THE SHOCK JOCK IS DEAD BUT COULD THE QUIET STORM MEET THE SAME FATE

THE SHOCK JOCK IS DEAD BUT COULD THE QUIET STORM MEET THE SAME FATE
Remember the 1979 pop rock song “Video Killed the Radio Star” by the British group The Buggles? It celebrated the golden days of radio by describing a singer whose career is cut short by television. Here’s the parody the News killed Shock format and the Internet married the Quiet storm. I’ll explain…..
It has become increasingly harder to out shock the daily newscast. When news stories about men raping 3 year old children and recording it on video or a woman kills a pregnant friend in an attempt to raise her yet unborn baby as her own. How about claiming to be kidnapped so you don’t have to get married! No shock jock could ever top this stuff.
The bottom line is the audience is numb, appalled, disgusted but “would you pass the peas please” uninterested in the next shocking saga. Their focus is on how to survive in a down economy and if radio is interested in staying in business it has to adjust to the change in lifestyle.
However if you still feel that is your niche, re-invent your style! Sacha Baron Cohen's characters are the movie's version of the shock jock, isn’t it? Borat was a huge success, the more recent Bruno wasn’t you know why? One was the innocence of being in a different culture, the other and stereotype in the midst of a gay rights campaign. Timing is everything when you have fictional people do the dirty deeds.
It is not the guy on the radio; it is an actor playing a role. The dummy does the insult not the ventriloquist. The joke is what is embarrassing; it’s not an embarrassing joke. Now that’s walking a very “fine” line just ask the Federal Communication Commission.
On radio’s other weak programming sister, the evening love music show.
The “Quiet Storm” radio program was born in 1976 on WKYS in Washington D.C. Its host and creator was Melvin Lindsey, who borrowed the theme of this broadcast romance concept from Smokey Robinson’s song of the same name.
Unfortunately, he never filed a legal copyright to the idea and it spread like wildfire. Under a cornucopia of different names “the love zone” the slow jam’s interlude” and “A Pause in the Storm” are a few that come to mind.
For three decades now the same program has been a staple for Urban and Urban AC outlet’s evening programming. Why? In 30 years the audience’s lifestyle has certainly changed regarding evening radio. Generally unless you’re in the car, in the office, out shopping and it’s on in the store, you’re not having the radio set the mood for your evening.
These are just two examples of the various reasons why radio can’t stop the dwindling audience base!?!
When associations to certain terms are drawn repeatedly – sometimes with permission – sometimes with crudeness – the effect is to dilute the power of the terms and their underlying concepts. When everyone plays slow songs from 7 to midnight or 8 in a row or 50 minutes of continuous music the phrase no longer stands out.
Research conducted at Stanford and Yale show that this process – explaining terms and concepts for their emotional associations – is a common characteristic of communication. People tend to overuse any idea or concept that delivers an emotional kick. It’s called a “semantic stretch”.
Stanford professor and author Chip Heath, who with his brother Dan penned the recently published book "Made to Stick: Why some Ideas Survive and Some Die," explains further what is a semantic stretch.
"The first person to say, 'we have to think outside the box,' had a cool concept in mind, and it produced an emotional reaction. The people who repeat it want to recreate that reaction, and as it gets repeated more and more, it gets stretched out. It becomes flabby.
They suggest most such jargon is born out of a crisis of perspective. "It's difficult to take on the perspective of others. Leaders like managers or coaches are trying to communicate ideas to people who don't have expertise. So the 'Big Idea' is in the head of the expert, and they're trying to summarize concrete things with abstract labels. It's the curse of knowledge."
I was sharing my thoughts on this subject with a broadcast confidant which led into how the internet has captured the mindset about music. Download this! Websites like “Last fm and Pandora’s box” will take request from its online clients then select songs based on their previous selections. Don’t miss that, they create their own personal radio station really playing all of their favorites in a row without commercial interruption.
How do you compete with that?
Well if you can’t beat them how do you mix in the technology to enhance your presentation? There’s an experiment in the bay area with Live 105 that bears watching. It is an on air; online live interactive radio station where the playlist is generated by votes from the online community.
My programming mind says that your P-1 listeners will drive the playlist and miss the more passive listener’s musical desires. However my innovative mindset says - new concept, fresh new buzz about my station, new approach for the listener to believe they really have a voice in what is being played on the air. And the number one advantage, you still control the list, this is just another tool to become a better radio outlet.
As I end this discussion, radio professional, this may seem shocking but the industry could use a jolt right now before we end up like the daily newspaper. The words of my granddad say it best: “you can be a piece of coal and fuel somebody else fire. Or you can take the pressure become a diamond and nobody can ever burn you again”.
Will you let the internet kill the radio star?