A couple of things that TODAY will need to watch out for will be that the topics don't become predictably un predictable.  All of the topics can't be quirky little incidents that happen to people or too unbelievable.  Most conversations I have heard are believable and sound like they are real callers.  When TODAY first came on a month ago the calls sounded staged.  

Also they should get serious occasionally or touch on heavier topics if the circumstances of the day warrant.  They shouldn't ignore the obvious and be topical. But generally the purpose of the station generally is fun and to keep things light and friendly.   

One thing they are doing well in my opinion is the fact that they do name drop Toronto locations or at least the callers do.  Showing that the conversations are with listeners in the GTA that relate local areas  local people or businesses is always a good thing. 

I think the announcers should talk more about the music or what they have played.  This is lacking in so many radio shows now.  TODAY is playing some interesting cuts but there is never anything said about the song or artist which is wrong in my opinion, especially during live shows.
 
Too many shows because of voice tracking or no host just run a bunch of songs together with no reference about what has been played.  People still like to hear information or facts about a song or artists.   Where are all the young Roger Ashby's out there??  Seems odd when music oriented stations almost never talk about the music or the artist they have just played.  Just having the song title come up on your car radio doesn't cut it.  

paterson1 wrote:

I think the announcers should talk more about the music or what they have played.  This is lacking in so many radio shows now.  TODAY is playing some interesting cuts but there is never anything said about the song or artist which is wrong in my opinion, especially during live shows.
 

One of the reasons they're not is that the breaks from almost every show are recycled into other dayparts (and in some cases other stations.)  I wouldn't be surprised if they're banking more evergreen breaks to use again months down the line.

Also, many of the breaks that sound "live" aren't; they're pre-taped with actors.

For better or worse, it's a completely different approach to announcer content.

RadioAaron wrote:

paterson1 wrote:

I think the announcers should talk more about the music or what they have played.  This is lacking in so many radio shows now.  TODAY is playing some interesting cuts but there is never anything said about the song or artist which is wrong in my opinion, especially during live shows.
 

One of the reasons they're not is that the breaks from almost every show are recycled into other dayparts (and in some cases other stations.)  I wouldn't be surprised if they're banking more evergreen breaks to use again months down the line.

Also, many of the breaks that sound "live" aren't; they're pre-taped with actors.

For better or worse, it's a completely different approach to announcer content.

When stations (especially those owned by the media giants) start doing everything for self serving interests and not the audience is when people stop tuning in.  This is one reason why radio ratings have been sliding for years.  To have music stations that are always promoting that they are the hit music station or play the best music and then almost never talk about what they are playing or anything about the artists makes no sense.

Yes you are saving money but you are doing so with fewer and fewer listeners.  There also comes a point where advertisers will wonder if these fewer listeners are even potential customers anymore who would buy their products.