Handling Big News Stories

Randy Lane • January 11, 2021

Thanks for the feedback on social media concerning  our blast this week  on handling the Capitol Hill riots.

Some music stations avoided the topic completely. Others were unsure of how much and how often to talk about it.

The fact is we are living in a climate of fast-breaking news that affects your listeners.

In the future when universal stories happen, here are guidelines for treating the story on music station shows:

If you are the “feel good” and no-conflict show:

  • Briefly report the up-to-date facts in one to three sentences in your trending or news segment, or just quickly hit the story and move on without commentary.
  • Play headline audio clips to tell the essence of the story.
  • Have your sister NewsTalk station or TV partner deliver the headlines.
  • Hit the story at least every half-hour to accommodate short TSL in the morning.

If your show expresses a wide range of emotions :

Use these same guidelines, AND express how you feel about the story minus any political commentary. Either way, your audience will appreciate your genuineness.

The second worst thing (to being inauthentic) you can do is to broadcast rumors or any misinformation in this so-called “post-truth era.”  To repeat an important point from our blast:

  • Be real
  • Be relevant
  • Be accurate

See Jeff McHugh’s “Radio 101” feature below regarding fact-checking information.

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

Share this article

Recent Posts

By Randy Lane • September 29, 2026
When I start coaching a show, talents often say:“Nobody calls anymore.” Or: “Listeners in this market don’t call radio shows.” My response is, “That’s interesting, because several of our shows get more calls than they need.” The difference isn’t necessarily the market. It’s often how the show invites people into the conversation.  Airing callers and text […]
By Randy Lane • September 21, 2026
Jerry Seinfeld wrote every episode of Seinfeld longhand, on a yellow legal pad, with a blue Bic pen. He still writes that way. He’s said the flashing cursor on a screen makes him anxious, like it’s asking, “So, whaddaya got?” Why Start With Pen and Paper?Writing by hand slows you down just enough for ideas to […]
By Randy Lane • September 15, 2026
In the era of loud, fast-talking announcer DJs, my radio mentor, Todd Wallace, asked my fellow DJs and me, “Would you talk to your neighbor over the back fence like a pukey DJ or just in natural conversation?” Of course we all said we’d talk to them conversationally. Todd concluded, “Talk to listeners on air like […]
Show More