Simon Says

2019 National Radio Day is August 20th and I chose on July 24th to make my appearance with Paul Brown on KFNS The Fan 590 St. Louis my salute to an industry that will be 100 years old next year.

1920 is when KDKA radio signed on in Pittsburgh. I got started in the business 54 years after that while in college and continued in it for most of my career before bowing out in 2007. I got a chance to work for some legendary radio stations like KMOX in St. Louis and KMBZ in Kansas City. Even one of my early stops was at a legendary station; WSDR in Sterling, Illinois at the time was regarded as one of the better small market radio stations in the country. It’s revenue was over $1 million a year; a huge sum then in a coverage area of less than 75,000 people, and it’s a huge sum today with increased competition.

Radio Made Podcasting Natural

Working in radio is why I chose last year to get into podcasting. There still is something romantic about the spoken word creating pictures in minds. But real storytelling existed for decades on radio and is being recreated again in the 21st via podcasting.

The appearance I made with Paul Brown extends a friendship we’ve had for 35 years. He had a solid career as a TV sportscaster in Southern Illinois and Western Kentucky in the 1980’s. When he moved to St. Louis in the early 1990’s, the openings were rare.

Turn the clock ahead to 1993 and the Great Flood on midwest rivers that summer, including the Mississippi River in St. Louis. It was THE story coast-to-coast. Paul was in school and I told him he actually was eligible for an internship at KMOX where I had worked. He thought I was nuts but I told him they (and everyone covering the flood) needed warm bodies to report 24 hours a day.

He called the late John Angelides, KMOX’s news director who jumped at the chance to get Paul in the newsroom. Interns didn’t make on-air appearances but as time went on, the demands made by CBS, who owned KMOX at the, gave the station the opportunity to put Paul on the air. Note that I didn’t write gave Paul the opportunity – union rules were very tight and it took some human resources acts of God and creativity to get someone on air. Paul did get on air, not just on KMOX, but CBS too for their top-of-the-hour newscasts.

I was happy for him. He made the best of it. He was one of the better storytellers on air. In 1997, Paul left KMOX to return to television at a station I once worked at and helped build their newsroom from scratch, KDNL Channel 30, as a news reporter. He did a solid job there for a station which struggled to find an audience, because the audience didn’t find them as measured by Nielsen. Sadly, the station owner had enough and cancelled news in 2001.

I don’t know if Paul has any regrets leaving KMOX radio. But his 4 years there showed a storyteller with talent could reach an audience with impact. I did the opposite thing Paul did. I left TV to get back into radio, at KMBZ in Kansas City and it was a great move for me.

What Makes Great Radio?

I enjoyed my time on air with Paul. We had fun. That’s the key to anything on-air, radio, television, 2 tins cans and a string. If you’re not having fun doing it, the audience will see and hear it and be turned off.

And you have to have great content. NPR proves that and they are taking a lot of radio listeners away from commercial stations who dominated the field for so long.

Future Date Important to Podcasting

I looked to see if there is a National Podcasting Day. Guess what? There is an International Podcast Day celebrated on September 30.

As former Yankee Hall of Fame radio broadcaster Mel Allen would say, “How about that!”

Enjoy my appearance with Paul talking about one thing I did for years on radio, report current events and politics.

Revisit Episode 10, August 9, 2018, about Ferguson, Missouri

And revisit Episode 10, when I had Paul talk on August 9, 2018, the rioting

The explosion of social media now makes good storytelling skills required for everyone. Good storytelling personally and professionally benefits everyone.

We’re all storytellers at one time or another. Social media is here to stay and those late to the game will eventually come in. We’ll start with good storytelling and why it’s important. Later, we’ll address good written storytelling skills needed along with good storytelling using tools like pictures, videos, and reference to enhance the story we’re trying to tell.

Why do we use social media?

Start with the basics. We communicate to share, entertain and get attention. It’s no different than people who are paid to communicate for a living.

But, we compete against them for time and attention.

Focus on storytelling, not how to grow an audience

Great storytelling grows audience and was proven successful before the digital age. How to grow an audience is a marketing tool for so-called teachers wanting to make a fast buck.

Address why you use social media

Knowing why you use social media is a big help. Maybe you just to connect with friends, family and colleagues. Maybe you might do it to share something that will help them or entertain them. Admit it – we use social media to get attention. Getting attention is from social media is important to me. I live in Las Vegas, love it but have few friends here. Online I communicate to get attention from people far away to maintain some semblance of relationship with people, otherwise I’d go crazy.

