Blog Archives - Page 14 of 21

Before we wrote this blog about Virtual Assistance units, we immersed ourselves in radio history. Nostalgia warms the heart, right? Because, quite frankly, the thought of a small, stark white device controlling everything in a home leaves me a little cold.

We found old photos of families gathered around the radio, odd smiles on their faces, ears inclined forward to catch every word. This was cutting edge technology. Not so different from Alexa after all.

Did radio bring families and friends together? You bet. Radios were expensive and hard to come by. If you wanted to stay on trend, you had to interact with other people. Conversations shifted. Access to relevant information doubled. Family discussions changed. Radio listenership boomed, and the Golden Age of Radio was born.

Radio listenership increase is all about accessibility. With the installation of radios in automobiles and the introduction of FM, radio stations began targeting specific audiences.

When the private sector embraced streaming, we became a house divided. People became isolated listeners on phones, iPods and other devices. Meanwhile, streaming stations celebrated a few “golden years”.

Listenership statistics now include all forms of broadcasting and listening devices. Each listener in their own world … headphones on, enjoying podcasts, webcasts, music mixes and station streaming. You CAN always get what you want, but research shows you’re listening alone.

GETTING YOUR STATION BACK IN THE HOME

Until now. With the introduction of Echo’s Alexa, Google Home, Microsoft Cortana and other smart speaker systems, radio is returning home to its rightful throne. Front and center. In less than two seconds following a simple verbal command, you can be jamming to your favorite tunes. According to Edison Research, 7% of American households have purchased a smart speaker system … just in the past year or so. Gartner Inc. Technology Research firm predicts a saturation of 75% within three years.

That’s great news for your radio station, provided that you get onboard. One of the most important steps you need to take is to establish your branding and a “skill” with the likes of

Alexa. The market’s already glutted, so listen up. It doesn’t matter what your brand is over the airwaves, another station can snag it for themselves on this new platform. So it is recommended that you create an “invocation” name that is recognizable by a system. So when a listener says, “Alexa, play fifty-two-five The Point”, Alexa will know what to do. Even if your station is readily available on iHeart or TuneIn, nothing takes the place of a personalized experience.

Carol Ellingson, from our consulting team had this to say. “People are making new habits now in the digital world, the question is are you going to be part of them or left behind? Now’s the time to own the names associated with your brand not just as a url or social media page name, but also in the new digital frontier known as skills.”

We agree. Our own digital consultant, Keith Thode had this to say about smart speakers:

”Smart speakers, and the digital assistant technology that powers them are going to change the way we interact with nearly everything in our environment. Being front and center with this technology is critical to retaining your current audience and paves the way to reach a “new” in-home audience.”

Yes, it’s time to put the radio back where it started. The home. Let’s get started. To learn more, visit our Digital Services page.

Sources: http://www.insideradio.com, http://www.aliveradionetwork.com, https://www.newsgeneration.com, https://www.statista.com

The simple sandbox. I played in one. I’ll bet you did, too! Remember those days? Bring your Writing Team and come with me for a few minutes to be reminded of what makes meaningful writing for audio, in my Sandbox Approach to Jumpstarting Writing for Audio! Yes, you can!

“A poem begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a lovesickness.” – Robert Frost

The sandbox is a defined space, but a creative blank. Accept the limits and go for the sandy opportunity to communicate.
Remind yourself that we want God to speak through our writing to a listener, with a focus on what she needs to hear. Pray for God to use you.
Sit to just write/create: imperfectly, unfinished, inexact. 140 words is about 60 seconds, but don’t worry about that as you begin.
Include a premise on your topic. What one topic is interesting to your listener?
Add an “a-ha”, “I-never-thought-aboutit-that-waylesson. It may be obvious to you, but may be new to others.
Read your writing aloud. Does it sound natural? Use words that you usually speak?
Now, edit. Make it concise and go!
Need more help? Call on Finney Media if you don’t have time or energy. We love It when we can join your sandbox crew!

Thoughts from our Talent Coach, Gary Morland.

When an air talent hears advice to be brief and concise they can think two things to themselves (well, I did anyway):

1. “You don’t really think I’m that good and you’re trying to limit the damage.”

2. “How am I going to be able to say anything worthwhile?”

Brief is never seen as positive by the air talent. And often whoever is coaching really does mean #1.

But brevity is actually every brilliant air talent’s secret weapon. How? It takes advantage of an expectation “law” built into all humans:

We associate time with value.

