She Likes To Talk

July 23, 2010
Issue 154
She Likes To Talk
Gayle King likes to talk. I learned that during
a recent phone chat where my interview with
the Westwood One/Harpo Radio syndicated
personality quickly moved from question and
answer to just two people having a casual
conversation. King has a knack for drawing
people into a conversational comfort zone,
whether she’s talking to embattled USDA exec
Shirley Sherrod, Tea Party activist David
GAYLE KING
Webb, or the Muslim mayor and Jewish deputy
mayor of Teaneck, NJ. An acclaimed newscaster,
King can talk issues, but she’s not content to limit her show’s discussion
to politics and policy, as so many other Talk radio shows do. In a random
sampling of recent shows, I found King covering a wide range of topics,
from Leonardo DeCaprio’s new film Inception and the Old Spice guy
in those TV commercials, to dating younger men and debating if having
kids makes parents unhappy. Oh, and there’s that occasional call from
BFF, Oprah Winfrey. Now, most Talk radio veterans will tell you that
the road to national syndicated radio success is littered with potholes.
But one conversation with King will tell you that she has a firm hand
on the wheel and a clear plan to drive The Gayle King Show down the
road to success.
What do you like most about hosting a radio show everyday?
The show allows me to do what I enjoy doing more than anything else.
I am a news junkie. Whether it’s food, politics, music, or pop-culture,
the show gives me an opportunity to talk, on a daily basis, about what’s
going on in the world -- about things that I find interesting, or that I
think listeners will be interested in.
Although in recent years you’ve hosted a show on Sirius
XM Satellite Radio, most of your media career has been in
television. So, in a world where ‘new media’ is the buzz, what’s
the attraction for you from broadcast radio?
When Oprah Radio launched four years ago, I honestly wasn’t sure
if radio would be a good medium for me, because I was so used to
‘lights-camera-action.’ But [Oprah Radio Executive Producer] Corny
Koehl saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself. She told
me she guaranteed I would like radio, because it’s such an intimate
medium. And she was right. It is intimate, and it gives people a sense
of freedom to say things and reveal things about themselves that they
might not necessarily do in front of a TV camera. I’m also a person
who has always been naturally curious all my life -- I like to know
what people are thinking, what they’re feeling, and what they believe.
Radio is a perfect medium for that.
Most Talk radio today is heavily defined by the host’s politics
and a pretty confrontational approach to the conversation.
How do you define your show?
I believe that you can talk about anything on the radio. I don’t believe
there is any question that’s off limits and there’s nothing you can’t
say. But, I do think you can do that and be respectful of one another.
Screaming and hollering puts people on the defensive -- it’s not
conducive to listening and it doesn’t make anyone listen. I believe
there’s always a way to have a conversation that is cogent, coherent
and civilized, without being boring.
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(continued on page 3)
July 23, 2010
Page 2
NTS MediaOnline Weekly
PERSON-T0-PERSON
GIG ALERTS
Local TV newsman Gene Valicenti joins the lineup at WPRO/
Providence, where he’ll now host a weekly Saturday show from 9amnoon. The NBC 10 anchor has previously served a number of guest host
stints on the Citadel Broadcasting News/Talker … KDKA-FM (The
Fan)/Pittsburgh becomes the Steel City radio flagship of University
of Pittsburgh football and men’s basketball. Concurrently, crosstown
Renda Broadcasting-owned WJAS inks to become the radio home of
Pitt women’s basketball … From our “Not Exactly Talk Media News”
Department: Talk radio pros “of a certain age” will fondly recall the days
when current Salem Communications News/Talker KCBQ/San Diego
was a Top 40 monster. A group headed by KCBQ legend “Shotgun”
Tom Kelly is spearheading an effort to erect a monument on the site of
the station’s original studios and transmitter -- now a shopping mall -- to
salute all of the great jocks that worked at “AM 1170” between 19581978. Find out more about the project at www.KCBQremembered.net.
KSL/Salt Lake City seeks an Executive Producer for Utah’s Morning
News. You’ll manage a team of eight anchors, producers and reporters
for the station’s highly rated morning news show, with access to
“unparalleled resources.” Find out more about the gig and how to
apply HERE … WBAL/Baltimore has an immediate opening for
a fulltime Sports/Talk producer. Must have strong audio mixing and
editing skills and be web and computer literate. AudioVault and Adobe
Audition experience a plus. Rush your resume to Executive Producer
Mike Wellbrock at [email protected] … Got a gig open?
Looking for a new challenge? Just email the details and contact
info to [email protected] and we’ll post it here, free of charge,
as a service to industry professionals.
