The problem with "Regular callers" is that, depending on the show, it can tend to sound too much like an infomercial, if not careful.

#7 is fine, considering RadioQuiz thinks the callers are useless and not needed at all for a talk show.

 

BTW when listening to the general public's opinion on radio, keep in mind the skew involved.  I'll never forget a focus group we did of listeners who weren't aware of it, but they were all 'large' contest winners. Every one of them.  

We asked the usual general questions and one was 'what do you think of radio contests'.  Out of 32 listeners only 4 thought they were a good idea.  28 thought they distracted from programing, were nothing but disguised hype for the radio station and wouldn't miss them if they never happened. 

LOL.   Let me clarify my point as I comment on a list of "things we don't want to hear from callers on talk radio" - my position is that if you have a well prepped talk radio show - you don't NEED callers, instead you use them to add to the flow of the show.    When you do a show that REQUIRES callers to fill the time, the result is usually "pick a number from that list" kind of show.  I will add one more to the list - the ultimate sign of desperation of a host is when they ask a follow up question to the caller that has nothing to do w/ the reason they called.    If you rely on your callers to prep your show.... It will suck.   Always.

Terry "I have an adopted Chinese daughter and five cars" from Port Perry has not been on the Stafford show for
months.  He's called but not put on-air.   He's also all over 'RB.  The worst is "Jeff from Orillia" right now.  He has been the last caller on some shows and first caller on the next.  There are maybe only three or four screeners in Toronto who can properly screen a show.  The rest don't even know what the topic is or don't care if they're very old, off-topic or just nuts.  BTW a show that relies on only calls can work....if the screener's good.  Callers aren't "prep".
You have no idea what you're talking about.

Last edited by Miker (September 9, 2016 9:19 pm)

Talk radio is a snooze festival.  Larry Solway started it in T.O.  TuneOUT factor BIG time.  Moved it to day time.  Then John Dolan...and now...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...pure pony piss...minus the pony.

Who the phuque cares?

Shaddap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-------------------------------------------

Great for sales though.  We have a wide demo...12 - 99 and each and every one of them is an ignorant, uneducated moron.  So?  How much do you want to spend with us this year?

Last edited by Old Codger (September 9, 2016 3:26 pm)

ig wrote:

I cut callers with 8,7 and 1 a bit of slack.  It's an alien world to them, and if it's not, they're regulars and should have probably been screened out.  This is the caller sticking their big toe into the pool to check the water temperature.  They don't know how it works, what will happen, or even if it's like a regular phone conversation....The regular callers are a pain in the ass, but they're nowhere near as bad as they used to be.

Iain: I actually agree with you – those phrases are like vocal crutches, as a nervous caller gets revved up to say what he or she phoned in about. The problem comes when you hear it over and over and over and over again in the same show from different people. 
 
As for “regular” callers, they can be a pain. But I do recall one host who actually turned one of them into a huge plus. (Much like Stafford sometimes does with “Deb from Fargo.”) That host was the late great Earl McRae, who started out – and ended life – as a newspaper columnist. But at some point he branched out into broadcasting, and I was proud to call him a friend.
 
Earl was a brilliant writer, mimic, wit, broadcaster and even artist, whose caricatures were hilarious. His first radio job came at the old Telemedia-owned CJCL (now the Fan 590) back in the early 80s, when it was still at 1430. There was an old guy named Jack Gordon who used to call his Open Line Sports show every single night.
 
This guy was a real character, with a gruff, nasal voice, always griping “don’t give me that pan gravy!” whenever he didn’t agree with something. He was entertaining, I’ll give him that. But his act began to wear thin after about a week or so. And then Earl decided on the spur of the moment on air that he sounded like one of those guys from an old Hollywood prison movie.
 
That did it.
 
From then on, he would always ask him if the warden was giving him enough time to call the show and it started spreading from there. The next time he called, they played a sound effect of a cell door creaking open before he came on. The call after that featured the sounds of guards’ heavy footsteps, with clanking chains, marching down a corridor, followed by the cell door opening. The next night, women would scream as he trudged in chains down the cellblock. And it got more elaborate every time.  Every night was something else. And at the end of the call, the cell door would slam closed, marking the end of Jack for that day.
 
I never did ask Earl, but I wonder if people actually believed he was a prisoner? The very last time I heard him was on one of those you-couldn’t-have-planned-it-that-way-if-you-tried moments that are magic on radio. Jack came on to the requisite SFX and began ranting about Harold Ballard and the Leafs or some other local team. After about a minute of him going nonstop, Earl started singing quietly into the mic, “Turn out the lights, the party’s over,” as his producer slowly lowered Jack’s pot down and faded him out.
 
