Talk Shows

Radio must fill endless hours with sound, and one of the cheapest sources of programming is the listener call-in show. The format varies widely. Sometimes, the host announces one or more topics for the day; Other times, it's "open mike." Typically, the participants call in, are placed briefly on hold, then go on the air with a seven-second tape de­lay, which permits the station to cut off profanity or slander.

The programs can serve a public relations function. Thus, many or­ganizations assign at least one well-informed member to monitor each broadcast. That way, if the conversation turns to gun control, birth con­trol, self-control, or whatever falls within the purview of the organiza­tion, an opportunity is provided to offer the group's standard line:

"This is Elissa Dandridge from the Lee County Adoption Service . . . I'd just like to reply to the woman who called earlier to say that she had heard there is a two-year wait for adoption. Fortunately, that isn't the case if the party is willing to consider adopting a minority child or a child with a minor birth defect. Anyone who is interested should call this number for information about adoption . . ."

Some radio talk shows use guest panelists to begin the discussion and act as respondents to the callers. Government and social agencies can take the opportunity to get their views across by providing pan­elists. When topics are announced in advance, it may also be useful to assign members of your organization to join the ranks of the callers. Your organization may be able to suggest topics for discussion and provide spokespersons for the specific programs.

Journalists and copywriters who are practiced at writing for the eye eventually must learn that writing for the ear is something quite differ­ent. Rarely is a message that appeared in print directly translatable to the audio media. Because time is money, audio messages must be more economical. And they must be written in a more conversational style rather than following the more formal structure required by print.

At its simplest, the radio spot consists merely of an announcer speaking. Every radio station is prepared to have an announcer read any ma­terial that is accepted for airing. Many stations also are willing to help advertisers, and perhaps even nonprofit organizations, to add other elements to improve a spot, including voices of actors or "real people" previously taped or recorded in the studio. Most stations have a library of sound effects.

These basic elements are readily available for the simple PSA or commercial spot. But don't expect your local station to help you produce slick spots. Those award-winning spots are created in special studios with a director and a battery of en­gineers, and then distributed in recorded form to individual stations.