I’ve made a lot of new and good friends through social media without having met them. And that’s ok. The written word in social media should be a powerful magnet.

As a former newspaper, radio and television journalist, I do it to inform, educate and entertain, in that order. I’m not that great an entertainer. I’m funny at times, but not consistently. Entertainment follows informing and educating, which I did for years as a reporter. I’d like to think I was a decent storyteller as a reporter. I’ve got a few industry awards to support it. But now on social media, I try to let people know more than they might know. Recently, my attention has been focused on personal health. This summer, I’ve undergone more medical procedures than I have in the past 30 years combined. 2 cataract surgeries have gotten me back in the online game because for a while, I couldn’t read anything. It was frustrating and I shut down. No episodes for 3 months. But now that I can see clearly again, my attitude and enthusiasm are much better. And I used social media to tell anyone what I experienced and what they might expect. I saw my mother pretty much go blind with macular degeneration. Knowing that and what was happening to me scared me. I hope I scared some people with my stories to push them to address their eye health.

Everyone needs to connect with others. And the best way to do it is to tell stories in a great way that will get others to pay attention, entertain, and share.

In closing, address order of importance

We communicate to share, entertain, and get attention. Our audience – our friends, our families, colleagues, and even those who don’t know us – they consume communication by first getting attention from the message, being entertained by the message, and then sharing that message, if they feel it’s worth it.

In summary, the order of importance in communication is reversed for the reader, listener or viewer than it is for us personally.

If you can master that, you’re on your way to being a great storyteller because then you will know what the audience wants to see and hear. Master that and you’ve created a circle. Tell great stories, and that circle will grow. Then ask yourself what your communication priorities are.

Mine are inform, educate and entertain. What’s yours? There’s no book or manual – because everyon

Former Boeing public relations staffer Jim Bafaro says success in public relations depends on the ability to tell a story that grabs the attention of news organizations

Jim and I worked together at KMOX radio in St. Louis. He went on to a public relations career highlighted by work at Boeing.

Jim delivered results and the reason was his ability to tell a story, and he explains in this episode tells how he got the attention of newsmakers. One thing was his knowledge his market and its news organizations.

If you are a small business owner or manager who performs do-it-yourself-PR, this episode is for you.

One medium ignored that often delivers big results

Jim says one great way to get a public relations message out is call your local radio stations, especially if newspapers and television

Jim Bafaro’s radio experience was highlighted by work at legendary CBS station KMOX in St. Louis

stations have invisible walls. He says radio news departments appreciate it and appreciated the call and thus, deliver your story.

Radio (news departments) us a lot of one-man bands. You can’t get them necessarily to come out to cover your event, so we’ll bring someone to the phone to explain it to you so you can do that story and not have to expend that energy to drive out to our plant

Podcasters and bloggers are reminded you must perform public relations for your episodes, articles, and hosting sites. If you have questions about something public relations related, consider contacting a local chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, and you may reach out to Jim at his Linkedin page. and read his terrific blog articles on a variety of topics, proving that you must master great storytelling in the written, verbal and visual form. 

We hope you enjoy the transition of our podcast from telling stories to how to tell better stories. It gets people’s attention. We hope these podcasts get your attention.

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It’s been 3 months since we last published an episode. There were several reasons why, I explain them in this update and tell you about new episodes coming soon to Simon Says Stories.

Podcast popularity is growing with proven research in 2019. This episode is about the power of podcasting with great details for producers about audience.

Do You Listen to Podcasts?

Yes, I listen every day

Yes, a couple per week

No, but I'm considering it

No, have no interest or time

ResultsPoll Options are limited because JavaScript is disabled in your browser.

Yes, I listen every day 100%, 1 vote 1 vote 100% 1 vote - 100% of all votesYes, a couple per week 0%, 0 votes 0 votes 0 votes - 0% of all votesNo, but I'm considering it 0%, 0 votes 0 votes 0 votes - 0% of all votesNo, have no interest or time 0%, 0 votes 0 votes 0 votes - 0% of all votesTotal Votes: 1 April 26, 2019 Polls Archive × You or your IP had already vote. Vote Yes, I listen every day Yes, a couple per week No, but I'm considering it No, have no interest or time × You or your IP had already vote. Results

I wanted milestone #50 to be focused. It’s a podcast episode about podcasting! I can’t be more focused.

