PING: cthomer

[terpkristin]

Two things about your podcast..
1) Is it possible for you to include the shownotes in the RSS feed?
2) WHY THE HECK IS IT GETTING LONGER EACH WEEK? Really, an hour is a good length, it keeps getting longer and I lose a TON of interest in listening to it. I noticed this week's was something like 2 and a half hours (or just about). I don't have the attention span to listen to something that long.

I actually preferred your first couple of episodes to the more recent ones. Just my thoughts, no offense meant.

/tk

[cthomer5000]

1) Yeah, i guess it's technically possible, but it's generally the last thing i want to do at 2 in the morning when updating the feed and uploading the episode. When you work full time, have a 2 hour commute both ways, then spend basically every free minute on this, adding more to it isn't very appealing. I'm now regularly getting about 4 hours of sleep on weeknights since i'm essentially working two jobs.

2) While it happens to be a podcast, this is an really on-going demo for a talk show. We'd be expected to fill 4 hours of airtime daily. Right now we're getting to the point where we probably have enough material do to a 4 hour commercial show (commercials + callers lengethening segments) weekly. If you don't want to listen to it all, don't. It's that simple. While I'd love to have an edited version for podcast, i simply don't have the time or manpower.

Any reason why you preferred the first few episodes? While I want and value feedback, without detail it's basically worthless.

[cthomer5000]

I want to be clear: the end goal is not to be a podcast. So i'm not going to spend much time on making it a better podcast.

Hopefully the podcast is gone in a few months when we're on-air somewhere (and i don't care if that's overnights in Antartica... anything will do).

[ice4277]

Hopefully the podcast is gone in a few months when we're on-air somewhere (and i don't care if that's overnights in Antartica... anything will do).

Compared to a few markets I've seen, that actually wouldn't be a bad place to start.

[terpkristin]

I want to be clear: the end goal is not to be a podcast. So i'm not going to spend much time on making it a better podcast.

Hopefully the podcast is gone in a few months when we're on-air somewhere (and i don't care if that's overnights in Antartica... anything will do).

I understand that, but even well-established radio shows are rarely this long after you cut out the commercials and stuff. Hell even Mike and Mike tops out at about 2 and a quarter hours.

/tk

[terpkristin]

Any reason why you preferred the first few episodes? While I want and value feedback, without detail it's basically worthless.

I can't exactly explain it, but it seems on your more recent episodes you're more "unfocused" and it sounds more like you're just rambling/talking to hear yourselves talk rather than saying anything that's value added.

Your first episodes were "rough" in that you guys didn't seem to have separate personalities, which I'm very happy to hear you guys have done now, but your first episodes were definitely more interesting in terms of getting onto a topic, saying your peace, then moving onto the next topic.

I'm not really knocking it, as I still download and listen to it, but the length seems to be at a point now where it's long without extra value added. I understand the laziness factor in the show notes on the RSS feed...if you don't feel like doing that, so be it.

However, with your statement on the length, it WOULD help if your shownotes included a time to fast-forward to, such as:
Movies [insert time this section starts here]: Three must-see films from 1977, Superman Returns - but how do we feel about it? CT gushes about An Inconvenient Truth
Music [insert time this section starts here]: A close look at 1977 produces 6 album recommendations, Jay-Z shops for a new brand of corks to pop
Sports [insert time this section starts here]: One NBA player's wild ride, an MLS player gets caught playing hookie, the 2006 World Cup winds to a close
More [insert time this section starts here]: Senator Ted Steven's educates us about the Internet, A whale watching tour takes an unexpected twist
To do it all by trial and error (which is what one would have to do if they didn't feel like listening to the whole episode right now) is a bit tedious.

/tk

[cthomer5000]

I understand that, but even well-established radio shows are rarely this long after you cut out the commercials and stuff. Hell even Mike and Mike tops out at about 2 and a quarter hours.