The longer a break takes, the more it needs to be worth it for the listener to be satisfied. The longer they listen, then the higher the bar goes for their expectation of satisfaction.

It’s true. The listener subconsciously expects a higher payoff for listening longer! The payoff can be an emotion, information, inspiration, a laugh, an insight – anything that makes the listener feel satisfied. But the longer the break, the higher that satisfaction needs to be.

If the break ends with the listener feeling the length wasn’t worth it, they begin to get trained to tune out after the first few moments of hearing the talent’s voice. We all hate listeners tuning us out. It frustrates our desire for them to hear what we have to say.

We all love listeners tuning IN when they hear our voice. Satisfied listeners tune in and DO hear what we have to say.

So the shorter the break, the easier it is to satisfy the listener.

Briefer breaks that leave the listener satisfied over and over build credibility and affection for the air talent. Which helps for those times when a break IS longer.

Brevity is a secret weapon. Yes, an individual break contains less of what the talent has to say. But the listener hears a higher percentage of it, and the talent lets it add up break after break,

day after day. In the end, the listener hears MORE of what the talent has to say, because they haven’t tuned out longer unsatisfying breaks.

So, a great message for air talent to hear:

“Do this enough and the listener will love you and bond with you. They’ll cut you more slack for times when you don’t satisfy them. They’ll listen longer and tune out less. Ratings will go up, PD’s and GM’s will get happy, and your habit of brief satisfying breaks will have added up to a library of meaning and satisfaction for your listener. Then everyone does the happy dance.”

And it all started with “shorter breaks.” The secret weapon of brilliant air talents.

Want some help with your station…or for yourself? Contact Chuck at chuck@finneymedia.com.

An NRB Opportunity for You

Chuck, Jan and Keith look forward to seeing you in Nashville! Keith, did we say? Yes, he’s our newest consultant, our digital expert. Here are details before your calendar maxes out!

NEW this year: Website 10-point Inspection Appointments

An opportunity for you or someone on your staff to obtain a FREE Finney Media 10-point website inspection, valued at $699. Appointments are limited, so best not to wait! Sign up today.

There are LIMITED appointment opportunities. To learn more, visit our 2018 NRB webpage.

NEW Group Alexa Skill Sessions.

Ready for the Digital Voice Command frontier? The digital content challenge? Is your ministry or station using the wildly popular Alexa or Echo to distribute your unique audio message? Sign up today. To learn more, visit our 2018 NRB webpage.

One-on-One Meetings

Chuck and Jan will be available for meetings, of course. Here’s contact information to set up a meeting directly: chuck@finneymedia.com or jan@finneymedia.com.

It will be a packed week. Make it count with one or both of these digital opportunities.

From Peterson/A Long Obedience, p. 197

“I have a friend who is dean in a theological seminary where men and women are trained to be pastors. Sometimes he calls one of these people into his office and says something like this: “You have been around here for several months now, and I have had the opportunity to observe you. You get good grades, seem to take your calling to ministry seriously, work hard and have clear goals. But I don’t detect any joy. You don’t seem to have any pleasure in what you are doing. And I wonder if you should not reconsider your calling into ministry. For if a pastor is not touched with joy, it will be difficult to teach or preach convincingly that the news is good. If you do not convey joy in your demeanor and gestures and speech, you will not be an authentic witness for Jesus Christ. Delight in what God is doing is essential in our work.”

Thinking about this at our broadcast ministries – stations and programs – do we sound profoundly joyful? In a world of horrible daily news, sniping tweets, anger, resentment, bitterness, unforgiveness, does your listener hearjoy, peace, gratitude, unhurriedness that the Gospel describes. It’s not just the words, it’s the feelings those words reflect and create.

We have a client who has given his on-air folks these instructions/guidance:

“Your on-air job is a (to) worship, not preach. And, to do so concisely. Help connect our listener to our God through consumable, worshipful, heart connective communication.” Amen!

These days attention focuses more and more on addiction to smartphones. While we used to lament about the kids and their video games now even Gran can be seen playing “Words with Friends” more often than she is sitting down around the table with her community group exchanging words with her IRL (“In Real Life”) friends.

In addition, as the world keeps changing, the same “Apps” that used to live only on your smartphone are now also used on your tablet, reader, your television and even your car. Yes, your car.

More hearts

With so much more media content available to our audience wherever they are, apps provide the opportunity for us to remain a preferred channel for our audience even as how they consume media moves from an FM tuner to the latest iPhone (or Acura). As people move from tuning a dial to touching an icon, we want to be present for them to make a God ordained choice of what content they will consume.

