Show Prep...How much time per show

[scottm1025]

You should never stop show prepping.

[str8forward]

Show prep constantly...things that happen everyday at the grocery store what you see at the stop light, the little league game, commercials on tv.  Everything is show prep.

[MikefromDelaware]

I have a one hour talk show that airs Saturday night.  I'm always on the lookout for news stories or topics to use on my show, but generally I spend about 3-4 hours actually researching news stories from various newspapers, magazines that include news and science types.  I'll then spend another hour to two hours writing notes on my thoughts as I'll prepare two, sometimes three topics to be discussed.  I generally get 4-5 calls per show and I want to be sure to have enough material to cover the entire hour without having to keep repeating the same stuff over and over.  Some talk shows have one topic for the hour and if they don't get many calls, they beat your ear on that one topic, essentally repeating themselves over and over again for that entire hour, which to my ear gets boring.  Included in this five- six hours of prep, I also come up with a trivia question for that evening's show.  My show's general format tends to be my analysis and commentary on the week's events both local (Wilmington Delaware) and national by me mixed in with calls from the listeners. 

What may make my talk show a bit different is that I'm a registered Independent.  So I don't have an axe to grind in favor of any particular political party or specific political philosophy like liberal or conservative.  Some weeks I may favor a position by the Democrats, the next week I may favor a position by the Republicans as it depends on the specific issue and what each group has proposed, etc.       

[Chase]

I prep a lot, Jack!

[radiorob2.0]

Show prep is a never ending thing.  A small notebook should be along side at all times for taking notes to be used later.  One caveat, show prep is a wonderful thing but use it sparingly and wisely.  Nothing drives a listener away like a jock reading a long piece from the news wire or the internet just to have something to read.    It's all about conveying a thought in the fewest words possible.