/tk
Keep in mind that I work in radio. I'm quite familiar with what the exact length of a show would be. A talk show would run anywhere between 45 and 38 minutes of programming per hour. So a 4 hour show without commercials would be about 2 1/2 hours, easy.

To do a 1 hour show does nothing to help us develop the show. To spend a couple of hours editing the show down to a podcast length does nothing to help us improve the show (and wastes our most precious commodity, time).

Your suggestion about including the show outline is a good one. If I can find a way to make it happen that isn't too time-consuming, it'll get done.

[Bonegavel]

THIS IS NOT SLAM!!! I couldn't get in the same ballpark with you fellas if I tried, but I do listen to talk radio a lot so I know what i like...

I totally understand this is new but I'm just throwing out my thoughts.

You guys obviously have the "radio vibe" down and it seems like a show that you'd hear on the radio - it is that good.

My comments:

* your voices are very similar - tough to differentiate at times - and I'm not sure which one is which ( need to work on separating the personalities? Unless, of course, that isn't the goal )
* with that said, your voices aren't painful to listen to
* very good at not humming and hawing
* Stories aren't interesting enough to justify the length of time spent on them. Would be nice to hit on more topics than to beat-to-death the same story (gay thing for example).

Overall I have to give you gentlemen two thumbs up. Looking forward to the evolution of your show and good luck!

[KWhit]

I've enjoyed your show so far (I think I've listened to the first 3 of them).

A few random thoughts:

I agree that sometimes you stay too long on one topic.

In the 3rd episode, I felt that I could easily tell who was who and you guys had very distinct personalities, IMO - good job on that.

The main thing I noticed: I think you guys should interact with each other more. I know, that probably sounds weird, but it feels like you guys take turns talking to us... What I'd like to see instead is the two of you personally interacting with each other - busting each other's balls, commenting on each other's comments, etc. There were a couple of times that I thought were totally ripe for this kind of repartee in the third episode. One was a really bad analogy that Jivin made that you could have totally busted him on (I can't remember it exactly cause it's been a little while since I listened). It felt to me like you were going to comment on it, but you just acted like you didn't hear it and let it go. The other time was when you mentioned that you sent your parents to Vegas. That was great personal insight into you that Jivin should have pursued a bit for the listeners. He made a quick comment and let it go.

The best talk shows today include personal stories. The listeners want to get to know who you guys are. We want to laugh with you - and when appropriate, we want to laugh at you. We don't want 4 hours of E news daily (even an irreverent version). We want two guys we know and like taking shot about sports, movies, music, and stuff. I think if you give us more of YOURSELVES you'll go a long way in improving the show.

Take it for what it's worth...

Good stuff so far, and I'll keep listening.

[albionmoonlight]

The main thing I noticed: I think you guys should interact with each other more. I know, that probably sounds weird, but it feels like you guys take turns talking to us... What I'd like to see instead is the two of you personally interacting with each other - busting each other's balls, commenting on each other's comments, etc. There were a couple of times that I thought were totally ripe for this kind of repartee in the third episode. One was a really bad analogy that Jivin made that you could have totally busted him on (I can't remember it exactly cause it's been a little while since I listened). It felt to me like you were going to comment on it, but you just acted like you didn't hear it and let it go. The other time was when you mentioned that you sent your parents to Vegas. That was great personal insight into you that Jivin should have pursued a bit for the listeners. He made a quick comment and let it go.

I see the point, but if there is more interaction, I would still like it to be in the context of these two guys liking each other. I get the sense that CT and Jivin are friends, and that's a positive vibe coming from the radio. What I would not want is 2 1/2 hours of who can be the biggest ball-buster. That gets boring to me really quickly.

I've told Corey this already, but I, personally, don't want to show to become one of those "How LOUD and EXTREME and OFFENSIVE and ANGRY can I be?" talk shows that so many out there seem to be. CT & Jivin are well informed about their subject matter (CT especially). I want to hear their thoughts--not their ball-busting rants.

