It’s a buzz-phrase in broadcasting. “Listener engagement” is where it’s at! Everyone wants listeners to respond and become involved in what’s going on, on air and in the community. Well, in news/talk radio we have it like crazy. They call, text, tweet and email. And it’s not always sweetness and light! But I think it’s hilarious. Â
We see their phone numbers, but otherwise texters are anonymous. The system also captures and keeps everything they have texted over time. They react, overreact, and tell us they love our shows. They also call us a**holes, claim we’re too right wing, claim we’re too left wing, naive, biased, stupid, and they respond to things that were never said. An example:
This person doesn’t care about anything he/she hears, apparently. But they keep listening! They’ve been texting their feelings every few days. It’s comedy at its finest.
Yesterday morning a man started calling the newsroom at about 7:30 am and kept calling every 10 minutes or so. It’s not as if there’s someone else who can answer the phone. I didn’t put up for very long with his ramblings about becoming Prime Minister and making me his first call when all of the big stories break, but he wouldn’t stop calling. Finally, I said, “When you’re Prime Minister, you’re going to want to put people to work, right?”
“Darn tootin’!”
“Well, every time you call, I have to stop working and it puts me behind schedule. So it would be great if you’d let me do my job.”
That seemed to work, for me at least. He apparently started calling again after noon.
Rational listeners deliver us respectable insights and questions. But it’s these ranting fools that give me the biggest laughs.
All I can say, is that going forward, I’ll try to be more engaging in the dialog, conversations and discussions.
What’s a “bafune”? Is that like a buffoon? One of the most revelatory aspects of social media: you can fairly accurately match the level of education with the comments being made. Wisdom is not always equated to education, but this point is interesting: a study in the USA compared posts’ spelling accuracy with their authors’ candidacy choices. And guess what? Worst spellers follow Donald Trump. I swear if Honey Boo Boo was eligible and running, SHE would be leading in the GOP popularity contest. They just want a reality show. What a bunch of “bafunes”!