As the saying goes: He has a face for radio.
On TV, ogre-like features don't go over well. You don't want viewers to say, "Wow, did he land on his face when sky-diving or something?"
Shawn RyanBut on radio, no one can see you.
Being a show host on the radio is not easy. You must be conversational and sound like you know what you're talking about instead of a babbling fool. Otherwise, you come off like a first-grader standing up in front of the class and reciting poetry. Listeners can practically see you trembling up there with your hands folded in front of your pants.
I know. I've experienced it.
I now have a show on WUTC-FM called "The Greatest Hits You've Never Heard," which debuted a couple of Fridays ago.
For an hour, I play songs that were released as singles, but failed to make millions of dollars, despite how good they were. So chances are most folks haven't heard them. I also have some songs that, in my not-so-humble opinion, should have been released as singles but weren't because, well, no one cared what I think.
The show is automated, and I tape it prior to its broadcasts at 10 p.m. Friday and 8 p.m. Sunday on WUTC's HD-2. I am eternally grateful that it's taped. It means I can go back and re-record and re-record and re-record moments when it's like I'm reading straight from a script with flat, soulless, intonation. Or else I'm stuttering or stumbling over my words and sound like I was driving my tractor by the radio station, they opened the door and said, "Hey, you want to do a radio show?"
Trying to get some pointers, I've been listening to some other folks on local radio. It has made me realize I have a long way to go. So, if you're listening, be forgiving for awhile.
By the way: In case you didn't know, HD radio does not stand for "high definition." It means "hybrid digital," and its signals broadcast just as far as regular analog but with CD-quality sound and no deterioration or overlap with other radio signals.
While WUTC-FM is now all newstalk and other programming, HD2 is all music, all the time. It's easy to access: Go to the wutc.org website and click "Listen: WUTC HD-2" at the top. You can stream it from the WUTC website or the iTunes app or you can buy an HD radio. You also can get a car stereo with HD radio capabilities, but those are limited in availability, although one can be installed if you ask for it.
Contact Shawn Ryan at mshawnryan@gmail.com.