Kyle Liedtke was in broadcasting for 12 years. In that time he was an on-air personality, talk-show host, Music Director and programmer. He also contributed to his industry through writing for various trade publications. Here is a sample collection of  articles Kyle wrote for ProgramDirector.net – a Christian Broadcasting Trade Publication. 

The Art Of Interviewing
Part 1
Kyle Liedtke
Mediatalk Communications

Great radio is made up of great elements - great songs, great jocks, great spots and great liners. It seems to me that one of the most unique, powerful, audience-connecting elements is the most underdeveloped, least thought-out element in Christian music radio: The artist interview.

How many times have you heard an interview that consisted little more than verbal back-patting and silly questions about an artists’ favorite color? Even some of the nationally produced programs feature shallow questions and superficial conversation. This is a tremendous waste. I think the ultimate goal in the interview is to uncover the heart of the artist. And when you uncover the heart of an artist through Godly, honest, intelligent and thoughtful dialogue, you will connect your audience to that artist and to the God of that artist.

The following principles will help you approach the artist interview in a way that will connect with your audience.

Have The Right Purpose

A good interviewer always has a purpose in mind for the interview.

Before you open up the mic, you need to know why you’re doing this interview. What is your purpose? What are your goals in talking with the artist? Record labels see the interview as a vehicle of promotion for their artists - and rightly so, that is part of their job, they need to sell records to keep doing what they’re doing; but your responsibility is not to sell a product to your listeners, it is to inform, entertain and minister to your listeners. With that in mind, how do your questions fulfill that responsibility? Like all of the other elements of radio we obsess over, the artist interview must connect with your listeners.

The interview is not about you.

This is not a time for you to show off your in-depth knowledge of the artists’ every lyric, studio musician and chart stats.

You are a spotlight. Your job is to shine on the artist and let your audience see them for who they are - not how their press kit presents them. Image doesn’t connect with an audience; real people do.

How often has your opinion of an artist changed after seeing them in concert, meeting them personally or hearing their testimony? This is the purpose of the interview: To show the artist to your listeners as a real person, fellow believer, a friend and not just another product someone’s trying to sell them.

Ask the right questions

A good interviewer asks the right questions.

By "right" questions, I mean questions that truly matter to your listeners. Normally label reps will provide a list of questions for you, but remember those questions are written by people who want to sell something to your listeners - not necessarily to inform, entertain or minister to them. When preparing your questions, you should think of the needs of your core listeners. If they could sit down and talk with the artist, what would they ask? If they met one of the new artists you’re playing, what would they want to know about them? Would they really want to know the release date of their debut or where they recorded their album? Would a young mother of three really ask an artist who produced their CD or what label they’re on?

Too often radio personalities are tempted to talk "industry" with an artist, using insider jargon or buzz words. Very few AC listeners care what kind of guitar effects someone used on their album, or the fact that so-and-so produced the album (who also produced…[insert list of secular artists here]). I suppose labels and artists talk about those things, especially new artists, to establish some kind of credibility, but really how many people in your audience care? That truly has to be the point - what do your listeners want to hear from a new artist or favorite artist?

I believe your listeners want to hear the heart of the artist; they want to connect with them, know them. CD covers and magazine ads can’t do that. It may be a cute morning show bit to ask Michael W. Smith what he’s eating for breakfast today, but if that’s all you talk with him about, I think it’s a waste of an opportunity, a waste of his talent and message and a waste of your listeners’ time.

A good interviewer knows how to listen.

I think this is the greatest strength of Larry King; he listens to his guests. He puts his elbows on the desk, leans forward and looks his guest right in the eye…and listens. He is prepared for the interview with a list of questions, quotes and clips, but isn’t bound by them. He listens to the subtle cues of the guest.

A great interviewer knows when to listen.

Don’t interrupt a good story just so you can get through your list of questions.  The greatest weakness of most interviewers is that they’re really not listening to their guest. Listen. Often I’ll hear an interviewer miss opportunities to explore the heart of an artist because while the artist is talking, he’s only thinking of what his next question will be.

And remember, lots of talking doesn’t equal an interview. Ask short open-ended questions and give the artist freedom to answer.

Great Christian radio is made up of great elements. But let’s not miss the forest for the trees. We can become so obsessed with the science of radio that we forget our purpose in radio -  to inform, entertain and minister to our listeners - to ultimately connect with them. We are always told as announcers to talk to our audience like friends. So we should consider the artist interview like introducing one friend to another. This will connect your listeners to your artists and to your station.

Kyle Liedtke
Mediatalk Communications

This next article was written shortly after 9/11

A Response To Disaster
Kyle Liedtke
Mediatalk Communications

September 11, 2001. It was a day that put everything into perspective. It was a day that we were poignantly reminded of death and life, despair and hope, sin and grace.

It was also a day that made me think about what I do, why I do it and how I can do it better. No doubt it was the same for you.

According to a recent survey, over 1/3 of the people in our country first heard about the terrorist attack on the radio. Radio is a powerful tool. And for the Christian Broadcaster radio can be both a powerful tool and an instrument of peace. This became clear to me September 11th. Radio science became ministry.

Jesus taught us to minister to the whole person: Mind, heart, body and soul.

In a disaster situation there are four distinct needs your listeners have:

1. The need to be informed (ministering to the mind)

2. The need to be connected to others in a community (ministering to the heart)

3. The need to help or be helped (ministering to the body)

4. The need to be comforted, encouraged and challenged (ministering to the soul)

The Need To Be Informed

The morning of Tuesday, September 11th, no one wanted to be entertained. No one wanted to hear music; no one wanted to hear disc jockey banter; no one wanted anything but news; what was happening in New York and Washington D.C?

