You’ll find this amusing…
Today at 11:00 a.m. central time Radio Rhetorica goes on the air.
I gotta say this whole thing started as a lark. A memo in my campus mailbox last week announced a meeting for students and faculty interested in being DJs on the school radio station. My usual good sense left me as I stood there reading the memo: “This could be cool. I can do this.”
Would someone please slap some sense into me.
Okay, well, technically it’s too late for that. I’m going on the air, and there’s no backing out now. And there’s no missing the gaudy “on air” button in the left-hand sidebar. Just click that and listen live. There’s even a web cam!
Now, one of the great things about being a student or teacher at a small liberal arts university is that you get opportunities such as this. At a big school, you’d have to take a class and wait in line. Not at Park U. I’m going on today with about 30 minutes of training from two reluctant students who couldn’t believe they were wasting their time on a geeky prof who didn’t have enough sense to ignore a memo.
This could get ugly. It could also be amusing.
In any case, I am serious about this. I’m accepting the fact that today will be rough. And maybe the next few weeks, too. But my former students, Ben Gardner and Beth Fraley, and I are determined to create an intelligent radio program based on The Rhetorica Network. We’ll give it a good shot, anyway.
So, please tune in. And I invite you to send e-mail during the show. I’ve set up an address for it: radio-at-rhetorica.net.
We have big plans but no real format yet. This thing will simply evolve as we learn.
Good luck on your on-air debut! It is fitting that Rhetorica gains her voice on the 40th anniversary of a great moment in the history of rhetoric. Perhaps you would do your listeners a service by reading the “I Have a Dream” speech and opining on its rhetorical significance….
Good luck on your on-air debut! It is fitting that Rhetorica gains her voice on the 40th anniversary of a great moment in the history of rhetoric. Perhaps you would do your listeners a service by reading the “I Have a Dream” speech and opining on its rhetorical significance….
Please give us a debrief when you’re done with the show. I know I’d like to hear how it turned out.
Radio is really, really easy. I’ve been doing it for years.
The key is this: if you make a mistake, who cares? If your program is mostly good stuff, the audience is very willing to accept errors and problems, and it makes your on-air persona more down-to-Earth and likable. “Damn, the CD is skipping! Damn, I played the wrong track! Damn, I lost my train of thought!” If you create a show that you enjoy doing, there’s a good chance that you’ll develop and audience that will like it too.
Jake…that’s great advice! Thank you. I’m looking forward to the next show, and your thoughts will make it easier.
Andy, you rock! It was VERY interesting to see you implement the rhetorical devices you preached in class. How come I can’t get college credit for this? I’m glad I can’t. This way it’s too fun: otherwise it’d be too much like homework.
I can barely wait for our next showing.