what do you want to hear in an internet radio show?

i'm getting in on the ground level of a local sports dedicated internet radio station. when i met with the people running things it came up that i'm a hardcore car guy/racer and they have brought up that down the road after things get settled in(i'll be co-hosting a weekly sports show if all works out) there will be an opening for me to have an automotive and racing related talk show.

so, if this works out what would YOU listen to? i know what i'd talk about, and it certainly isn't nascar. i'd want to talk about stuff that we do around here. autocross, road racing, the challenge, building your own stuff, general hot rodding. Honestly you guys might be my biggest listener base, and when the time comes I'd like to bring GRMesque stuff to the fold. interviewing people in the community(i'm looking at you JG) to bring the more financially accessible side of racing to light.

i'm trying to formulate a plan right now and figure out what to do, things to talk about, etc... i am not sure when this might happen but i definitely want to have my ducks in a row before it does so i can do more than sit there in front of a microphone trying to fill dead air.

that, and engine noises.

Epic car searches. How does someone go about tracking down the 1 of 5 1927 something or other their aunt used to own back in 1953?

Just general car talk, but get out of the studio and grab some sounds.

I'd love something like Top Gear for podcast.

5 minute recap of motorsports news.

5 minute recap of interesting new cars/trucks/vans/planes/etc.

30 minutes of interview.

One show is an interview with a guy who has been camping out of a Geo Metro in the backcountry for 4 years.

Another might be an avid collector of Nash vehicles.

Another might be a pair of Sportsmobile (or copy) owners. Maybe one guy has owned a few, and another guy is building his own.

There is seriously endless topics that you could do, but everything from your voice, to sound production, to the quality of your guests can make or break the success of a podcast.

I'd love to help out, even if its just shooting ideas back and forth.

PHeller wrote: Just general car talk, but get out of the studio and grab some sounds. I'd love something like Top Gear for podcast. 5 minute recap of motorsports news. 5 minute recap of interesting new cars/trucks/vans/planes/etc. 30 minutes of interview. One show is an interview with a guy who has been camping out of a Geo Metro in the backcountry for 4 years. Another might be an avid collector of Nash vehicles. Another might be a pair of Sportsmobile (or copy) owners. Maybe one guy has owned a few, and another guy is building his own. There is seriously endless topics that you could do, but everything from your voice, to sound production, to the quality of your guests can make or break the success of a podcast. I'd love to help out, even if its just shooting ideas back and forth.

i like this. my fingers are borderline disabled right now so not typing tons right now, keep ideas coming please.

An automotive radio show\podcast will be engaging for the same reason any other podcast is: Human interest.

No one is going to get excited by a recitation of HP\TQ or 0-60 times, but put those into a funny\silly\evocative context, and now you've got yourself a show. This was the basic premise that Top Gear used with such success. They utilized a vehicle's stigma or reputation or performance prowess as a jumping off point for an adventure. For example:

"The Land Rover Defender is legendary for it's off-road capability. So we're going to deliver a pizza to an indigenous tribe in Tanzania in 30 minutes or less."

Obviously you'll be bereft of any slow motion power slides, so you'll have to be razor sharp with your editing and content. Being clever helps too.

In reply to patgizz:

The podcast world is absolutely flooded right now.

I'd want stories of older oddball cars and unloved cars being found and resurrected. The barn find thing is still interesting to me. Murilee Martin's junkyard finds on Facebook are absolutely fascinating. He focuses on a lot of Malaise Era stuff and it's great.

The Smoking Tire is a pretty damn fine podcast because everyone is generally good on mic. They're funny guys with great rapport. That's not easy to come by.

gamby wrote: In reply to patgizz: The podcast world is absolutely flooded right now.

Shut up and buy bullet proof coffee. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QV6MMPWGxQ

Chose your co-host wisely!

OK. Now that I'm thinking about it I can come up with a few good suggestions.

Keeping the audience captive is paramount. Obviously... You have to expect only 1% of the audience will communicate with you. TAKE ADVANTAGE. Let them help steer you in the direction the show will go, but not so much as to alienate listeners. Find a way to keep listeners communicating weather it be through facebook, a private messanger system, or texting.

Keeping local subjects can be helpful. Drag in the SCCA or dirt track guys that are local. This will give you places to really go and get a group excited. People love hearing their names on the air.

DON'T BE A KNOW-IT-ALL. Try to learn on the air. Ask questions at all levels when dealing with people.

OVERPREPARE. That awkward silence doesn't go away when you're live. Have everything to go in front of you so you can move on to a different subject when you can. You get used to that and can just let it roll. When I was doing my show, I had a write up of the show subjects on my clip board, a subject on my tablet, and another on my computer. Keep things fresh and moving along. Expect to discuss much more than just the subject you expect to have at hand. Since you don't want to talk about NASCAR, be sure to talk about it. You have to be open to other options.

Don't try to have a radio voice. Some people have it. If you do, congratuberkeleyinglations, but it doesn't make a difference. If you don't have a radio voice, trying to sound all broadcasterey will make you sound like a Bob Costas. Use your natural voice and annunciate. Slowly it will sound more fluid.

I really had fun doing my show even though no one was listening. I wish you more success.

thanks for the insight.

i hope that co-hosting the cleveland related sports show will give me some experience with someone who has been doing it for a while. i have friends pretty high up in local radio who have been around for a long time and i don't have much interest in being "on air" on an am/fm station. sounds like a pain.

first show i'll be on is the 21st but it's more of a sit in and get a feel for things. i have been offered a segment on a local big time station several times but the timing is always wrong. i might try to take the person offering up on that next week just to get a feel for things.

It's interesting to just be thrown in. The other guys in the station were the guys rejected from other local AM/FM stations. Worked for them for 20 or so years and dropped, so I learned from them. The station since has taken over two AM sports stations, so I'm proud to say the owner (great guy) is doing well with it.

Paging N Sperlo, Mr. Sperlo- oh wait, never mind...

Dont forget vans! Mini, conversion, candy, 4x4s, etc.