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  • Rules of the Road

    • 07/10/2009
    • Posted by: Mike O'Malley
    • Category: radio
    No Comments

    I’ve owned a few Chryslers and Dodges in my time so the FastCompany.com slideshow “Chrysler: What It Was, What It Is, and What It Could Have Been” caught my eye. The slides feature Chryslers new and old, and the accompanying text recounts some company highs and lows. Scrolling through, several recurring themes jumped out at

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  • Faces of the Fourth

    • 07/05/2009
    • Posted by: Mike O'Malley
    • Category: DJs, radio, radio programming
    No Comments

    We were first attracted to Milltown, NJ as much by what wasn’t here as what was. And what’s still missing remains one of the appeals. There wasn’t/isn’t much crime or chains or traffic or industry or high-rises. To date our borough of about 7000 still doesn’t have a Wal-Mart, a movie theater, a McDonald’s, or

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  • Book Packagers. Who Knew?

    • 07/01/2009
    • Posted by: Mike O'Malley
    • Category: air talent, radio programming
    No Comments

    I’d never heard of a ‘book packager’ until I read Seth Godin’s blog Monday. What struck me about the packager’s job description and skill requirements was how applicable many are to being a great air talent. “…find isolated assets and connect them in a way that creates value, at the same time…put in the effort

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  • Speaking Like the Prez

    • 01/26/2009
    • Posted by: Mike O'Malley
    • Category: DJs, radio
    1 Comment

    Communications coach Steve Adubato analyzed President Obama’s inaugural speech and offered his thoughts/take-aways. I distilled Steve’s column to six bullets – many of which are common areas of growth for talent: • Be focused; have a clear theme• Be brief; don’t confuse quantity with quality• Disagreeing is OK but being disagreeable isn’t• Own your content;

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  • This Year We Gifted a Goat

    • 12/20/2008
    • Posted by: Mike O'Malley
    • Category: radio
    No Comments

    What’s the best gift you’ve ever given? Chances are it was something that the recipient truly valued – perhaps even something that changed their life. Like maybe a goat. My wife and I were recently introduced to Heifer International – an organization that purchases animals for impoverished people with the goals of helping the recipients

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  • Connecting and Celebrating YouTube Style

    • 11/20/2008
    • Posted by: Mike O'Malley
    • Category: radio programming
    No Comments

    YouTube Live is coming to a computer near you Saturday, 11/22. Reflecting the “scale and diversity of content on YouTube” it will feature approximately 50 performances by Internet born stars as well as Grammy award winners. A common thread among these diverse performers is a massive following on YouTube. A common thread among the attendees

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  • The Voice of Everyman

    • 11/03/2008
    • Posted by: Mike O'Malley
    • Category: DJs, radio programming
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    By Mike O’Malley Studs Terkel died last week. Studs was a National Book Award medalist, activist and Pulitzer Prize winning author. Over his 96 years he was also a stage and radio actor, disc jockey, Chicago and later nationally syndicated radio talk show host and TV star. Studs’ writing “celebrated the common people he liked

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  • Traits of Market Icons

    • 10/20/2008
    • Posted by: Mike O'Malley
    • Category: DJs, radio programming
    No Comments

    by Mike O’Malley This weekend I was part of the reunion of New York City country radio broadcasters (starting from my left are the killer former WYNY staff: Bill Rock, Shelli Sonstein, Dan Daniel, Randy Davis and Jim Kerr). I’m not big on reunions – I’d rather talk about the future than the past –

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  • This Is Really A Short Blog Because…

    • 10/16/2008
    • Posted by: Mike O'Malley
    • Category: radio programming
    No Comments

    A lot of people have the same attention span as a goldfish – about 9 seconds. No, really. This makes me want to think about promos and imaging, talent breaks and newscasts, all content on air and online. Are they attracting and retaining listeners’ attention? Would they be better and more powerful if they were

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  • Business Advice from an 18th Century Potter

    • 10/07/2008
    • Posted by: Mike O'Malley
    • Category: radio programming
    No Comments

    I was recently re-reading Seth Godin’s “Meatball Sundae” and the story of 18th century potter Josiah Wedgwood. The business advice Godin suggested Wedgwood might have given to his less successful brother and fellow potter seemed so appropriate for radio that I couldn’t resist adapting a few: • Create special, unique programming elements that are so

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