Building A Show
Building A Show
In radio we think of shows in terms of clock hours and within that hour there are feature segments.
In Leighton Buzz Radio most of our general music hours (called the Buzzing Music Mix) have a segment at the top of each hour which is the national news. The hour is then built in further segments which include the station jingles, our client adverts, promotions for other shows and community announcements.
As a presenter, your job is to keep the listener interested and staying tuned throughout the hour, moving them from segment to segment and helping them understand where they are in that hour. There are a number of methods that we use to do this.
Housekeeping and Stationality
As a presenter you need to treat every listener as though they have only just tuned in and at most will be listening for 15 minutes. Part of your job is to signpost there journey for them and this is what we call housekeeping and stationality.
Here is a great video from radio presenter trainer Kate Cocker on Housekeeping. All videos are copyrighted and only for use within our training program
More on Housekeeping
Housekeeping and Stationality are the essential framework of building a show and yet it is the bit that many (even experienced) presenters often miss out.
Kate makes a very important point about keeping the enthusiasm of saying your name and the station. Remember it could be a listener hearing us for the very first time and your enthusiasm could be the reason the stay tuned.
Another note at this point is our advertisers. The adverts are not an interruption to the much loved music or your important show content, it is the opportunity to love the people who support the station, who keep us running and the best way to do that is to once again be enthusiastic.
Inspiration
“Alan Freeman always managed to convince me there was nothing better I could do with my time than listen to the next song”
Richard Allinson, Radio Moments Conversations
From the book:Radio Secrets by David Lloyd