Podcasting is Online Journalism

It’s the execution journalism has used for years. Telling stories is journalism. Anyone can tell a story, and therefore, anyone can be a journalist. You are a journalist – an independent journalist – just by telling a story to someone else.

You don’t have to be a paid professional to be a journalist. The late Cole Campbell, who was the Editor of the St. Louis Post Dispatch in the mid-1990’s championed “Citizen Journalism” resulting in  fierce opposition by his staff. Deep down, his critics may have sensed competition from ordinary people like you reading this episode description.

Ordinary citizens like you are producing podcasts. Me? I’m a former mainstreamer. I wasn’t part of the opposition to citizen journalism. Therefore, I was cast as a traitor by some in mainstream journalism. So consider me on your side if you’ve just a regular Joe or Jane. I’m just like you.

The Power of Podcasting

And that’s what makes online journalism great. Below is Episode 23 with Jeff Richgels, the publisher of The 11th Frame, a blog about bowling. It’s one of the more successful blogs in the United States. It’s not free. You have to pay to read it. He has 1,500 loyal followers and still growing. Anyone, including me, can learn from Jeff how to be successful online.

That’s what we’ll be doing going forward. Sharing the stories of stories of storytelling. We want to inspire you, to either read, watch, or listen more to stories, or possibly, to inspire you to produce them in your own manner online, whether, by blog or podcasting.

Podcasting Survey by Edison Research

I ask that you set aside time to listen to the entire episode. It’s well worth it for podcast listeners and producers. Share it with your friends. Listen to our episode below with Jeff Richgels about his blog, especially if you are considering publishing one of your own.

Please listen for my special message after the Edison Research presentation about the future of my podcasts.

Since you are here and like listening to audio, I’ve got two free books available for you just by clicking here.

Scott Simon, Simon Says

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Related article, The Podcast Consumer, Edison Research, April 6, 2019

 

Castos Podcast Hosting

USBC Board of Director candidate Rick Ramsey wanted to answer questions submitted by members at the Facebook USBC Discussion Forum.

The election is part of the USBC 2019 convention April 27-May 2 at The Orleans in Las Vegas.

Below is the first interview Rick appeared in earlier this month explaining the different process for him to be elected. Unlike government elections, the USBC procedure is for the board to screen candidates and make recommendations for open seats. Rick was not chosen by the screening panel and has been lobbying delegates to make sure he gets a shot at votes.

This is a must-watch for all USBC delegates, and a must-do share with delegates by USBC members who have come out in support of Rick’s candicacy.

I am undertaking the effort to publicize Rick due to his long and great standing in bowling, as a current director along with his wife Gayle for The BTM Tournament being held this spring at the Gold Coast Bowling center in Las Vegas. I was a USBC tournament staffer in 2017 and disappointed at the representation the organization has in leadership at many levels, doing things not done in similar venues.

Enjoy the interview and if you have questions for Rick, reach out to him at his Facebook page.

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Successful fundraising is critical for non-profit organizations. NPR board member Jay Pearce oversees them for WVIK-FM, Rock Island, Il. which he manages as its CEO and each required the same approach.

What you’ll hear in this episode for better fundraising in 2019:

How to make the same revenue despite fewer pledge campaign calls

The one must-do intention in every campaign

Why U.S. postal service mail should be a priority over social media

What to ask for in the first paragraph of mail

The outside resource to help legitimize your campaign and image

If you haven’t listened to Jay, you should, because others have for years and we have featured him before on Simon Says, and those episodes are posted at the bottom of this article.

I want to thank him for joining me to help us learn what’s made him successful through the years. Jay has been busy; just back from an NPR board meeting which we will feature in an upcoming episode.

If you know someone who works in fundraising, let them know to listen to this how-to episode.

Thanks for listening and for your patience. I missed the publishing deadline recovered from illness. Thanks for your though and prayers. And help my fundraising, with a small donation if you like what you hear.

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Scott Simon, Simon Says

 

The United States Bowling Congress board candidate list April 27 is excluding nationally-known leader Rick Ramsey who wants to be elected for the future of the sport.

The 2019 ACM Awards will be announced April 7 and Cadillac Jack of 995. WYCD previews who is in the running for big Country Music Awards

Television newsrooms help fuel the fake news image with their anchor-report debrief segments. Reporter facts too often are overshadowed by anchor opinion.