Talk Radio
How to take to the airways
By Bob Dubin, DC

The chiropractic story needs to be in the media, and we need to be the ones who put it there and keep it there.

For too long, organized medicine has controlled the flow of information about us — what we do and how we can help people regain and maintain their health. We haven’t had the type of publicity we deserve.

But, we can change that. We can create a presence on local radio or community access television.

Here are some ideas and practical suggestions on how you can do this in your own community:

• Assess your speaking skills. If you have a background in performing arts such as standup comedy, you’ll have an edge in the media. But that background is not critical.

You do need good communication skills. Being in the media requires being able to think fast on your feet and to convey information clearly and concisely. Work on your skills if they are not the best.

One way to do this is to become active in your local Toastmasters organization (www.toastmasters.org). Another way is to do some open-mike work at a local comedy factory.

• Identify a likely radio station. Once you hone your speaking skills and are ready to go on the air, listen to your locally owned and operated radio stations (both AM and FM) and identify the ones that do talk programming.

Request media kits from the stations, and compare the stations for power output, reach, demographics, main sponsors, even the attitudes of the regular on-air-staff about chiropractic. (For some of this information, you will have to monitor the stations.)

• Negotiate for air time. You will likely, at first, have to buy time, which is usually available in 30-, 60-, or 120-minute blocks, depending on the station and the market it serves. Choose the best radio station that suits your needs, and strike a deal with the station management for a block of time. You can usually negotiate more favorable rates with an annual contract.

• Don’t forget ‘spot’ announcements. In your negotiations, lock in promo spots for your program and PSA commitments. (PSAs are public service announcements. Every station has to air several hours a week of these free spots.)

• Prepare a ‘canned’ intro. You will also need some kind of canned opening, such as a ditty or jingle or even a song if the station will allow it. This opening will fade out when you announce your presence on the live mike.

• Provide varied programming. For the radio programs, interview local colleagues, others who practice non-drug and non-surgical approaches to healthcare, and those who work with the profession such as attorneys, nutritional supplement reps, hypnotherapists, acupuncturists, psychotherapists, and medical doctors.

After you are on the air for awhile, you will receive solicitations; your guests will be booked months in advance; and you will receive books to review. (You will never run out of program material!)

As I stated at the beginning, it is completely up to us to take the ball in hand and educate the public about what exactly it is that we do, and how we can help them live better without drugs or surgery for many problems.

The media is there, and it is available to us. We need to use it to help promote the ideas that we know have a positive effect on peoples’ lives once they are made aware of and implement them.

SIDEBARS:
Talk radio: Ideal for an association project
Creating spot announcements
Become a TV star, too

Bob Dubin, DC, hosted a radio show with author and former television talk-show host Irene Lamberti, DC, from 1983 to 1994, in the San Francisco Bay Area. He currently practices in Placitas, N.M., and can be contacted by e-mail at drdubin@aol.com or through his Web site, www.drdubin.net.