We have, all of us, but One listener
Outside the USA, Keith Olbermann is probably unknown. Here he is recognized as a broadcasting writing and on-air performance genius. He has worked for big time sports stations in LA and NYC. He’s worked for CNN, NBC. Cable news MSNBC was launched with his nightly newscast as the cornerstone. Two American TV series have been based on his professional exploits launching the first sports network, ESPN and his hosting of the nightly SportsCenter on the channel. His passion is sports, but about halfway through his career his bosses pulled him into news and political commentary. Today he’s got a YouTube podcast that approaches three million subscribers, I think it is. If you know of his politics, you know he is the Rush Limbaugh of the left.
This is a man who has signed many multi-million dollar contracts over his 40 year career. He has always delivered the audience to justify the paychecks. Politics aside, he is unquestionably a brilliant storyteller. In the story below, he tells us of the lesson from the professor who was manager of his college radio station. He says the lesson has stuck with him for his entire career. It is the lesson I heard from Buzz Bennett, the guy who hired me for my first DJ job. “Steve, you are not talking to all those people out there. You are always talking to just one person.”
This story is lifted from his YouTube podcast on Oct. 11, ’23. It runs 10 minutes. Here’s Keith learning the most important lesson a radio announcer can learn:
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Written by
Steve Warren
Steve Warren has programmed radio since 1964. He built MdB, the first music scheduler for the Mac, in 1987 and Music 1 for Windows in 1994, and is a founding partner of MusicOne.
