When I talk with
people who inquire about my program marketing consulting one of the first
questions I ask is Have you got a program
clock? You would be surprised how many program producers don’t have one. I
ask the question to separate the people who know what they are doing and those
who do not.
The program clock
is the architecture behind the content.
Clocks provide a template that maximizes the program’s flow, makes
certain the hottest content is heard frequently and provides stations with a
roadmap to what comes next. Clocks are a good way to make sure there is a
balance between what is familiar and what is new.
Even freeform
podcasts make use of some elements of a clock: Introductions of who is
speaking, what topics are being discussed and basic storytelling technique. Effective
podcasters know how to reintroduce themselves periodically and combine old
elements with new ideas.
However, some
clocks are used as control devices, to make certain nothing unexpected ever is heard. This is true for both music and news. The clock can be used to
“red line” some things out of the program mix.
Today we are
featuring several radio program clocks. –Please note that some of the examples may
be dated. Click on the images to expand them.
#1: GENERIC PUBLIC RADIO NEWS &
TALK CLOCK
You are probably
familiar with variations of this clock but the basics remain the same. Most of
the events happen at precise times to interface with automation systems.
One
aspect of this clock has always baffled me: Why doesn’t the news start at the
top of the hour?
The one-minute billboard seems useless and often means the top
story of the day it repeated three times in the first few minutes of the hour.
#2: MARKETPLACE HALF-HOUR CLOCK
I can see as many as nine places in the clock on the left to place on-air credits.
Back when General
Electric was their primary funder, Marketplace embedded GE’s advertising theme song We Bring Good Things to Life into the
program’s theme song.
#3: IMUS IN THE MORNING SIMULCAST CLOCK
This clock was in use when Imus in the Morning was simulcast on MSNBC.
Because It needed to work for both TV and radio affiliates, it was absolutely precise.
Don Imus is/was a master at keeping the sound of the show loose while hitting “hard posts.”
#4 WABC 1932
Set the way-back machine for this one. Wake me up when it is time for Anne Leal at the Organ. She does a hot version of Stairway to Heaven.
(Click to enlarge)
#5 LIFESTYLE TALK RADIO NETWORK
This commercial radio clock is guaranteed to cause listener tune-out.
Note the block between :20 and :42: over half of the time is devoted to commercials.
#6 WWV TIME & FREQUENCY MEASUREMENT CLOCK
Fact: WWV is the most powerful noncommercial station in the nation: 250,000 watts to be exact.
WWV is operated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
WWV’s signal originates from a secure compound near Fort Collins, Colorado.
A sister station that serves the same purpose is in Hawaii. You probably have devices in your home that rely of WWV’s exact time. And, no, they don’t play requests unless you want to know the current time.
#7 GUN TALK: PROGRAM CLOCKS ARE NEUTRAL ABOUT CONTENT
Clocks keep the
trains running on time, no what they contain.
Gun Talk is a sophisticated commercial radio weekend program that is
designed to air via automation.
An old friend of
mine from Transtar Radio Network, Skip Joeckel [link], tells me demand is currently rising
for Gun Talk.
Sign of the times,
I guess.
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