Break the rules

This morning at 10am is the ballot for the leadership of the Labor Party, and therefore for the Prime Ministership. Whether you have an interest in politics or not, and regardless of format, it affects your listeners.

So what will your station do this morning?

No doubt if you are a talk station you will be all over it and run the announcement live. Generally talk stations shine in situations like this, it is when they come into their own. However, what if you are with a music station? What if you have a 10 in a row, 50 minute, 40 minute, nonstop, music marathon etc music promise? The rules dictate that the music is the star. And you can't break the rules. Can you?

Great radio stations know when to break the rules.

I am not presuming to know what is appropriate for your station to do. But I know this. The easy, painless decision would be to do nothing and to allow your news to cover it at 11am, maybe with a speed break from the announcer at 10.15, and 10.45 hooking to the news. The easy decision would also short-change your listeners.

Listeners will be searching for this news as it happens. Let's make sure they get it from radio, in a meaningful way, rather than the internet or television.

If you are a Program Director and you have not made the call on how your station will handle the announcement this morning, then you should give it some thought. Now.