When I got to work that morning we decided to abandon our regular format and go all news. We tuned into the Christian news network we use for our hourly news but were utterly appalled by the lack of reporting and resources they presented; we immediately linked to AP news.

Most Christian radio stations or even Christian news networks are not prepared or structured to deal with such extraordinary events as took place that tragic morning. Most of us program our stations towards meeting the needs of hearts and souls. This is our strength. But the glaring weakness in our ability to communicate national news made me wonder how many people were actually listening to Christian radio September 11th.

This is a question that is beyond my scope right now, but one that as Christian broadcasters we ought to address in the coming months.

For that morning, our station went with the best news source we could find, the Associated Press. We felt that was the best way to minister to the minds of our listeners. Twice an hour we broke in with local news – airport closures, travel restrictions, school closures and military actions in our region and state.

The Need To Be Connected

As the days unfolded and the reality of recent events sunk in, we began to add local announcements of prayer services, candlelight vigils and community responses to our local news break-ins. While we were at first hesitant to promote candlelight vigils – which seemed of no real meaning to us as believers – we soon decided that for the unbeliever this met a real need to be connected to the community. September 11th was not a day to preach the sins of America (as Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson learned the hard way); it was a day to reach out and meet people where they were. Believers would go to prayer services, unbelievers would go to candlelight vigils. We would teach the difference later.

The Need To Help Or Be Helped

This is a need I think we underestimate in our listeners, and a need that was overwhelmingly displayed by our country. Whether our listeners were physical victims or emotional victims of the terrorist attack, everyone has a need to help or be helped in a time of disaster. As Christian broadcasters we ought to be at the forefront of providing resources for those affected by tragedy – whether it’s blood drive information, phone numbers for relief organizations or where people can donate time or money. Jesus Himself taught us this; He physically touched those around Him – some needed healing and He healed; some needed words and He spoke; all needed love and He loved all. His love was action.

The Need To Be Comforted, Encouraged, and Challenged

There is no question that the horrible events of September 11th shook many to the core of their being. Our national, and even personal security was undermined like few times in our country’s history. This utter sense of helplessness at the hands of evil caused many to cry out to God for mercy. Churches were full that first Sunday.

I have heard some scoff at the supposed “return to faith” that so many newscasters spoke of; that somehow the cries of the masses were only sobs of fear and not a genuine calling out to the true God. While it may have been true, does it matter?  Are we the ones to judge the hearts of those looking for hope? Or are we responsible to act, to be faithful to the Word and obedient to our calling as broadcast ministers? This is all the more reason for us to point people to the source of true security, hope and healing. Scripture never tells us to “screen” those we seek to minister to. Jesus gave freely to all who asked. A disaster is hardly the time to bother with discerning the motives and intents of the people.

But in ministering hope, comfort and encouragement to our listeners we must be mindful that while many of them are believers and need encouragement, many are not believers and need the hope of the Gospel. Our broadcasts should include the needs of both.

At our particular station we brought Pastors in from around the area to record prayers and short devotionals that we ran throughout the first few days. We also organized a community-wide prayer service that we held at a local high school. There was some discussion that we should have the community service at a church, but ultimately decided if we were going to minister to the community, we needed to go out to the community, not ask them to come to us.

As I think through the horrendous events of September 11th, perhaps the most striking lesson I learned was in order to minister tomorrow you have to prepare today.

Pre-Disaster

Have a plan, even craft a specific mission statement in a disaster situation. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of your staff and resources and create a plan to most effectively reach out to your listeners during a time of calamity. Delegate responsibilities to each staff member.

Keep an active list of resources. Compile a list of resource people, agencies and ministries that correspond to each of the basic listener needs: Pastors, Authors, Ministry Spokespeople, local and state government officials and representatives and social organizations. This should be a “living” list – one that is updated at least on a quarterly basis.

Disaster

Format a specific clock for broadcasting news, announcements, etc. On the morning of the 11th our station formatted almost 80% news (mind), and then the other 20% of our break-ins were made up of announcements of blood drive and fundraiser information (body), prayer services and the airing of taped prayers from local pastors (heart, soul). Whether you address each need during a break or spread it out through the hour, think in terms of trying to meet all of the needs in some way. Also, recognize that the dynamic will change. As the week progressed we focused less on news (mind) and more on special prayer services, the airing of pastor’s prayers, interviews with authors and other resource people to offer insight and/or encouragement (heart, mind, soul).

Interviews. This is where your resource people will add depth, insight and encouragement to tragic events. When interviewing resource people (pastors, authors, experts, ministry spokespeople) keep the interview to their specific strength or experience. Always have a plan before interviewing anyone. Prior to the interview, outline your basic purpose to the interviewee and ask specifically what they can contribute to the issue; then keep them to it. In the case of a national tragedy where you are already broadcasting significant national coverage, you should try to focus on local or regional resource people.

Post-Disaster

This is perhaps the most crucial time in preparing for the future. There should always be a debriefing time, or in the case of a prolonged event, several meetings planned to carefully examine your performance in meeting the needs of your listeners. These meetings should be an open critiquing of how your plan materialized. It should also be a time of judging the performance of your resource people including organizational spokespeople, pastors, authors, experts, etc. These conclusions should be written out for future use.

It has often been said that the terrorist attacks were a wake up call to our country. But what are people “waking up” to? I believe now more than ever we, as Christian broadcasters, must present the hope and power of the Gospel as clearly and as effectively as we can, identifying and meeting the needs of our listeners.

Kyle Liedtke
Mediatalk Communications