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	Sports Commentaries
		Round the Horn - 1/20/08
		...with Larry Gifford. Q & A
		BMS: Plan the clock for us. What do you want to hear from your guys in the first 5 minutes of the hour and when do you want the hosts to take their first caller. Also, where do you like to place your guests within the hour? Larry: - It’s important to note here that there is no set formula for what to do on a show in “the first five minutes.” If you think about it, every 5 minutes, is the “first five minutes” to the listener who just tuned you in. I’ve recently changed all my talk show clocks, and each hour is different, because I want the show to feel like an organic, non-stop show. I don’t want listeners to anticipate when we air commercials. Whenever you open your mic, the key is to start strong… get to the meat quick, you will have plenty of time to tell people what’s coming up in the show, but you also have to take care of the listeners who are there now. So, in an ideal world here’s how it works. - Open with a strong opinion, topic, or story that is going to get people’s attention. Do away with all the time waster stuff up front… “Hi it’s Guy Smiley and wow what a big day… we’ve go so much sports to talk about we don’t know where to start. If you want to call the show… if you want to email the show… we’ve got Joe Simon in the 2nd hour, and Joe Johnson in the third hour… “ – All of this sounds like what a talk show host should say … but you’re wasting time. Entertain the listener who is listening now. I’d rather hear… “Hey it’s Guy Smiley… today, I’m going to tell you why I believe I have solved all the problems of the BCS.” Or “Hey it’s Guy Smiley… (play a sound byte of Terrell Owens crying) So the Cowboys lost, T-O breaks down… this is unbelievable. I do not care who you are or what you do.. .if you are a guy… you CANNOT cry at work.” Research I’ve seen shows listeners give you about 20 or 30 seconds to hook ‘em. Once you do a couple minutes on the topic, during a reset – give them a taste of something coming up later in the show. The listeners are investing TIME into your show. As we all know TIME is MONEY. So what kind of return is the listener getting from investing in your show? Give them something to talk about. - The show should be driven by the host opinions. Everything else – sound bytes, guests, callers -- are all props to help further the agenda of the host. Guests do not make your show. Callers do not make your show. No one wakes up after the Super Bowl and says, “hmmm, I wonder what Bob in Delaware thinks about what happened last night.” They want to know what Colin Cowherd thinks, and what Mike & Mike, and JT The Brick, and Dan Patrick think. - Remember, it is a show. Not all shows are the same. You may open with a guest one day, and not have any guests the next. If there is breaking news in your community you might take a lot of listener calls reacting to the news, or you may not take any and focus on insiders and experts to make sense of what’s happened. You can’t approach your show as formulaic. BMS: How much emphasis do you put on entertainment vs. information? Larry: - Entertainment vs. Information. I do not believe these are mutually exclusive. An engaging, informing interview CAN BE entertaining. An entertaining rant CAN BE informative. Hosts should always look for opportunities to use information to entertain. I think when you try to put a formula to it (i.e.. 2 parts information to 1 part Entertainment) you get yourself in trouble, because the news of the day will dictate your presentation style. How much meat vs. how much fluff. I do believe if you are doing a Sports Show, your topic should be rooted in sports even if you’re not talking about sports for most of the show. I.e. Men can’t cry at work. Use sports as a platform to talk about life. I love that stuff. BMS: How does a host find the balance between opinion and information? Some PD's want to hear more information than opinion, others prefer to hear more opinions. Larry: - As you said each PD is different. Listen to your program director and work WITH them not against them. At KSPN, I give the hosts and producers freedom to find a balance each day depending on what the hot topics are and what the host is feeling. However, my belief is that on any given day, the HOSTS OPINIONS on the news of the day should be driving the show. The only exceptions being when news breaks we go into major information gathering mode and try to hold off on opinions until we sort through the facts. BMS: What advice do you have for the host who needs to sound more likable? Larry: - Stop being so angry. Stop yelling. Stop being so negative. It’s okay to do all of these things in moderation, but remember your goal is to get people to listen to you everyday. Who is going to hang out with a know-it-all who yells and screams and is always complaining about things? Use your life as show prep. Be self deprecating. Don’t be so self-serious. BMS: What advice do you have for the host who struggles to get calls? Larry: - Don’t take it personally. Every host should be able to do a four hour, entertaining show, without guests or callers. Callers are gravy. They shouldn’t drive your show. It’s kind of like dating. As soon as you stop looking for love (or callers) they’ll show up. Prepare your show on your thoughts, opinions and insights. If you are good at developing a topic, people will react. Just remember, only 1% of the listeners will ever call. Most of your listeners will always be passive. Entertain them. Reward their loyalty to you with a good, entertaining show. BMS: Many hosts become ''I'' happy. They can't stop using the word I. What words do