One of my favorite questions to ask a talent in an interview is “what makes your show special?” This is a basic question that shouldn’t catch talent off-guard, but nine times out of ten, it does. Then I watch them reach for the “stock” answers – “I work really hard every day”, or “I’m real….” […]

I may live somewhere else now, but make no mistake, I’m still an “East-Sider” from Detroit. Those that know me personally certainly can attest to that. And when “East-Side Detroit Dom” comes out, it’s usually because I’m seeing the big guy beat up on the little guy… something that us East-Siders would never tolerate. We […]

Sadly, the produced imaging on most radio stations hasn’t evolved much since the 1990’s, and stations that target millennials are really missing the boat because of this. Millennials aren’t impressed by your ability to add zaps, stutters, and efx to a produced piece of imaging. Words actually matter, and anything that is too slick and […]

I’m often asked if I think talk radio is dead. The answer is yes. And no. The old way of doing talk radio is dead. The skeleton has been walking around for a few years now to save funeral costs. It used to be that you could find a former Congressman or Judge and give them […]

High achievers are motivated by more than just financial compensation. Sure, a good sized paycheck is a motivator, but there are many people in this industry that are well paid and still miserable. Author Daniel Pink wrote a great book on this very subject called “Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us.” In it, […]

I’m a huge fan of Simon Sinek. In his book “Start With Why,” Sinek proposes that the best and most innovative companies and leaders have a strong sense of purpose, or “why”. And much of the success of the most innovative companies is due to their leaders abilities to inspire through clearly communicating the “why” […]

According to his employer’s website, Dan Thorn took the path that many others do who want to be on TV. He earned his degree in Broadcast Journalism from Brooklyn College. He interned at a couple of New York City TV stations before landing a starter job in production in upstate New York. Eventually he was […]

I admit it. I’m a sucker for those YouTube clips from shows like America’s Got Talent, X-Factor, etc, where you see an awkward looking misfit who  works the fast-food window as their day job get up on stage and the judges all roll their eyes as if they just KNOW it’s going to suck – […]

If Steve Jobs were a Program Director, you can bet that he would pay attention to every detail of his radio station. Every sweeper, every segue, every break would be meticulously designed. He would hire interesting and unusual people that actually had something to say. Not mindless drones that recite contest times and bark for […]