Spend a few minutes talking to programmers and air talent about their radio show, and it’s usually not long until someone asks about topics and content. Everyone is looking for a silver bullet, a perfect topic that attracts listeners. This mythical topic is so relevant it can’t possibly miss the target. But that’s misplaced emphasis. Great radio segments can be about anything, even a doorknob.
This article includes a lesson I learned from a talk show host who performed an entire four-hour radio show about a doorknob. Including:Â
- A valuable lesson about how to mine a topic for stories.
- The process behind the art-building a topic tree.Â
- Problems that can occur, and how to avoid them.
