Extension Marketing Resources

Radio

Getting Your Messages on Radio

Radio can be a useful tool for enhancing public awareness of Extension and generating listener interest in various programs and activities. Success in getting air time may depend on your understanding of radio station operating procedures and programming priorities.

Station staff

To understand how a radio station operates, you need to know the management structure. Although the organization differs from station to station, there are some basics.

General manager: This person is in charge of all operations. At smaller stations, the general manager is often also the owner, the program director and the chief engineer, all wrapped into one. At larger stations, the general manager may be higher in the organization than you need to start. It could be that the manager of the larger station may not be closely enough involved in the everyday programming of the station to help you.

News director: This person may be your most frequent contact at a station. After having sold the idea that you generate useful information on a regular basis, you will end up providing much of it to the news director in the form of news stories, news tips and calendar information. Job turnover can be relatively high for news directors, especially at small stations. You may need to build new relationships regularly.

Program director: Program directors are responsible for the combination of music, news and information you hear on the station. With the program director you must concentrate on what your information will do to enhance the listener’s image of the station.

Identifying Your Audience(s)

Remember the most important rule: Know who you want to talk to, and why. Think about natural groupings of your clients: groupings by age, geographic location, interests, family income, gender, life style and many other demographic factors. Think of each group and combination of groups as a target. How can you reach the target?

Be specific. Target your audience precisely. This is the same targeting process an advertiser uses to deliver a sales message to a specific audience. Take the time to really listen to the radio, especially the commercials. Take a cue from the way advertisers get their messages across. Notice how they get your attention. Then apply that knowledge to the information and other materials you produce.

There are three basic ways to get free air time–news, public service announcements and radio programs. Each is effective with various target audiences. Each will allow varying levels of involvement on your part; each is a unique vehicle for your information.

News

Radio news stories are becoming shorter and more to the point. A typical story is less than 60 seconds long and tells one piece of information clearly. Extension can be a good source of information for radio news..

What Is News?

News can be defined as any piece of information that will affect your head, heart or pocketbook. In other words, news is information that will stimulate someone’s curiosity or intellectual interest, will create an emotional response or is of economic importance to individuals or groups. News can help set the agenda for ongoing discussions in the community.

Another important dimension of news is time. This information must be timely. Did it just happen? Will it still be interesting tomorrow? Is the information relevant? Who cares? Be aware that news organizations want to do stories sooner rather than later.

What Goes Into a Story

Your local radio station is primarily interested in local news. These are news sources that readily lend themselves to localization:

• Information or stories that “affect” people’s lives
• Major events
• Experiences of local people
• Timely problems and solutions
• Market information
• Timely information from your area of expertise
• Weather information
• Local information about national news stories
• This week’s activities, involving local people

Major Market News

In large media markets, it’s becoming more and more difficult to place radio news. Because competition is strong, many stations stylize their newscasts to stand out on the crowded dial. They may simply refuse to run anything their competition might have also received. In most large markets, it’s best simply to become a news source. Develop a relationship with the station news staff that allows them to trust and call on you when they identify a story. In return, this allows you to call them when you feel you have newsworthy information. If you have a good story, don’t wait for them to call you.

Corporate policy also affects what types of stories run. Newscasts may sound alike from market to market with coverage reflecting corporate production policy.

Radio Interviews

If you are to be interviewed:

• Know your subject. Good preparation builds self-confidence.
• Stick to key themes or positive points.
• Be prepared for a small studio and many distractions. Ignore those distractions, stay alert and keep your mind on the topic. Avoid pauses when answering questions on a live radio interview program. Silence (dead air) on radio is not good. (When you have concluded your answer, then a pause is okay and it is up to the host to fill it.)
• Referring to notes is OK, but do not read directly from them. Be careful not to rattle your pages.
• You need to relay a professional attitude through your conversational tone.
• Call-in shows are good exposure and questions are often more along the lines of “friendly questions.” Answer them as you would any interviewer’s questions, bridging to positive points.
• Use the host’s first name occasionally and if you know the caller’s first name, use it.

Writing for Radio

• Write for the ear, not the eye. (See with the mind’s eye.)
• Be conversational - write the way you would say it, but use correct grammar.
• Sentences in broadcast copy generally do not run more than 10 - 15 words. This is a guide and not an inflexible rule.
• Be as informal as possible. Include contractions to add informality. Use simple words and “talk” to the listener. You must understand what you are writing if you expect anyone else to understand it. Talk about listener benefits - what’s in it for the listener, not the writer.
• Be precise when dealing with names and titles. Be completely accurate at all times.
• Include Extension’s name in the copy to enhance brand recognition.
• Avoid long numbers or complex statistical data that could be confusing.
• Repeat important telephone numbers and addresses - keep them simple and easy to remember.
• Double space your copy for easier reading, and so the announcer can make notes.
• Use only one side of the paper and don’t end the page in the middle of a sentence.
• Always spell out days of the week, months, states and the like. They are easier to read this way.
• Round things off: 5,000 feet is nearly a mile. When the stock market is up 2.89 for the day, you say that it was up nearly 3 points.
• For numbers like 1,500, a misplaced comma may make a great difference. The style form is easier to read when speaking from a script: 1,500 becomes 15-hundred.
• Use punctuation to underscore mood, tempo, rhythm, as well as to clarify, emphasize and dramatize your copy. Use dots (...) To indicate a comma or short pause. Underline or CAPITALIZE key words to be stressed.
• Keep it simple.

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