More deeply

Apps provide a significant ability to ‘go deeper’ with our listeners. Apps provide a platform for interactively engaging with our audience. “Push Notifications” can enable us to remain ‘top of mind’ with an audience member amid the noise of the day. These personalized notifications can help listeners ‘keep on track’ with their good intentions to focus on God every day. Calls to listen, to pray and to give can nudge a listener in her busy day, motivating and easily enabling her to take the steps she wants to draw nearer to God.

Personalization can go even further as a listener would look to your station as the source for quality content to deepen her walk, in the specific way God is calling her. Some stations invite listeners to the station to download their App and then choose to consume content entirely music or entirely teaching in nature, based on their needs at that moment.

In general, Apps provide your listener access to all of the great assets of your ministry, whenever any given facet is the element that they need at that particular moment.

So what do we do about it?

If you are feeling the tug to move forward in taking your station or program into the future, but are overwhelmed by the task, take heart. There are ways forward that do not involve large technology investment or hiring throngs of new staff with degrees in computer science. What content you put in this channel is far more important than having all the latest features.

Want to go further? So do we. Read more about our Digital Services.

Happy New Year, 2018: LIFE IN UNCERTAIN TIMES
Isn’t this an exciting time to be alive? Finances, health, government, safety, security … all these things we once considered to be solid ground are in fact … not. Nothing is certain. Which, quite frankly, we find exhilarating! It means God has us on our toes. Today I’m peering around every corner, looking for my Heavenly Father, waiting for Him to guide us in what He promises to be His perfect plan. We’re kids again … dependent upon Him for every step, every breath, and every bite of food. He’s just around the corner, poised to surprise and delight, always with our best interest in mind. This year, as the song goes, “On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.”
It’s 2018. Are you ready to see God move?
RESOLUTION: RESOLVE TO LET GOD RESOLVE IT
First off, a little reminder. God’s mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). They were new every morning in 2017, and they’ll be available to you when you wake up every day this year. So with that in mind, let’s start off 2018 with these scriptural resolutions:

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:33-34). Remember that it is the daily bread we ask for … not a week’s supply.
“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (James 4:8). We tend to forget about the 2nd sentence, but it goes hand and hand with the first. How can we expect God to give us a fresh start when we don’t really want one? Which brings us to another point.
WEED PULLIN’
Coming down from the whirlwind that was “The Christmas Season”, it is amazing how many weeds had grown over my Bible, choking out the Word. Can you relate? No more. This year, we listen, look and wait only for Him.
This year, we won’t subscribe to the “New Year/New You” mentality. After all, we are made in the image of God. We’ve already been born again and therefore, don’t need a “new me”. What we do need is a new ear.
“Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you— the sure mercies of David” (Isaiah 55:3). As the political, social and financial climate gets more confounding, God will make sense of it only when we will listen for His voice and read His word.
A NEW VISION FOR BROADCASTING: LISTEN, LOOK AND WAIT
Need a fresh, amazing vision for your organization in 2018? God Himself is outside the box. God doesn’t fit into the confines of the world. His abilities exceed financial limitations, board leanings, cultural shifts, staff shortages and time. His plans are extraordinary, and His timing is impeccable. But are you willing to listen to Him? Look for Him in your daily walk? Wait for His timing?
But if you’re in a position of leadership, here’s a thoughtful reminder for all of us. Let us ask God to clean our house first. Pull our weeds. Reveal what’s broken inside that needs fixing. Maybe even fast and pray for a day or so, if that’s an inclination.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7)
Happy New Year! See you outside the box in 2018!

CHRISTMAS ON AMERICAN RADIO

For many, the first Christmas song on the radio is a welcome change to the daily routine. It brings to mind a more innocent time. A time of wonder, of warmth, of childlikeness. Memories flood your mind. Suddenly the stress is gone from your daily commute, and you’re singing along to songs of joy and merriment.

And then it hits you. It’s nearly Christmas, and there’s still so much to do! The non-stop, heartwarming songs on the radio set the backdrop for an otherwise hurried time, helping minds and hearts stay focused on Jesus, the real soundtrack of Christmas.

When we think of the history of Christmas on the radio, we’re likely to picture a 1940’s family, gathered ‘round a lovely wooden speaker as if it were a crackling fire, huddled together with innocent smiles to enjoy the comfort of old familiar songs.

But Christmas radio has been the backdrop for many scenes, some of which may be surprising.