[albionmoonlight]

dola--

Which isn't to say I disagree with KWhit about the personality aspect of things--just that I think that there are ways to make that come out without pulling out the ball-busting.

[wade moore]

I've enjoyed your show so far (I think I've listened to the first 3 of them).

A few random thoughts:

I agree that sometimes you stay too long on one topic.

In the 3rd episode, I felt that I could easily tell who was who and you guys had very distinct personalities, IMO - good job on that.

The main thing I noticed: I think you guys should interact with each other more. I know, that probably sounds weird, but it feels like you guys take turns talking to us... What I'd like to see instead is the two of you personally interacting with each other - busting each other's balls, commenting on each other's comments, etc. There were a couple of times that I thought were totally ripe for this kind of repartee in the third episode. One was a really bad analogy that Jivin made that you could have totally busted him on (I can't remember it exactly cause it's been a little while since I listened). It felt to me like you were going to comment on it, but you just acted like you didn't hear it and let it go. The other time was when you mentioned that you sent your parents to Vegas. That was great personal insight into you that Jivin should have pursued a bit for the listeners. He made a quick comment and let it go.

The best talk shows today include personal stories. The listeners want to get to know who you guys are. We want to laugh with you - and when appropriate, we want to laugh at you. We don't want 4 hours of E news daily (even an irreverent version). We want two guys we know and like taking shot about sports, movies, music, and stuff. I think if you give us more of YOURSELVES you'll go a long way in improving the show.

Take it for what it's worth...

Good stuff so far, and I'll keep listening.

This is a lot of what i've said in my lengthy annoying, i mean giving my opinion to ct. I am an avid talk listener and essentially have taken on myself to live vicariously through ct since I would love to do a show but could never do it.

If you listen to episode 4 and especially episode 5 which I'm actually listening to right now, I think they have gone a long way since episode 1 of distinguishing their personalities. Do they need to get a little better at "flowing together" rather than "taking turns", definately - but it's improved.

To tk... I think you're just looking for something different than what ct and jivin are going for here. I've talked with ct a bit, and actually (i hope he doesn't mind me saying this) I pressured him recently to NOT make this more podcast fan friendly. The more he moves towards that goal, the more he moves away from his real goal.

When I listen to this show, I don't sit down and listen thinking I'm listening to a podcast. I sit down thinking I'm listening to a radio show. When you sit down and listen to Mike and Mike (ugh, I wish you wouldn't compare ct and jivin to them because I think they are a TERRIBLE example of what talk radio should be) do you have an outline of what their show is going to be? Do you have a printout in front o fyou so that you know when to tune in and out? Nope, you listen, and the content has to be good enough to keep you listening. THAT'S what I think ct and jivin need to work towards, not givign a guide to how podcast listeners can skip around to what they like.

This may sound harsh, and I'm sorry if it does, but I feel pretty strongly that ct and jivin need to stay focused on the prize and not be distracted at trying to make a podcast that more podcast listeners will download.

[Bonegavel]

When I am listening to talk radio I am looking for only a few things.

1) I want to be informed.
2) I want an intelligent and concise opinion regarding said information even if I don't agree with it.
3) I want to laugh.

I think CT and Jivin nailed the first 2 ( the concise part isn't all there yet ). Maybe we just don't share the same humor, but I haven't yet hit number 3 with them.

I agree with the don't just take turns talking but rather interacting with each other more. I personally don't care if it is a friendly interaction or a ball busting one or, probably the best, a mixture of the 2. Too much of any one thing gets stale.

again, great job guys.

[terpkristin]

I think my problem with the podcast/show (after listening to ep 5) is that I really see them sounds more and more like the Sports Junkies who, like Dick Vitale, I wish would get permanent laryngitis and never be able to talk again. I think they aren't concise/tend to ramble and laugh at themselves too much when they're really not funny.

