations sometimes decay, or never really become top stations.  This needn’t happen.  Bill Young, PD of KILT in Houston for many years, was a major influence on me and countless others who worked for him.

Before it became okay to own a zillion stations, Bill had an AM and an FM that were both hugely successful for one reason: he filled the hallways with the most talented people he could find.  Then he let them do what they do: create great radio, great Production, great Promotions, and come up with great ideas that challenged the “We’ve always done it this way” prison.

My friend “Brother Jon” Rivers, a great Top 40 jock who then became probably the best-known personality and Programmer in Contemporary Christian radio at KLTY in Dallas, put it this way: “If you hire enough really talented people, you eventually reach ‘critical mass,’ where the station EXPLODES – in a good way.  It gets so good in every area that success is just a byproduct.”  That’s the Big Goal.

If your station isn’t this way, I would recommend doing everything you can to change it.  Hire the brightest minds.  If budget is a challenge, hire young, less experienced people and let them grow under this umbrella.

I’m not one of those “everything was better in the old days” people, but in radio, that certainly can sometimes be true.  ALWAYS look for the creative “spark” when you make a hire.