NETWORK /SYNDICATION NOTES
Premiere Radio Networks inks a long term renewal with John Boy
and Billy’s The Big Show, which currently airs on a reported 70 affiliates
nationwide … Citadel Media signs a new multi-year renewal with The
Michael Baisden Show, now airing in 22 of the top 25 Urban radio
markets … Compass Media Networks’ Free Beer & Hot Wings show
adds KROG/Medford, OR, KRWN/Farmington, NM and WPXC/
Cape Cod … KBUF/Garden City, KS adds the Saturday night edition
of Free Talk Live with Ian Freeman … Midnight Trucking Network
hosts Eric Harley and Gary McNamara will be looking for “star
sightings” as they prowl the red carpet during next month’s annual Great
American Trucking Show in Dallas. The WBAP-based/Citadel Media
syndicated show has been entertaining America’s truckers and other fans,
from midnight-5am nightly, for over 40 years.
EMERGING TALK MEDIA
Mobile audio provider AudioNow launches AudioCast, a service
that allows listeners to access pre-recorded sports, news, radio and
online news audio content from any phone, 24/7. More info at
www.audionow.com … GET BREAKING NEWS alerts by following
us on TWITTER, or “friend” us on FACEBOOK. Find one-click
links to both at www.NTSMediaOnline.com.
SULLIVAN’S IDOL MOMENT
YOUR PHOTO HERE!
Yep, your station’s or company’s photos could be right here in
NTS MediaOnline Weekly -- but only if you send ‘em to us. So,
go ahead and take your best shot -- then email your photos to
[email protected].
American Idol winner Lee Dewyze recently paid a visit to the FOX
News studios in New York where he dropped in for a chat with FOX
News Radio host Tom Sullivan. Dewyze, the winner of AI’s 9th season,
is scheduled to release his new album in October
©2010 NTS MediaOnline ™ — All rights reserved. To subscribe visit www.ntsmediaonline.com
“I TOLD YA SO!”
Talk radio’s original smartass on
taxes, government, and personal freedom!
July 23, 2010
NTS MediaOnline Weekly
(continued from page 1)
Are you, as some hosts are, on any kind of mission with your
show?
That word is too strong for me. I never think that I’m on a mission. To
me, being on a mission sounds like you are trying to change people,
or convert them. I want listeners to think, but I also want them to
laugh and have a good time. I am on a mission when it comes to my
belief that we can be civilized while agreeing or disagreeing with each
other. I am very concerned about the ‘snarkiness’ and the meanness in
so much of the conversation that’s out there. All of these reality TV
shows encourage people to show their worst possible sides. You’re
encouraged to be mean and to put people down. You’re encouraged
to believe that, in order for you to win, somebody has to lose and I am
just not from that point of view. Instead of talking about all the things
that we don’t have in common, let’s talk about what we do and work
backwards from there -- that’s the kind of movement I’d like to see
happen. Everyone seems to think you have to be extreme to make a
point, but I’m not from that school. Sometimes I agree with one point
of view, and sometimes I agree with another. And sometimes I don’t
agree with what either side is saying.
So, I assume it would be kind of hard to pigeon hole you when
it comes to issues?
(Laughing) Yes, I do think that would be pretty hard to do. And I don’t
want to be pigeon holed. Recently some people from Oprah’s show
were trying to define me, or characterize what it is that I do. You know,
Bob Green does nutrition, Nate does decorating, Suze Orman does
money -- but what do we say about Gayle? Talking about it with my
23-year old son he said, ‘Mom, you just love life and you just like to
talk about all facets of life.’ And that’s really true. I do love life. I love
a good song, I love a good burger -- and you can’t make a bad cupcake
in my world, that is just not possible.
What would you like listeners to take away from the program
each day?
I would like them to walk away thinking it was time well spent. I never
want anyone to feel like they wasted their time. I also understand that
people don’t necessarily listen to the whole show, everyday. So, I am
very conscious that every interview, every segment, might be the only
thing from the show that somebody hears today. I want them to be glad
we met and spent some time talking together, no matter how much time
they spent listening.
Do you have any sense that you need to teach, or that people
should learn from your program?
I don’t think you necessarily need to learn something everyday.
Sometimes it’s just plain fun and what’s wrong with that? Absolutely
nothing. But, because the show is really news and current events
driven, I would hope that listeners get something out of it everyday
-- something new that they’ve learned, or a better understanding of
something they’ve heard about. But in the end, I mostly care about
making sure that no one walks away thinking they wasted their time.
CONTACT NTS MEDIAONLINE
Al Peterson
858-486-7559
[email protected]
Brooke Trissel
512-218-8228
[email protected]
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