It's nothing personal, I think they obviously put a ton of effort into the show and it's superbly done, it just ain't doing it for me. I mean hell the Sports Morons have a huge following, I'm just not one of their fans.

Anyway that's all I have to say, I'll back out of the thread now.

/tk

[NoMyths]

[...] I wish would get permanent laryngitis and never be able to talk again. [...]
It's nothing personal [...]
You wish they would get permanent laryngitis and never be able to talk again, but it's nothing personal? What would be personal, then?

No offense, but that seems pretty damned personal. :)

[wade moore]

I think my problem with the podcast/show (after listening to ep 5) is that I really see them sounds more and more like the Sports Junkies who, like Dick Vitale, I wish would get permanent laryngitis and never be able to talk again. I think they aren't concise/tend to ramble and laugh at themselves too much when they're really not funny.

It's nothing personal, I think they obviously put a ton of effort into the show and it's superbly done, it just ain't doing it for me. I mean hell the Sports Morons have a huge following, I'm just not one of their fans.

Anyway that's all I have to say, I'll back out of the thread now.

/tk

You and I have VERY different taste in talk shows. What seems from what I've seen you post before to be one of your favorite shows (M&M) and what you hate (SJ) we are polar opposites on both of them ;)...

My impression is that the genre of show that ct and jivin are doing is not the genre of show you would listen to, regardless of "quality". I don't mean that as an insult, just that it's not your taste.

[terpkristin]

You and I have VERY different taste in talk shows. What seems from what I've seen you post before to be one of your favorite shows (M&M) and what you hate (SJ) we are polar opposites on both of them ;)...

My impression is that the genre of show that ct and jivin are doing is not the genre of show you would listen to, regardless of "quality". I don't mean that as an insult, just that it's not your taste.

Well, I like M&M because I can listen to it for the 10 minutes on my way to work and feel entertained. I can't profess that they're great all in all, as they tend to repeat themselves (which drives me nuts, as I've said). And yeah, the SJ coming to HFS was why I quit listening to HFS, so I'd agree, we seem to be polar opposites when it comes to radio talk shows. :) Granted, M&M is the only one I listen to with any regularity outside of NPR, so I don't have as much experience in that realm anyway.

I agree, and what you said in your last paragraph was what I was trying to say. I think, after listening to the first 5 eps, that they're just not for me, so no matter how good they are, or how good other people find them, it won't do a darn thing for me. ;) They do put together a technically good sounding and professional sounding show, but wow is it not in my style.

And I said I wish the SJ and DV would get permanent laryngitis. I didn't mean that for Corey (spelling?) and Jivin.

/tk

[albionmoonlight]

Just finished listening to Week 5 (I'm still catching up from missing 4th of July week). I liked it the best of all the shows.

There seemed to be more interaction between the hosts, as discussed by some above, which I like. The back and forth does work, and you guys clearly like each other, which is a big help.

I LOVE the "year in music and movies" you are starting to do. In a world where VH1 seems to run retrospectives on "the best of last week," getting someone to talk about the 70's and 80's with knowledge seems like getting information about ancient Rome. I like it. It plays to your strengths, which is that you are smarter than the average bear.

Along those lines, I like references to things like the Hubble Deep Field. It shows that you expect you audience to have some rudimentary grasp of what is going on around it.

Looking forward to Week 6.

[KWhit]

I see the point, but if there is more interaction, I would still like it to be in the context of these two guys liking each other. I get the sense that CT and Jivin are friends, and that's a positive vibe coming from the radio. What I would not want is 2 1/2 hours of who can be the biggest ball-buster. That gets boring to me really quickly.

Yeah, I wouldn't want it to be a who can top who kind of thing. I just want two friends who are relating to each other like friends do. I made the ball-busting comments just because that's one of the things that guys do to their friends.

You got the main points of my message, though. Be yourselves. Interact with each other like the friends that you are. Don't be afraid to disagree with each other. When the other guy says something stupid, don't be afraid to comment on it or take a good natured jab at him. Have fun.