Hosting “Clean Energy Radio” Offers Plenty of Challenges

I host “Clean Energy Radio,” a weekly interview program. I have to say that the station on which it airs, WebTalkRadio, is a wonderful concept in Internet broadcasting. The other 50-or-so hosts have their own areas of expertise: dog training, marital relationships, deer hunting, natural medicine, etc.; I’m the only renewable energy guy. And I totally approve of the organization; in my experience, the staff at WebTalkRadio — the business folks, the techies, etc. – are, to a person, terrific, super-professional people.

Personally, I believe that Internet radio is currently where FM radio was when I was a teenager: poised for a boom, but just a bit before its time. I recall how much I enjoyed WMMR-FM 93.3 in Philadelphia when I was in high school, where an amazing half-dozen DJs played anything they thought listeners would enjoy.  And how well their tastes matched our own, in our quest for an alternative to commercial, Top-40 drivel.

It was precisely because FM airtime had no financial value that this was possible. There was no attempt to sell records or please sponsors – no pop garbage in the programming – in fact, there were almost no commercials, because the time was worth so little to advertisers. Yet, as those of us old enough to remember will attest, a few years later, everything changed.

In any case, fast-forward 40 years.

I interview a different guest each week. And after I upload my show, I get a regularly scheduled call from my coach, validating my strengths, and making suggestions for improvement. My current challenge is paying attention to each second of the conversation to make sure that I’m not losing any significant piece of the audience. After all, it’s my responsibility – not the guest – to advocate for this listener. I need to be alert to my guests’ responses that may confuse or alienate listeners – anything that may cause people to “pull away.” I want boldness and hard-hitting controversy, but I need to keep the listener “drawn in” and included to the show.

Of course, the nature of the challenge here varies according to the guest I have on. Academics can be aloof, long-winded, or dull. Political activists can make statements that come off as aggressive and spiteful to the mainstream.

I think I do a passable job, though this happens to be one of many art-forms for which I have no particular gift. But in small businesses like 2GreenEnergy, we each wear many hats and are constantly pulled outside our comfort zones.  I’ll work hard, and keep you posted on my progress.