Next Steps

Brian Wright

Date: April 29, 2020

in: Leadership, Radio

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic we have talked about the need to always go to where the audience is and where we perceive them to be in the near future. As of today, some states are opening back up, with limitations, and other states are opening in about 18 days. I’ve talked to some radio people and they believe it’s time to back away from COVID-19 talk in an effort to help people get back to “normal.” I understand the desire to do this but it is not what your listener wants. They DO want to get back to normal, but they will need your help to get them there.

Now is the time to go into your next stage of planning for a post-quarantine world. This planning will not only be for your on-air content but also for your business partners as they reopen their doors. It many ways, their success is directly related you yours.

Many in your audience will be looking for positive and easy ways to reengage family, friends and other gatherings. They are looking for non-alarming, reasonable ideas. They are overwhelmed with negative headlines on social media and TV. It will also be important to assure the listener that it’s okay if they don’t want to venture out. Likewise, it will be good to reinforce how important it is that we are all respectful of others when we do go back out.

This may be most divisive time in the United States since 1861. Your job is to bring listeners together by way of accentuating the things we have in common, not what our differences are. The first step in this is to describe the universally safe and easy ways to reengage.

Brian Wright is a 40 year radio veteran who has successfully served many companies as Program Director, Operations Manger and VP of programming. Brian has been consulting many radio stations for over 25 years in the US & Canada helping them grow ratings and revenue. Brian believes that talent coaching is the key to having a successful radio station or cluster and has developed a unique way of coaching that leads to accelerated talent growth.

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Jim Campbell, Founder & Network President of Radio Training Network, Inc. began his radio career in commercial radio in Tennessee in 1964. In 1966 he moved his family to Lakeland, Florida to attend college, and upon graduation he joined the staff at First Assembly of God Church where he and the church launched in the mid 1970s the first Contemporary Christian Radio Station in the nation, WCIE-FM. The station grew in both market impression and influence not just in Lakeland, but around the country inspiring others to follow Jim’s lead. In 1989 Jim left the church and founded Radio Training Network, Inc. (RTN) and over the next 30+ years, he oversaw the acquisition and development of 40+ stations plus translators. With 130 team members, RTN stations serve the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, and Missouri. These stations are well recognized in their respective markets thanks to the servant leadership of the staff, aggressive marketing, and a commitment to a strong emphasis on Jesus first. At present RTN has some two million listeners each week on air and approximately the same number online.

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