I always enjoyed taking the interns out for pizza late in the summer before they all fled back to their dorms, and thank them for their hard work but also pick their brains for ideas. They hadn’t been in Radio long enough to get screwed up or have their minds polluted with “This is how stuff is done because this is the way we’ve always done it” thought-boxes.
I’d ask them about events and contests and remotes and procedures and what would they do differently? How would they make it better? And they never ever let me down and I think really helped the stations improve as we moved forward.
The best idea I ever heard was from an intern named Katie who suggested that the station have water coolers and free water at the State Fair booth. “Everything here is so expensive, you can drop $20 before you get in the gate, it’s always so bleeping hot. It would get people to stop at the booth for a moment and maybe get introduced to the DJ’s and the music.”
Brilliant. Freaking brilliant. And NO Radio Person would have ever suggested something as insane and reckless and dangerous as free Dixie cups of water.
The station implemented it the next year and it was a homerun. Read more…
