Radio and New Media with Charlie Harger

Guy Kawasaki 10-20-30 Presentation Rule

2009-03-18T10:59:00.001-07:00

This is a great clip, especially when you make presentations a couple of times a week as I do.

10 Slides Total
20 Minutes Max
30 Point Font Size

What I've Learned (an incomplete list)

2009-03-17T13:38:00.000-07:00

Every quarter, I try to pass on a little of the knowledge I’ve gained to my students. I have been working in Radio, Podcasting, and Social Media since 1996, and I’d like to think I’ve learned a thing or two along the way.
The name of the lecture is “What I’ve Learned,” and it’s a list of 25 or so nuggets of information that will make your life a lot easier as you begin a media career. Here are the first five:

1. Shut up.

When you start, you’re going to have a lot of great ideas and know-how. So do the professionals you’re about to work with. Listen to what they have to say. They have experience, you have much to learn. It’s pretty difficult to hear what they are saying when you are speaking.

2. Speak up.

Presumably, you’ve been hired because of your education or life experience. If you’ve listened to what others have to say, now’s your turn. The worst that can happen is someone rolls their eyes and says “no.” You’ll get over it.

3. Other people are probably right.
You’ve been doing this how long? No matter how right you think you are because you learned it in a class, there’s a huge chasm between that and real life.
There people you’re going to meet who you think are old and have nothing to show you. Get over yourself for a moment and listen. They might not be completely right, but you’re going to learn something from them.

4. Know the difference.

You’ve shut up and listened. You’ve provided your opinion. Sometimes you’re going to be wrong, and you will learn a lot.
Other times you will be right, and it sucks because no one listened to you. Don’t rub it in. Nobody likes a gloater.

5. Accept that not everyone will love you, professionally or audience-wise.

This is a tough one. We all want to be loved.

Let’s start with the easy one. The audience.

In broad terms, a ten share would make you the top station in any of the top radio markets in America. Ten percent of the total social media market would be astounding.
But what does that mean?

90 percent of people are doing something else. They’re not listening to you or going to your website.

90 percent!

Yet you would be considered a rock star if you picked up ten percent of an audience.
And that’s just your audience.

I can’t think of a workplace in America that doesn’t have politics. Prepare yourself.
You will have co-workers who don’t “get” what you do and think you don’t belong. You will have co-workers who view you as a threat and sabotage you. You will have co-workers who simply don’t like you.

It’s ok not to be liked and loved by everyone. It stings. But it’s part of making it in the business we call show.

That’s it for now. I have more thoughts to share with you… we’ll get to them soon.

Twittering away

2009-03-02T10:16:00.000-08:00

It seems as if Twitter hit "critical mass" this week. A quick check on Google News shows a total of 32,686 news stories in the past week mention the service.

A lot of new media professionals are ignoring Twitter, saying they can do the same thing on Facebook via status updates, or on their blogs.

Bad idea.

Though I preach "convergence" (i.e., every device and service will morph into one at some point), we're still a way off from that time.

What I like about Twitter is the ability to keep it brief. People aren't looking for me to go into great detail.

I also present a different side to myself... definitely much more business-oriented on Twitter than on Facebook.

Saw a job posting on Craigslist the other day looking for a person with a network of at least 1,000 on Facebook and Twitter. A requirement for applying! I'll post more on this new mindset soon.

Not Twittering? Looking to stay relevant in media? Better start.

www.twitter.com/charlieharger

Paul Harvey

2009-03-01T16:30:00.000-08:00

Radio legend Paul Harvey died at age 90 this weekend.

The first place I heard about it?

The web.

Not TV or Radio.

The way news and media is being disseminated is changing.

It's a stark reminder of the direction we're heading.

Paul was one-of-a-kind. A voice for his generation on his generation's medium.

Who will be the voice of our generation's medium?

For that matter, what is our generation's medium? The internet? TV? Or is it more complicated than that... is it convergence and on-demand programming?

Food for thought.

Improve Thy Self

2008-05-25T14:24:00.001-07:00

Sometimes, radio drives me nuts.

It kills me when I hear a good new Podcaster, DJ or Talk Host "Stalling Out." That's what I call it when somebody comes on the scene with a lot of initial promise and raw talent, but never improves.

I just don't get it when someone in radio doesn't try to learn anything new, they just rely on being "capable."

I'm always sending my students to Dan O'Day's website, danoday.com

Dan's an old-school consultant who understands radio is a medium that must evolve.

Dan has a lot of great nuggets on his site about improving yourself as a jock, and giving advice (sometimes unwanted) to radio personalities.

I just plunked down $40 to buy two of Dan's books about radio. It's an instant download (they're e-books), and there are 500 or so pages of wisdom he's gotten through the years.

But, if you were to translate that advice into "TiVo Desperate Housewives and play the best drops for your listeners in the morning," it's perfectly valid.

It's a good read. A lot of free stuff on his site as well. DanODay.com.

The ol' Aircheck

2008-05-21T20:32:00.000-07:00

I put my annual aircheck together. It's important to keep it fresh, so here goes!

George Noory KOMO Radio Interview

2008-05-20T13:09:00.001-07:00

Here's an interview I did with George Noory, the host of Coast-to-Coast AM. Even though he's been the permanent host of the show for years, you may know him better as the guy who replaced Art Bell on weeknights.

I was filling in for Eric Slocum that day. Lisa Brooks is the videographer/main anchor.

Incredibly friendly, and taller than he sounds.

Always the bridesmaid

2008-05-20T11:33:00.001-07:00

I'm sure it was close.

I was up for the "Best Local Talent" award from the Puget Sound Radio Broadcasters Association (PSRBA) . Again.

Actually, this year, I pretty much just edited and wrote the nominee. It was for our friend and colleague at KOMO, Larry Nelson.

Larry passed away in November, and I had the privilege of putting together a career retrospective on him. But I only had eight hours to do it. The man was a legend at my workplace, and this was the sort of thing that needed to be done right. I think it sounded pretty good: http://www.komoradio.com/news/11914766.html?video=pop&t=a

Bob Rivers from KZOK won again.

I say "again," because I was up for a Best Broadcast award last year. Actually, t hree nominations .

And Bob beat me then, too.

Here's the deal, though. I pretty much owe my career to Bob. He got me my first gig at Microsoft and Windows Media doing the radio thing over ten years ago. He's one of the kindest, most generous, and all-around good guys you'll want to meet.

At least I didn't lose to that other guy.