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“When your favorite radio
personality dies, it's not just a headline - it's like a death in
your family”, wrote Corey Deitz in about.com. “....the reaction to
the sudden death of Kidd Kraddick wasn't because he was famous. It
was because he was like a family member to hundreds of thousands of
listeners.”
I never worked with Kidd but we were both hired into Dallas radio by
the same man, my now close personal friend Randy Brown. I could
hear for myself Kidd’s extraordinary talent but others, like Randy,
told me of his compassion for chronically and terminally ill
children. USA Today said, "He died doing what he loved, and his
final day was spent selflessly focused on those special children
that meant the world to him.”
It is interesting that the USA Today article did not mention the
format Kidd Kraddick was on, the music that he played, or his 25
minute music sweeps with no talk. There’s nothing wrong with
programming tactics but that’s hardly how legacies—or brands---are
made. “A vital brand has a "relationship" with loyal users not
unlike a healthy relationship between two people.”
“Radio's secret weapon in staying competitive....has always been how
personal it can be. When you, a listener, decide to listen to a
radio host, deejay, or personality over and over again, you are
creating a commitment.
You are in a relationship. A very special relationship.
Maybe it's because the singularity of voice coupled with words is
quite pure and without distraction. Video often offers way too much
information through superfluous video cues that can easily distract
from the purity of communication and empathy that radio
delivers....warm and personal, funny, heated, emotional,
informative, or just background noise.” Corey Deitz
A radio station without humanity is simply not worth listening to.
We can get that from Pandora and Slacker. A Christian music radio
station without humanity is a waste!
“We are not outsiders of the human race....People get offended when
we act like their mother or, worse, like an expert who is trying to
“fix” them. Maybe a bit more identification with the human race is
in order.” Steve Brown
The talent in Christian radio can learn a lot from Kidd Kraddick.
“People will not always remember what you said. They will not
always remember what you did. But they will always remember how you
made them feel.” John Maxwell
John is a partner in Goodratings
Strategic Services, and has been a successful major market disc
jockey and program director for such companies as CBS, Cap Cities,
Westinghouse, Sandusky, Gannett, and Alliance during his 38 year
broadcast career. John joined Goodratings’ partner Alan Mason in
1999.
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