The problem with chasing ratings is how much you have to water down the product to appeal to the most people.

I’ve been accused of not spending enough time immersed in ratings and research data.

There's no question that I focus intensely on the product: Everything that comes out of the speakers on which your station is heard.

That includes liners and spots and promos and jock content. It all matters because it’s all the product your listeners end up hearing.

I've always believed that when your station sounds great, consistently and clearly better than the other stations in your market, ratings will follow.

So far, I've not been proven wrong.

If you want to hire a consultant who will do an in-depth analysis of every title in your music library, who will parse milliseconds in deference to Nielsen's PPM, who will not put anything on the air until it's been tested and researched, I'm not your guy.

The best way to find inspiration for content is outside your station, not inside. That will always be true. Does anyone believe great content can be found within meetings, or brainstorming sessions in the conference room? Check THIS out. Leave your office. Go, ...

Good content requires both of these: It must be memorable. And it must connect emotionally. Loyalty begins with memorability. For content to be memorable, it must include something unexpected, a twist not anticipated, because that element of surprise creates ...

I’m talking about feedback. Effective feedback is an art, meaning it can be learned. Listening to feedback isn't always easy, but it can get easier if you know the best ways to provide feedback. Ok, you're meeting with your Morning Show and one of them throws ...

The problem with top down programming from corporate is that you get punished at the local level if you move from the spot in which they left you, so lots of PDs just stop the car. The engine is still on but the car is in Park. And no one can steer a parked car. It ...

And who doesn’t like being seduced? It's such a seductive thought that we can just test 700 songs once a year, weed out all the ones below some random number, and listening will rise. It's such a seductive thought that we can control how long our 'talent' talks ...

"Everywhere you look you’ll see different businesses telling the same story, because it feels safer to conform than to stand out." "But the things that set you apart—the uncommon and unmistakable are what customers seek out now." "And yet we fall into the ...

I've always thought Summer is the best season for Radio. Christmas music may prove that statistically incorrect, but Summer still feels like the best of radio to me. Beach music. Hot hits at the pool. Glancing at the car next to you and seeing its driver singing ...

Recognize anyone at your station? A 1960s study at Cal Berkeley found that those our culture deems as "most creative" have 7 distinct traits in common. Interestingly, IQ -- raw intelligence -- had only a modest role in creative thinking. The common traits are: An ...

“Words make you think thoughts. Music makes you feel a feeling. But a song makes you feel a thought.” I saw that quote in a weekly posting from Roy Williams, the Wizard of Ads. But it made me remember I'd seen something similar years ago from Yip Harburg, ...