Dave Ryan, Off-Mic – Part 4
Dave shares his thoughts on the future of AM/FM radio, podcasting, and begins with a story about how content ideas from his show take on a viral life of their own.
DR: We came up with a bit about a young, attractive woman getting picked on for wearing a tiny dress to a wedding. We posted her picture and it was a good bit. Should have been the end of story.
However, I posted it on Studio Think Tank and a station in New Zealand picked it up. One of their listeners was a writer, and she published it. Pretty soon it blew up and went worldwide -. USA Today, The Daily Mail, Huffington Post, etc.
The station in New Zealand got full credit for it, even though it was totally our bit. Frustrating, but in an industry where we share content, that’s one of the dangers.
Randy: If we ask the people in Minneapolis/St. Paul area what the Dave Ryan is known for, what do you think they would say?
DR: Compelling stories. For example, War Of The Roses is a bit that will not die. Whenever I meet someone, they go “Oh, Dave Ryan In The Morning Show, War Of The Roses, I love War Of The Roses.” I feel a little bit guilty milking this tired, old bit, but we keep it fresh, and we try to keep it new.
Randy: How do you talk about all these tragedies that keep happening in the US and the world?
DR: We acknowledge the shooting in Orlando, the police shootings and similar tragedies. We will say something like, “Something terrible happened, and we want to talk about it for a little bit”. At the same time, I know when you listen to KDWB you want to smile and hear positive things.
Randy: What about this controversial election we’re going through right now?
DR: We really don’t touch it. I’m conservative, but people don’t like when I talk about conservative things. I make fun of Trump because, let’s face it, he’s done so much for us to make fun of.
Randy: You’re doing a podcast. Is your podcast original content? Or is the content from your show
DR: It’s content from our show. We’ve tried to do a podcast here and there, but for some reason we haven’t been able to do it regularly, to a quality that we’re happy with. I value the importance of a podcast, but we just put so much attention, time and energy into our show. That is where our bread is really buttered at the moment.
Randy: Your show is the mothership of your brand. You have podcasting, and obviously your show is heavily involved in social media, blogging etc. Where do you see radio fitting into the media mix in the future?
DR: People are still listening to the radio six hours a week, or whatever the research says.
Randy: Over 90% of the population still listens to radio.
DR: Right. We’ve been around long enough to hear people 20 years ago saying, “Oh, radio is going to die, it’s going to be satellite, and then it was the iPod…” Local radio still thrives.
Randy: It’s all about content. It doesn’t matter if it comes from AM/FM radio, satellite radio, the internet, or a podcast – people just want to be entertained and engaged. FM radio is just fine, even with millennials.
DR: It’s so funny that you bring that up. I’m 53 years old and I still get high school kids who get starstruck when they meet me. They go “Oh my god! I’ve listened to you since I was a little kid. Can I get a picture with you?” These are kids that 20 years ago we would have predicted would not be listening to the radio today.
Photo Credit: www.flickr.com/photos/blumblaum/
