In the most recent Jacobs Media Air Personality Survey (AQ4), it was extremely disappointing to see the low percentage of coaching that talents get on a regular basis. Think about this – almost half – 45% - said they hadn’t had an aircheck session in a year! Twenty-three percent said it happened a couple of times a year; 6% monthly, 9% every two weeks and only 8% weekly or more! Amazing! Almost half of those surveyed have gotten little direction from their PD in an entire year! Let that ruminate for just a second.

I do realize that most program directors these days have multiple jobs, but I also wonder where air talent sits on the priority list. Judging from the numbers, not very high for most, apparently.

You’ve seen in this column and various others the renewed importance of talent in the overall station programming plan. We’ve established, for the most part, that the music on most Country stations is the same, so why do we spend so little time with our talent, the one entity that will set us apart?

My daughter Lauren works remotely for Bain & Company, a Global 500 business consulting firm with 15,000 employees. The majority of employees work on a hybrid or remote schedule with a small percentage required to be in the office daily. Across North America, remote and ...

Some of you may know that my nephew, Jon, has been a major league baseball play-by-play announcer for close to 25 years. He’s spent time with the Miami Marlins and Atlanta Braves, and has been a regular on ESPN Radio and TV. If you’re a Chicago Cubs’ ...

Great production can help image a show’s brand, make benchmarks more memorable, and help pump up the excitement. But like any sharp-edged tool, production sometimes does more harm than good. Here are five checkpoints that help you assess if your radio show ...

I’ve written about the importance of Game Theory previously. But given recent events I thought it timely to have another look at the concept and its importance to a radio station’s overall strategic plan. According to Bloomberg, as China waged military ...

Whether it's breaking rules imposed by management or self-imposed rules, rule-breaking is an integral part of the creative process. Pablo Picasso once said, “Learn the rules like a pro so you can break them like an artist.” Let’s look at several ...

I remember my short-lived days as a Little League baseball player, how timid I was when I started playing. I was tentative fielding ground balls and just plain scared to swing at any pitch that was remotely fast. My first year in Little League was a nightmare. Confidence ...

Successful shows and podcasts today are usually ensemble casts; A team of two or more strong players contributing equally. The quarterback/host makes space for co-hosts. Pausing more, allowing others to finish their sentences, and listening actively. Great co-hosts ...

Labor Day weekend, for most, is the last official summer weekend. Vacations end, most schools are in session, or are getting ready to start, and the days are getting shorter. Attitudes change after Labor Day. Everyone is back to work and the next lengthy ...

Congratulations to Don Anthony for another successful Morning Show Boot Camp this past week in Chicago. Above is the pre-panel photo just before DeDe in the Morning moderated Diversity: Radio's Widening Path To Success. The panel included Tino Cochino, Dana Cortez, ...