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funniest thing about the whole parody is simply the title of it. What starts out as a great idea quickly dissolves into a minute-and-a-half of disappointment

2. Fake commercials that sound, well, fake. A great parody commercial must sound REAL to lull the listener into a false sense of security. It's only after the twist is exposed and the humor is brought out that the listener is pleasantly surprised and entertained. To be most effective, you must simply catch them when they are most unaware.

3. Characters. People loved characters during the heyday of the ZOO format in the '80s and very early '90s. But, listeners are a little more savvy now. Many don't want characters. Many want real people. That's not to say characters have no place. L.A. personality, Phil Hendrie is a master at using characters because he uses fake calls with real sounding people who say outrageous things. His “real people” characters make it easy for a listener to buy into the conversation, no matter how far out. Don't waste your time with stupid bits some comedy service guy came up with just because he can do an impression or a character voice. Ask yourself: is this something my listeners will really care about?

4. Parody songs or commercials where the play on words - and/or the punch line - are so obvious and stupid, a 13-year-old could have come up with it. You may justify airing crappy bits because you feel there's no harm done. But, remember: your audience holds YOU responsible for anything that occurs on your show. They don't draw a line between you and your bits, you and your mistakes or the mistakes of others, for that matter. You're in charge and they'll hold you to it.

At the last station I was working at, I received 3 comedy services. If I found one or two things from all of them combines on a weekly basis, I considered myself lucky. I refuse to air something which I'll be be embarrassed about. I feel the humor I personally present is at a certain level. To compromise that with inferior material is anti-productive. I refuse to relinquish our ratings to people who are churning out stuff because they have to FILL UP a CD, week after week.

Don't turn your show over to strangers who's jobs are still secure even if you fail! When it comes to comedy services, be picky, be discriminate and be wary. Proceed with caution!

Sound Effects/Music Beds/Drops

Although I'm a big believer in overall production value, audio bites and sound effects can easily become clutter or worse, a crutch. Whereas it was fashionable a few years ago to use lots of that stuff, the trend has been away from that. The big mistake inexperienced personalities make is over-using supplemental audio. I'll give you a fairly current example which frankly, I'm amazed at.

Kim Kommando, the lady who does the very popular and nationally syndicated talk show about computers, is brilliant. Her advice is solid, her voice is nice, and her presentation is smooth. Yet, whoever runs her board or whoever produces her show (maybe it's her) keeps throwing in these 25-year-old “Cheap Radio Thrills” sound effects of “clapping”, “booing”, “cheers”, “oohs”, and “ahhs” that are absolutely prehistoric, nevermind cheesy. They are so commonly used on-the-air - in so many markets - it takes a great show and lowers it a couple notches on the innovative or unique scale.

They have been circulating throughout the industry for years. Hundreds, probably thousands of jocks have used them. They are tired and they are hokey to the point of distracting. Yet, I'll listen to her show and hear these same effects, over and over again. She doesn

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