He later told me it was totally unplanned, but just as Earl finished his song and the last sonic moments of Jack’s voice faded out, the cell door clanged and he was gone. It was one of the funniest "theatre of the mind" bits I’ve ever heard and I wish I had a tape of it. But it shows how some creativity can turn a regular caller nuisance into something listeners can’t wait to hear.
 
It doesn’t happen often. But with the right host and a bit of luck, it can. And when it does, it's great. 

Working with THE best radio personality this side of The Milky Way Galaxy has taught me quite a few things about screening calls.

Many consider the role to be less important than the office cleaners who soak up the accumulated spittle from around the mics at the end of every broadcast day.

After having spent some time behind the mic, working with other screeners, I've learned just how damn important a GREAT screener is.

There's a flow to a topic, to a show. Weak callers disrupt that flow. A screener's job is to eliminate the pests, and keep the best - by ANY means necessary.

It's nobody's RIGHT to have their say on privately owned and operated airwaves. You don't need to provide a caller with a valid reason as to why you don't want to grant them audience with the Great and Powerful Oz.

A good producer will not:

1. Pay ANY attention to their smartphone, unless it's related to the show they're working on (connecting with a guest). Distracted Driving, meet distracted screening. Doing either one can lead to disastrous consequences!

2. Talk to a caller for more than 15 seconds. Get the calls racked up. Don't engage in friendly chit-chat. Your job is to connect the caller with the host, not to engage in your own personal radio show behind the scenes. Nothing is more frustrating for a host than to see a screener engaged in a minutes-long chat with a caller while other lines are either ringing or sitting on hold. Being brief with a caller also avoids the "as I said to your screener" opener, and ensures that a caller's content is fresh and original. You should be able to determine a caller's potency seconds into their pitch. Some producers gab on with the callers to boost their own ego and soak up attention (which happens from time to time, but should never interfere with the show)

3. Keep a rotten caller on hold, instead of dropping them. If you have no intention of putting a caller on air, why are they still on the line? Drop them. Tell them that the lines are jammed, that you won't be able to get to them. Tell them that you'll pass their comment on to the host. Tell them their phone signal is too poor. Tell them they have the wrong number. Simply say "Appreciate the call. Have a good one! *CLICK*". DO NOT KEEP THEM ON HOLD. Many producers are afraid of slighting a listener, hurting their feelings. Boo-hoo, too bad. Only the best go on first. This isn't an "everybody should have a fair chance to say their mind" scenario. Allowing the weak to proceed only suggests to them that they should call in again in the future. You want to nip that in the bud right away.

4. Put on a caller who's already been on the program that day, on an earlier show. This requires a producer to listen to the major shows on a regular basis, to be able to identify the callers that have already made it to air. Part of the job of being a good producer. Callers get one shot during the course of the show. Hearing a diverse mix of fresh voices encourages more people to call, as they believe they have a better chance of making it on with the host.

5. Overuse regular callers. As mentioned, Terry in Port Perry, J-j-j-eff in Orillia, Toe-knee in Mississauga, Frank the Legal Beagle, Pete "The Right is always right" in Whitby, Enzo in Etobicoke, Larry in St. Catharines, Johnny in Oshawa, Amanda in Peterborough, Karen in Goodwood, Doug in Peterborough, Rob in Whitby, Mark the Ex-Cab Driver, Cee-cee the American Trucker, Mohammed in Etobicoke, Drew, Tom in Keswick, Mike in Scarborough, John in Woodbridge, and a sea of others are heard much too often on GTA talk radio. Some will hit every show on all stations in one day (get a job!). Except the shows I work on. Every now and then, fine. But rarely. I've trained a good portion of the regulars not to call during my shift - they now know they won't make it to air. We appreciate their eagerness, but c'mon, let some fresh blood have their say. Besides, regulars often share opinion, when callers with actual experience on an issue are being sought.

6. Put on the very old and the very young. Remember your demo. Your callers should reflect your station's demo. Don't put on young kids or senior citizens sucking oxygen out of a tank if your demo is A25-54, or W25-54, or M25-54.

7. Put on callers that are hard to understand or painful to listen to. Caller has a thick accent? Goodbye. Nothing racist about it. If you're struggling to understand them, how will the host or listening audience fare? Caller speaks too slowly? Click. Caller wants to make a quick, lame one-liner? No. This isn't Laugh-In.

8. Let callers have control of your conversation. You the producer are in charge, the callers are not. ALWAYS control the conversation, from start to finish. You decide whether or not they get a chance to join the host. That power does not reside with them. If you don't have a good feeling about a caller, drop them. You have the power! Cut them off before they start to ramble. "Make sure your radio is off, and hold on for the host" is preferred over "okay caller, I'm going to put you on hold for the host, is that okay?" Don't ask them, TELL THEM! If a caller swears at you, HANG UP!

There's more I'd like to say, but I'm tired. Imma lie down now and go to sleep.

Last edited by Fjiri (September 9, 2016 10:45 pm)