Medical students are taught the foundational rule of becoming a doctor: do no harm. In radio, the equivalent is to reduce tune-out. This common-sense lesson has profound implications that inform each decision and every talk segment.
Nearly every time a mic is switched on, you start over. When the first word is spoken, personalities disrupt the listening environment (assuming you were playing a song). The audience was happy or they would have already tuned out. But you just changed it. Your challenge is to attract, earn, and hold the audience’s attention for as long as possible, but you’re starting at a disadvantage. You’re at ground zero, and the problem faces you over and over every day. That may sound dramatic, but it’s true. That’s how radio listeners listen.