THE FIRST CHRISTMAS ON RADIO

In the early 20^th Century, radio was neither comforting, pleasant nor musical. Listeners were accustomed to hearing the tap-tap-tap of Morse code transmissions.

But a Canadian child prodigy named Reginald Aubrey Fessenden changed all of that. Fessenden previously worked with Thomas Edison and was now inventing solo. He and developed around 200 patents of his own, including a brand new technology called “radio”.

In 1906, Fessenden “alerted the media” using his own voice, inviting wireless operators to tune in on Christmas Eve. The invitation was monitored and duly noted in Norfolk, Virginia, and the folks in Virginia and crews on ships within a several hundred mile radius enjoyed an unforgettable broadcast that night. Accustomed only to code, they couldn’t believe what they were hearing – a man’s voice in their headphones! As amazed listeners strained to hear the sound, Fessenden serenaded them on violin. O Holy Night became the first Christmas carol to hit the airwaves on the first produced (music and voice) radio broadcast – “superimposed audio” or “amplitude modulation” (AM) generated over a continuous radio frequency carrier.

WHITE CHRISTMAS FOR A BLACK DAY

In 1941, the unthinkable happened – the attack on Pearl Harbor. 18 days later, college age fans tuned in to Kraft Music Hall and Bing Crosby warmed their hearts with his rendition of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas. In the shadow of the recent attack, the song took on a somber tone, and it was a memorable broadcast

One short year later, young American troops found themselves overseas on Christmas Day. Armed Forces Radio played White Christmas over and over to remind them of the comforts of home. It remains the one of the most popular Christmas carols to this day.

JOY TO THE WORLD: CHRISTMAS IN THE TRENCHES

Wartime was the backdrop for some of the most memorable Christmas radio broadcasts because it was, for many, their primary source of comfort. While radio remained off-limits to the general public during WW1, wireless technology utilized a short-range electrostatic induction system so that hospitalized soldiers could be entertained with music and news. And at the end of the civilian radio restrictions in 1919, military personnel fired up transmitters to boost the morale of the servicemen. On January 10, 1919, Ensign Sanford Lawton remembered the broadcast Christmas At Sea in his letter to his parents. He happily reported that “All of the latest music from the states was played over the wireless” as part of the festivities.

Christmas Broadcasts in 1940, particularly in England, were rays of light in an otherwise war-ravaged land. Christmas dinner was nearly impossible. Families spent their holiday in air raid shelters, searching desperately for the highly coveted “short Christmas tree” – one short enough to fit in the shelter confines. Instead of giving gifts, people were encouraged instead to give their meager funds to the war effort. Among most popular gifts were flasks, sleeping bags and “pretend gas masks” for dolls.

Home-made presents were popular too, as were second-hand ones. For working-class people ‘make do and mend’ was the norm. Dads carved sailing ships and dolls’ houses, whilst mums knitted with spare bits of wool and made sweets. Children’s gifts were also donated from other countries and charities. – BBC History

You can imagine the impact those heartwarming melodies and sweet words – broadcast so rarely but treasured like gold – had on wartime families. As Europeans made their homes in submarine-style bomb shelters, huddled together, there was the radio, broadcasting entertainment whenever signal allowed. BBC Radio broadcasted Kitchen Front, the King’s Speech and variety shows. They also broadcast a Christmas sermon from the ruins of Coventry Cathedral. People were allowed to attend church, but bells were forbidden. Bells became a signal of an oncoming invasion, so no bells, and no heart-warming lights in the window.

MEANWHILE, IN AN SUV SOMWEHERE …

Bells, colored lights, Christmas activities, store displays, and seasonal music piped in 24/7 on your favorite radio station. What’s not to love about Christmas?

Isaiah said, “Comfort, my people.” Take comfort. The word for comfort here is also the word, “repent.” Jesus was born to bring comfort, repentance and subsequently, eternal life with Him. He’s the One who formed us from our mother’s womb, who has known us since the beginning. He forgives us, and cleanses us of sin.

When we forget that, we’re left with only trimmings and trappings hustle and bustle, followed by a dead pine tree and debt and a messy house to clean.

That’s why Christmas radio is as important as it’s always been, featuring songs that glorify God to the highest; songs that bring us closer to the One who came to set us free. Whether we’re in a hospital, in the trenches, in our cars or at home, Christmas is still on the radio.

And Christmas provides you with great opportunity for ministry!