you not want to hear from your hosts? Larry: - Some words that drive me crazy: “when we come back.” (the listener isn’t leaving – the show never stops), “we’re going to take a break” (you are inviting the listener to leave), DO NOT MUMBLE or RUSH the Station Name. This is how you will get your ratings. Too many hosts race through the station name to get to their own name. The station name is much more important in a ratings diary world. “the phones are open/ you can email the show/text the show…” – this is a waste of time. Give the listener a reason to call or email or text- -task them, otherwise you’re going to get a bunch of stuff way off topic. Put your listeners to work and your show will be better. I am really turned off by hosts who say “piss” or “ass” or some other minor curse word, just because they can get away with it. I was guilty of doing this as a young host in Philadelphia. It’s really bad form. I also am dismayed when I hear hosts admit they didn’t watch the game or that they “hate” a certain sport that they are spending four hours talking about. Also, the word “HUH?” is not a query for an interview question (i.e.. Big Game, huh?). Ask actual questions in an interview using words like How, What, and Why and don’t just make statements and hope the guest reacts. BMS: A woman once called me rude for not saying ''thank you'' after her call. How often should a host actually thank a caller? Larry: - I’m not a fan of the thank you. Get ‘em on the air, let them say what they’re going to say and use it as a platform to reinforce your opinion. Once the caller has their say, pot ‘em down and react to them and then move to the next caller/guests/etc. That being said, I’m also not a fan of the host asking the caller, “how are you doing?” – when you bring a caller on the air set ‘em to get to the point, “Jon in Burbank you’re on 710 ESPN. What do you think about the Chargers chances on Sunday?” BMS: The interview is not the place for the host to show how knowledgeable or opinionated he or she is. So, how do you suggest the host dispute a statement from a guest that is believed to be factually incorrect? Larry: - Facts are different than arguing opinion. If there is an incorrect fact you can do a couple of things. If you have a source you can site, that works. (i.e.. “Really? Because on NFL.com it says…. “) or you can ask them where they got their information. Or if it’s a simple issue just correct them, that’s ok. (i.e.. You mean the Broncos not the Raiders, right?”) BMS: Hosting a talk show entails watching countless games, reading mounds of articles, writing bits, and very often booking guests and recording interviews. What advice to you have for hosts who can't seem to figure out how to better manage their time? Larry: - KISS – Keep it Simple Stupid. Don’t try to do much. I see hosts print reams of pages each day. There’s no way they’re going to get to it all. Focus EVERYTHING on the top stories (guests, bits, articles, games) – It will make life easier if your book guests and write bits about the same topics you’ll be discussing on your show. Don’t try to cover the entire sports world. In a three or four hour show, you’ll likely have 2 or 3 big topics with a bunch of different ways to address each one. If you’re still overwhelmed, figure out where you are spending your time and create a time budget (i.e.. If you’re spending 15 hours a week reading articles and only 5 hours a week writing or developing topics – that’s out of whack. Give yourself “x” number of hours per week to do certain tasks.) BMS: With the landscape of radio changing (fewer jobs available thanks to network programming, and talent less likely to leave a secure position), what are the keys in taking that next step to a larger market? Larry: - One of the most important things to do is network. Meet anyone and everyone. Get feedback. Listen to the advice and apply when necessary. Be willing to do what ever it takes. Understand, PD’s are all different and all looking for different things. So, if one guy says you’re horrible, the next guy may think you’re great. I disagree with colleagues all the time on who is a good talent and who is not. We all have our reasons. Also, I might think you’re a good talent, but not a good fit for my station. If I hear good talent like that I always recommend them to others where I think the fit would be good. BMS: Now more than ever, PD's and GM's are looking for a ''name'' talent, because names are easier to sell. So, how does someone become a name? Larry: - Having a name for name’s sake is great for sales initially, but ultimately talent will win. If you want to succeed as a host, be remarkable and be sales friendly. I recommend the book THE BIG MOO by Seth Godin. He talks about how YOU do not determine your own remarkability. You have to do something worth remarking on. So as a host, you need to put on a show like none other so people start talking about it. I have a list of attributes hanging in my office that I encourage all my employees to follow as we all strive to be remarkable; Do whatever it takes. Be an owner of your station. Set your own personal standards high. Think differently. Get on it. Do the RIGHT thing. Sacrifice and commit. Be passionate. Take risks. Challenge conventional wisdom. Have a can do attitude. Evolve. Drive for results. Embrace diversity. Have fun. Be a leader. Be a team. Believe. Be remarkable. As for the sales friendly piece. If you’re show is making money, your job will likely be safe. Make yourself available to the sales team, call clients, go above and beyond to help close a deal. Sales isn’t the enemy. Without Sales, we all are without jobs.
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