Canning Canned Laughter

I recently read one of those "Future Of Radio Is Bleak" articles that have been appearing regularly since 1952, this one lamenting a syndicated host replacing a local host. It also sparked a few denunciations of syndicated show prep services on Internet bulletin boards. Since I am both a fierce advocate for local radio (I started out doing seven days a week on KHBR, the 250-watt blowtorch of Hillsboro, TX) and a longtime creator of syndicated radio materials, I'd like to offer some tips for using syndicated humor services to enhance your show, not homogenize it.

1. The Most Important Rule of All: "Syndicated services are tools you use to build your show. They are not your show in a can." If you have so many syndicated bits you can't get to them all, then you have too many and you'll never develop your own style.

2. Personalize and localize. Use produced bits, such as parody commercials, sparingly; with written services, don't stick slavishly to the script. A good service will write multiple jokes for various viewpoints. Choose the ones that fit you and put them in your own words if it feels more comfortable. (Just be sure not to leave out those lawsuit-preventing weasel words, such as "allegedly.")

Use one-liners as idea starters for larger bits. For instance, let puns on song titles or movie quotes inspire your own parodies. Switch a joke about a celebrity's shortcomings (cheapness, gluttony, etc.) to fit an appropriate person on your crew or in your town. The most successful topical comic of all time, Bob Hope, said that the most valuable lesson he learned in Vaudeville was to arrive in town early, learn a little about local politicians and topics of interest, and alter his jokes to mention them. He found that a localized joke always got a bigger laugh than even a superior generic joke.

We recently attended the Texas Radio Hall of Fame dinner, and one of the inductees was introduced with an aircheck featuring two jokes that seemed vaguely familiar. It took me a minute to realize he was one of our clients; we'd actually written those jokes two weeks before and didn't even recognize them. The words were still mostly ours, but his delivery made them his own. No wonder he's in the Hall of Fame.

3. Look for market-exclusive services. One criticism of syndicated services is that you are doing "the same joke every other station has," but if someone else is doing a similar joke in a market your listeners never hear, then who cares? Besides, you did personalize it first, right? So relax, it's not the same joke.

4. Quality trumps quantity. Don't choose a service just because it promises lots of material. If you have to wade through reams of copy for anything usable to you, you might as well just buy a newspaper. One point of a prep service is to free up time for other aspects of your show, not increase your prep time. Find one that's in synch with your sense of humor and gives you what you are looking for.

5. Look for free trials and samples on the services' websites or at radio sites such as www.allaccess.com to see which ones fit your style before you subscribe. If they're as good as they claim, they shouldn't mind letting you see a little material before you buy.

6. Don't feel guilty. David Letterman may be a comic genius, but he still needs writers. Using the right humor/prep services judiciously and personalizing the material helps you to express your own personality more effectively and professionally and to attract and hold more listeners in this age of increased competition.

Then, who knows? Next time the big guys are hunting for a national radio host, maybe they'll actually hire a real, experienced broadcaster like you. Wouldn't that be a nice change?

A version of this article originally appeared at www.smallmarketradio.com.