This appeared on Bill McMahon’s Personality Radio blog. It pretty much encapsulates much of what’s wrong with terrestrial radio today.
The Problem with Ryan Seacrest
“On-Air with Ryan Seacrest”is a microcosm of what’s wrong with radio right now. The problem has nothing to do with the show being created in Hollywood and syndicated to local radio stations across the country. The trouble is the show’s content. It’s ordinary, average, and forgettable.
I found an old link for this bit I did with All Access, a big radio industry website. They have a weekly feature called On The Beach (an old radio term for being between gigs – guess it’s better than Wallowing in Self Pity, Thinking I’ll Never Work Again.) It was April 2006, after 102.1 the Edge, and before X92.9.
Please begin by giving us a brief career history …
For the last 13 years I’ve been both in front of and behind the mic. Started out doing creative for CFNY. Went on to do on-air entertainment reporting, including hundreds of interviews with local and international notables. Wrote all the imaging and on-air promos for Classic Rock Q107 for about 2 years, but had a jones to get back in front of the mic. Hosted a regular (and quite popular) daily show on 102.1 The Edge.
1 What do you do to maintain a positive mental attitude and stay motivated?
The first rule of fight club: never talk about fight club.
2 How are you occupying your time, besides looking for a job?
I’ve never limited myself to a single medium. I act for television, film and some stage stuff, do voiceovers, some animation, perform stand-up and improv, and sometimes hold doors open for strangers.
3 Some people get discouraged or enlightened with the business when they actually step out of it for a while. Tell us your observations from the outside.
I’ve kind of been exploring all sorts of radio alternatives for my listening: including a fully-loaded iPod (music and podcasts,) public radio, college radio and most recently got satellite. I’m intrigued by the emergence of the new tech and programming, and how terrestrial radio is reacting (or in some cases not reacting) to it.
Music-based formats on terrestrial radio are in a losing fight, and many are reluctant to use the biggest weapon available – personality. In a world filled with a myriad of musical sources – iPods, sa