Social media has it's place. I just wish the traditional media would stop tripping all over itself to kiss social media's arse.
You sound like a boomer. In the old days, one way media was fine. People sat around the radio and listened. That's not the way it works. Listeners want to interact and give their opinions. Using traditional radio tools, like taking phone calls, puts the power in the hands of call screeners. But even then, if you're willing to interact using the phone, what's the problem with social media?
The point of radio is engaging the listener. The best way to do that is to go to them. Not sit in an ivory tower. The reality is that the callers generally don't have anything earth shattering to say. You take calls to engage and involve the audience, and make them feel a part of the show. But the actual content of the calls aren't always worth putting on the air, giving them credibility, and potentially annoying other listeners. So you keep that whole conversation off the air on a platform that won't hurt your ratings, namely social media. Then if something great happens there, you put it on the air. Similar to call screening. But the key thing here is don't assign some intern to handle it. The host or someone on the air must be involved with the interaction, or the listeners will know and you lose credibility.
I've been in this long enough to have gone through the rise and fall of MySpace. It's very possible that Facebook will go the same way after the IPO. And Twitter hasn't gone public yet. The point here isn't the specific social media company, but that you're engaging with your listeners on all possible platforms. If your listeners are there, you need to be there with them. People are smart enough to be able to listen on the radio and type. I'm writing this post and watching the Super Bowl. At the same time!
