September 2003 RAP
September 2003 Highlights
Feature: Back to Basics (or, All I Really Need to Know I
Learned in Radio)
By Don Elliot
This is about some basics we've all forgotten about, mixed in with some
philosophies and observations that'll help put you ahead in today's "every
man for himself, while we call it teamwork" corporate scenarios.
Interview: Joe Meinecke - WKLH/WJMR, Milwaukee,
Wisconsin
By Jerry Vigil
This month we visit market #33 where Sagas 5-station cluster enjoys a
healthy slice of the Milwaukee market. Their top rated station is the
legendary WKLH, which currently enjoys the #1 slot 25-54 with its Classic
Hits format. Not too far behind is Urban AC WJMR. And the imaging wizard
behind both stations is Joe Meinecke, who also happens to be this years RAP
Awards winner for Best Promo Medium Markets. Its a major market sound
blasting from WKLH and WJMR, and Joe shares some of his imaging philosophy
and techniques in this months RAP Interview. Be sure to check out Joes
entertaining demo on this months RAP CD!
Test Drive: Marantz CDR300 Portable CD Recorder
By Steve Cunningham
There's something just plain handy about a stand-alone CD burner that is,
one that's not part of a computer. A self-contained CD recorder into which
you can plug microphones, with input level controls and transport controls,
is often much faster and more convenient than even a laptop-based hard disk
recording system. Its even more convenient if its portable, as is the
Marantz Professional CDR300, which retails for $849.
Radio Hed: Back Story
By Jeffrey Hedquist
Life is a continuum, and when you write your commercial story, you're
showing the listener a small segment of life, a slice of time if you will.
To make that slice "real," to give it the necessary tension to capture the
listeners attention and imagination, create a back story: what led up to the
scene your listener is about to experience? What went on in the hour, day or
month before this scene?
Production 212: I Prefer to Call It "Re-Cycling"
By Dave Foxx
The longer I do this column, the more I am convinced that there are no
new ideas in radio production. Its all just a re-hash of an idea somebody
had 20 years ago. But, don't misunderstand; this is a good thing, generally.
So allow me to back up for a moment and explain exactly that "branding"
means the same thing it meant 150 years ago in the wild and wooly days of
the gunslinger and bandito. Ranchers would burn their symbol into the side
of cattle each spring so that when roundup time rolled around in the fall,
everybody would know where each steer and heifer belonged. If a steer
sported a doubleX, everyone would know that animal belonged to the Foxx
ranch. In radio, "branding" means making a song or contest instantly
recognizable as belonging to your radio station.
Feature: When Stepping Down is a Step Up
By Ed Thompson
At 7:30 p.m. on our fifth anniversary, my wife waited patiently for me to
take her to dinner while I was still at work assigning dubs because AEs
continued to turn in orders three hours past the theoretical deadlines. I
have the best family in the world. I have a wife who loves me
unconditionally. But she hates my job. Funny, so do I. I hate being
constantly on the go. I hate cutting corners to save time. I hate not
sleeping. I hate meetings that have no resolution. I hate working eleven to
twelve hours a day, every day. I hate being tired. I hate being
short-tempered. And I hate being too busy administrating that I cant do what
I love best, to write or produce.
Feature: Boy, Radio Has Changed!
By Richard Stroobant
I have just recently started teaching Audio Production to a night class
at a local college. It was the same class I took almost 20 years ago, and it
got me to thinking ALL the things that I took in that course back then, that
these students do not have to worry about anymore.
...And Make It Real Creative:
By Trent Rentsch
So Im finally in the car and pulling out of the neighborhood. I am the
only car on the road, no taillights ahead, no headlights behind nobody but
my car, the road, and me. Put the petal to the metal, nobody is going to
stop us! But that's not completely true. Somewhere in the next 5 miles, he
will be there. He is every day. And that's why I wont speed. I've learned my
lesson.
Tips & Techniques: What the Heck is the Participant
Dynamic?
By Andrew "Bag" Sidwell
Why do some Radio Campaigns hit the mark perfectly while others seem to
fluff around in the background as just noise? Austereo Creative Strategist
Andrew Sidwell believes its The Participant Dynamic at play. Simply put, The
Participant Dynamic is when Creative Writers of radio factor in the
traditional radio listener and the environment they receive the
communication in prior to creating a script.
The Monday Morning Memo: Shadow of an Unspoken Question
By Roy W. Williams
Every sales presentation should answer the customers question, "What's in
it for me?" This question is often unspoken and may even be unconscious in
the customers mind, but its always there, casting a shadow of disinterest
and doubt.
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