It’s About Respect
Above all else, I have tried to make sure that nothing you hear on this radio station is a waste of your time. You may not like the guest or the program, you may not agree with their views…but that’s different from it not being worth your time.
We book at least six interview segments every day. Some of the guests bring a lot to the table, and we’re happy to have them back often. Frankly, though, there are others who for whatever reason just didn’t seem to click.
Typically, I’ll have that guest back another time, just to make sure that it wasn’t me being off that day. But there are a few…actually, as I think of it, it’s more than a few…who are on my mental list of “folks to not have back on the radio”.
Some just weren’t prepared. Some don’t come across well on radio. Some were too busy paying attention to other things instead of devoting attention to you, the audience; most recently, someone was so cavalier that they put their phone down and weren’t there when it was their time…and I had said we’d be going live in less than a minute.
Those are especially the ones that trouble me…the ones that take you, the audience, for granted. Politicians increasingly are falling into this category…they don’t show you the respect you deserve, sort of figuring they can focus on their own aspirations and that you’ll still be there when it’s time to vote.
Basically, then, I’m not going to put people on the radio who don’t show that they value the chance to talk with you across the state of Iowa…and with apps and streams, even beyond that. I don’t beg people to come on…and I don’t let on those who don’t respect the station or its audience.
Sometimes, things just have to be said.
