Listeners would enjoy radio much more if stations followed these 5 tips
Tips for radio stations concerning songs played, commercials, and general radio conduct, as related to KTCU..
COMMENTARY
Christopher Suffron

A good friend of mine is working as a disc jockey at the university’s radio station, KTCU, this semester. Consequently, twice a week I am forced to tune in my radio to the aforementioned station. I find it quite fascinating that I know the voice on the radio.

As I have been listening to my friend this semester and all the other stations I listen to, I have decided that I could run a radio station much better than they do. So I am going to do all those who run radio stations a favor today and give them a few pointers on how a radio station should be run.

Tip number one:
Spend less time promoting yourself and more time playing music. Most radio stations seem to spend half their energy convincing people to listen to their station. KTCU is especially bad at this. News flash: If we are hearing your silly self-promotions, we are already listening to your station. I don’t know about you, but when I tune into a radio station, I want to hear the music or talk radio the station is there for. Ridiculous commercials telling me they have the “best mix in the Metroplex” or a bunch of random people talking about how much they love the station makes me want to listen to something else.

Tip number two:
Stick to one language. I am all for people who speak other languages having a radio station to listen to, but if none of your songs are in Spanish and none of your DJ’s speak Spanish, why would you advertise as if your station is bilingual?

Tip number three:
Tell the truth. Throughout October, ESPN radio billed itself as “the home of the 2002 baseball postseason.” However, several times I would tune into that station to listen to a game in the car and they would be playing some Mavericks preseason game. One time I heard in the morning that the game would be on in the evening and they played the Mavericks game instead. Needless to say, I was quite angry. If you are not going to air something, don’t tell people you are. That hacks them off.

Tip number four:
Play the Bennigan’s commercial where the guy finds the $10 in his jeans at least once a commercial break. This is the best radio commercial of all time, just in front of the Boot Town commercial where the guy owns a ranch in downtown Houston and chases women in his Cadillac. Actually, the fewer commercials you play, the better. Unfortunately though, they are a necessary evil.

Final tip of the day:
Don’t play the same song over and over again. People get tired of songs. I don’t care if a song is supposedly the number one song in America or not, when you hear it twenty times a day you get worn out. Oldies stations are especially bad at this. The ’80s station in Houston is constantly going to the love shack and KCTU is always walking on broken glass.

Well that’s it. If a radio station sticks to those five principles, they will be on the right track.

Christopher Suffron is a senior accounting major from League City. He can be reached at (c.r.suffron@tcu.edu).