Post Problems

Lately, I’ve been thinking I really need to post more. There seems to be a bit of a demand, at least 5 people are regular readers, and I hate to let any audience down, not matter how small. Old habits.

Sometimes, yes life distracts me. I can’t sit my booty down long enough to jot something down. I’m also shockingly a bit particular, something I’m realizing later in life. I normally don’t like to post anything just to post.

That’s how I was in radio. I hated to do a break just because the clock said it was time to crack the mic. It sucked if it talk break time and the talk over song had a 1 second intro. Can’t say much with that time, although I would certainly try...if not switch my break completely, much to the chagrin of the boss. I was never a time and temp jock. I really wanted to say something funny or relevant or give a little fact. I couldn’t just talk to talk.

Or so I thought.

But I digress and as I do, I realize….here I am with a little post. Funny how that works out
The posting “problem” (is it really a problem in the grand scheme of things?) but the issue isn’t quite frankly, a lack of something to write about. The real rub is this-I have too much to write about.

So many thoughts and fragments run through my tiny little brain on a daily basis that it’s hard to know where to start. So sometimes I start everywhere and then end nowhere.
Yes, that in a nutshell is the story of my life my friends. So many beginnings, so many things started and nothing is finished.

Writing isn’t easy, just like opening up a microphone isn’t as easy as everyone thinks. The biggest problem I’ve always had is how to wrap it up. And how to wrap it up smoothly, in a compelling fashion with a pretty little flourishing bow.

The other thing is my audience. In radio, for the most part, the station format dictated who we were talking to-the “target demo” that was the catalyst for one to one communication. Radio is theater of the mind, and in order for anyone to buy into it; every single person has to think the jock is talking directly to him or her.

No small feat. The same goes for writing, but sometimes knowing who my audience is holds me back. The gripes and groans and opinions I want to ramble on about don’t seem appropriate nor interesting to the people I know are out there. You have to play to the audience. It's not what you want to hear, or write about...it's what your listeners/readers want. It takes awhile to learn that, and even then…it's still a hard rule to follow.

Not the prettiest bow, but it’ll have to do for today.


Radio Demystification 101

A Radio Clock: Essentially the schedule of music, talk breaks and commercials

Song Intro Time: The instrumental length at the beginning of a song that a Top 40/AC jock can talk up.

Hitting the Post: Talking up an intro perfectly..ending the exact time the vocals start without chatting over the vocals.

Rock stations are generally different, as jocks in those formats generally talk more before and after a song, not over the song. My only experience with that was college radio, which led to some hilarious 10 minute breaks about MINUTIA…(yes kinda like this blog.) ☺