By Walter Sabo
Talk Show Host
Sterling on Sunday
NEW YORK — In the 1950s the original Top 40 jocks had a formidable challenge. Top 40 was embryonic. There was no model, nothing to copy and the adult population did not embrace the music featured by the stations. Cousin Bruce Morrow, the legendary WABC/WNBC/CBS FM/Sirius star jock explained to me, “We did a lot of experimenting. It was like trying to start a pull motor. Sometimes an idea worked, sometimes it puttered out.”
Listen to the 1950s and ‘60s version of Bruce Morrow, B. Mitchel Reed, Alan Freed, Art Roberts, Dewey Phillips, or Huggy Boy. Each them realized that their power for attracting an audience was in obsessively saying the names of their audience. To bring people to the new rock ’n’ roll medium, DJs put the audience on the new medium. The majority of air time was spent reading dedications, requests, love notes, and news about their listeners — by name. The winning sound is magical — a wall of names. Hearing your name on the radio is not a fun moment: It is the event of a lifetime.
Radio has the ability to turn listeners into stars. Most radio shows squander this ability. Say a listener’s name and they become your fan for life. Yes, it works with doctors, nurses, lawyers — anyone in your talk radio audience. Here’s a good example. I said Rebecca’s name on air only once,
STERLING ON SUNDAY:
“On Dec 10, 2022, at 9:47 PM, Rebecca Kaner wrote:You are the Best and the highlight of the week. Hope you are well.
Even though I live in KMOX country, I listen to KFI 640AM via iHeart during the day, Rich Valdes (Jim Bohannon) and Sunday evening at 9PM, You.
It melted my heart to hear you say my name along with other faithful listeners last Sunday near the end of your show. Just wanted to say thank you.
With love and respect,
RebeccaForever
”
A club has been created for late-night Sterling listeners: The Midnight Misfit Club. Music radio management has heavily discouraged the bond built by naming names. I never hear names on music shows except for the brilliant Delilah. Walter Sterling’s network talk show shares the names of listeners strategically and constantly. The result is a stable affiliate list and dedicated advertisers. Note this week’s guest: Emmis Communications founder Jeff Smulyan.
Tags: "Cousin" Bruce Morrow, Alan Freed, Art Roberts, audience, B. Mitchel Reed, dedications, Delilah, Dewey Phillips, Emmis Communications, Huggy Boy, Jeff Smulyan, love notes, radio shows, requests, saying the names, Sirius, The Midnight Misfit Club, Top 40 jocks, WABC, Walter Sabo, WNBC
Category: Advice