Working with THE best radio personality this side of The Milky Way Galaxy has taught me quite a few things about screening calls.



Many consider the role to be less important than the office cleaners who soak up the accumulated spittle from around the mics at the end of every broadcast day.



After having spent some time behind the mic, working with other screeners, I've learned just how damn important a GREAT screener is.



There's a flow to a topic, to a show. Weak callers disrupt that flow. A screener's job is to eliminate the pests, and keep the best - by ANY means necessary.



It's nobody's RIGHT to have their say on privately owned and operated airwaves. You don't need to provide a caller with a valid reason as to why you don't want to grant them audience with the Great and Powerful Oz.



A good producer will not:



1. Pay ANY attention to their smartphone, unless it's related to the show they're working on (connecting with a guest). Distracted Driving, meet distracted screening. Doing either one can lead to disastrous consequences!



2. Talk to a caller for more than 15 seconds. Get the calls racked up. Don't engage in friendly chit-chat. Your job is to connect the caller with the host, not to engage in your own personal radio show behind the scenes. Nothing is more frustrating for a host than to see a screener engaged in a minutes-long chat with a caller while other lines are either ringing or sitting on hold. Being brief with a caller also avoids the "as I said to your screener" opener, and ensures that a caller's content is fresh and original. You should be able to determine a caller's potency seconds into their pitch. Some producers gab on with the callers to boost their own ego and soak up attention (which happens from time to time, but should never interfere with the show)



3. Keep a rotten caller on hold, instead of dropping them. If you have no intention of putting a caller on air, why are they still on the line? Drop them. Tell them that the lines are jammed, that you won't be able to get to them. Tell them that you'll pass their comment on to the host. Tell them their phone signal is too poor. Tell them they have the wrong number. Simply say "Appreciate the call. Have a good one! *CLICK*". DO NOT KEEP THEM ON HOLD. Many producers are afraid of slighting a listener, hurting their feelings. Boo-hoo, too bad. Only the best go on first. This isn't an "everybody should have a fair chance to say their mind" scenario. Allowing the weak to proceed only suggests to them that they should call in again in the future. You want to nip that in the bud right away.



4. Put on a caller who's already been on the program that day, on an earlier show. This requires a producer to listen to the major shows on a regular basis, to be able to identify the callers that have already made it to air. Part of the job of being a good producer. Callers get one shot during the course of the show. Hearing a diverse mix of fresh voices encourages more people to call, as they believe they have a better chance of making it on with the host.



5. Overuse regular callers. As mentioned, Terry in Port Perry, J-j-j-eff in Orillia, Toe-knee in Mississauga, Frank the Legal Beagle, Pete "The Right is always right" in Whitby, Enzo in Etobicoke, Larry in St. Catharines, Johnny in Oshawa, Amanda in Peterborough, Karen in Goodwood, Doug in Peterborough, Rob in Whitby, Mark the Ex-Cab Driver, Cee-cee the American Trucker, Mohammed in Etobicoke, Drew, Tom in Keswick, Mike in Scarborough, John in Woodbridge, and a sea of others are heard much too often on GTA talk radio. Some will hit every show on all stations in one day (get a job!). Except the shows I work on. Every now and then, fine. But rarely. I've trained a good portion of the regulars not to call during my shift - they now know they won't make it to air. We appreciate their eagerness, but c'mon, let some fresh blood have their say. Besides, regulars often share opinion, when callers with actual experience on an issue are being sought.



6. Put on the very old and the very young. Remember your demo. Your callers should reflect your station's demo. Don't put on young kids or senior citizens sucking oxygen out of a tank if your demo is A25-54, or W25-54, or M25-54.



7. Put on callers that are hard to understand or painful to listen to. Caller has a thick accent? Goodbye. Nothing racist about it. If you're struggling to understand them, how will the host or listening audience fare? Caller speaks too slowly? Click. Caller wants to make a quick, lame one-liner? No. This isn't Laugh-In.



8. Let callers have control of your conversation. You the producer are in charge, the callers are not. ALWAYS control the conversation, from start to finish. You decide whether or not they get a chance to join the host. That power does not reside with them. If you don't have a good feeling about a caller, drop them. You have the power! Cut them off before they start to ramble. "Make sure your radio is off, and hold on for the host" is preferred over "okay caller, I'm going to put you on hold for the host, is that okay?" Don't ask them, TELL THEM! If a caller swears at you, HANG UP!



There's more I'd like to say, but I'm tired. Imma lie down now and go to sleep.

Last edited by Fjiri (September 9, 2016 9:45 pm)