ONLINE REFERENCES:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/topics/christmas_in_world_war_two

http://earlyradiohistory.us/sec013.htm

http://ethw.org/Milestones:First_Wireless_Radio_Broadcast_by_Reginald_A._Fessenden,_1906

BLOG INFO

Part 1 of this series can be found HERE.

“Preaching to the heart entails. . .preaching affectionately, imaginatively, wondrously, memorably, Christocentrically, and practically. . . .Some modern preachers [have little] time to think about two other things: practical applications and striking, memorable, fluent use of language. . . [the] I never heard it put that way before.” (p. 177, Preaching)

When we read these comments by Tim Keller in his book, Preaching, we wondered—lightheartedly—if he had been in our playbook. Our consistent advice: Every morning, afternoon or evening show can be improved by speaking clearly and understandably—including pithy or memorable comments. To cut through the clutter of life, we try to reach the “I’ve never heard it put that way before”.

Chuck heard an afternoonshow discussing death, and how to handle the surrounding grief with a friend who lost a loved one. A host said, “Button your lip and open your arms.” Now that’s memorable!

Brene Brown had said the same thing in a softer way: If you don’t know what to say, say “I don’t know what to say”.

Back to Tim Keller. He sums it up nicely, we think, when he concludes, “Oral presentations differ from written communication. Oral presentations must not contain as many ideas—they should be repetitious because listeners cannot stop and pause over words as readers can….Oral communicators must use simpler vocabulary.”

That says it quite nicely, we think—in written form. And verbally…why not take a fresh listen…to yourself?

NOTE: We do coaching on speaking this way. And we’re gentle about it. See our page on Talent Coaching HERE, that lists our experienced, friendly, and wildly helpful Coaching Team.

HOLIDAY CHEER 2017

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” ~ Isaiah 52:7

It’s Christmas. The distinctive music everywhere. Lights on most streets. Yet many hearts are heavy now, for some more than ever before. It’s not enough to say, “We need your support. We need your gift. If we have blessed you in some way, won’t you prayerfully consider blah blah blah … “.

If you’re a listener supported ministry (and even if you are not), why not include the word cheerful in your messaging? Ask people to call in and tell you why they’re cheerful about giving. Don’t forget to record their answers. Were they transformed somehow? Were they once donating out of duty, guilt or pride … now brimming with delight to help out your (or some other) cause?

Bottom line: Stop asking your listeners for money and ask them what they need.

WANDERING YOUTH AND THE CHEERFUL GIVER

We remember a young couple. They had to leave their hometown in a hurry for some reason. The girl was very pregnant and about to give birth, so they were wandering around the city looking for a place to stay, just in case she went into labor. They weren’t married, and to make matters worse, the young man she was with was NOT child’s father. Would you have taken them in? Or would you have ignored them?

One business owner was willing to help them out. Just in time too … she had her baby that night in his barn. Of course, by now you’ve figured it out.

The man who helped them was none other than the innkeeper. Now … don’t you and doesn’t your listener want to be that innkeeper? He was a cheerful giver … probably more so when he found out he was ushering in the Son of God.

CALL TO ACTION = CALL TO FELLOWSHIP

Come and see. Though He may require everything from you, come and see this Savior, this Good News that rises above your every earthly trial. Come and hear this Glad Tiding we broadcast. Come and hear what makes our givers so cheerful.

People don’t need to hear how much you need their money. They need to hear how much they need Jesus. How much the world needs Jesus. How much Jesus loves them. Why He came to this world so low.

And where, pray tell, can people who need hope hear about Jesus? From you … more than any random Christmas song-playing-station.

GLAD TIDINGS WE BRING

What in the Sam Hill are “Glad Tidings”?
Glad Tidings are Good News.

You’ll find Glad Tidings in the King James Version from the verb euaggelizo which means, “To tell good news” (Luke 1:19 among many). It also is frequently translated in the King James Version “to preach the gospel.” The original word, god-spell, is “good news or tidings” (Matthew 11:5 and more). Good News, Glad Tidings and The Gospel are nearly interchangeable — both being the announcement of the promised, long-looked-for salvation and kingdom of God. Specifically, the Gospel in the King James Version refers to God’s reconciliation of the world to Himself in Christ.

“God loves a cheerful giver.” ~ 2 Corinthians 9:7

Given a choice, givers would probably rather be cheerful too. Together, let us lift up their hearts by giving them the greatest gifts of all … glad tidings, personal connection, and a reminder of God’s love for them.

Radio Returns Home: The Smart Speaker Revolution

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