That Live-Audience Crackle
Written Jun. 17, 2009 by Larry Rosin in Content + Terrestrial Radio with 1 Comment
I am a huge fan of the NPR show "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me", their weekly comedic news quiz. Over the years, the show has become a consistently funny show, and often goes well past funny to riotous.
After having the rare time to listen to an entire show on the radio (as opposed to the podcast), and then catching some of "Prairie Home Companion" on the same station this past weekend, it dawned on me how unusual these shows are. They are recorded in front of 'live' studio audiences!
There are almost no examples of audience-response in all of radio these days. No wonder morning show jokes often sound...limited. They are usually greeted either by silence or the over-aggressive chuckles of the rest of the morning team.
And, despite the connotations to "olde-tyme" radio, there is nothing about hearing radio with a live audience that makes it sound dated...if anything it sounds more modern because it is so refreshingly different.
In today's world of stripped down "commercial" radio, it must make the opportunity even greater for examples of "live" radio on the Infinite Dial. Heard any good radio plays performed in front of a studio audience lately? Or other examples of how special radio can sound with audience response? Let us know in the comments section.
Reader Comments
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I can remember Alex Bennett on Live 105 in SF in the late 80's. He did his morning show with a small studio audience every weekday. It had a great vibe, kind of like being in a small club.