It’s been a while since I penned a piece based on an "inside" perspective so I thought I would write about callers.
People who call radio stations and radio shows are a unique breed. I don’t know what percentage of the audience actually ever dials up a DJ or air-personality, but anecdotally, I’ve always been told by consultants and Program Directors that it is a very small percentage. So small, in fact, that it is somewhat unreliable for basing any kind of programming decision on.
Be that as it may, we get plenty of calls. Most of the calls we receive don’t get on-the-air for a host of reasons – mostly because they are not entertaining. Well, let me clarify that: most of the calls we record during songs or commercials don’t get on-the-air. When we switch to live call-mode - which is like playing Audio Russian Roulette – then all bets are off. (Thank goodness for our 8-second delay.)
So, who are these Callers from Hell? I will try and describe the basic types and if you recognize yourself in any of then, don’t be offended – be amused.
Johnny Come Latelys – These folks have tuned in right in the middle of or at the end of something interesting and want us to fill them in on everything they missed. This is generally impossible since morning radio programs are streams of thought that keep going forward. The people on-the-air usually don’t have time to do this – and some listeners just don’t get why.
Repeaters – This is actually a funny phenomenon which I first noticed years ago. I don’t know why, but callers in general will always repeat whatever they called to tell you. They state it once, you react in some way, the conversation continues, and inevitably they will state it again. It’s not really annoying as much as it’s just curious. In our studio, one of us usually holds up two fingers upon the repeat because we still find it amusing.
