3rd Edition

Beyond Powerful Radio An Audio Communicator’s Guide to the Digital World - News, Talk, Information, & Personality for Podcasting & Broadcasting

By Valerie Geller Copyright 2025
    608 Pages 36 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    608 Pages 36 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    A complete guide to becoming a successful communicator, Beyond Powerful Radio teaches time-tested techniques that work in any format – radio, TV, podcast, or online.

    Learn how to get, keep, and grow audiences with powerful storytelling, and become a dynamic presenter. This book holds the tools needed to create winning content; tell compelling stories; build your brand; develop talent; produce a show; report the news; sell; and write commercials. Practical tips and methods from over 50 top experts from across the world of media illuminate interviewing, managing talent, becoming an authentic personality, and getting started in the business. This fully revised edition features new sections on:

    • Podcasting: what you need to know to create, market, and produce on-demand audio. 
    • Social media: a guide to best use and social media safety.
    • Storytelling: an introduction to the “Prism” method, Story Spine, and other proven easy-to-try techniques designed to compel audiences. 
    • Artificial Intelligence: how to harness AI in audio and visual media according to experts.
    • Synergy across all platforms: tips and techniques to work effectively across all media formats.

    Whether you’re a professional with years in the industry, an instructor with a class full of media hopefuls, or you are just starting out as a podcaster or radio host, this book will help you reach your goals.

    A full Instructor Manual is available with complete lesson plans for broadcast instructors. The Instructor Manual is available for download here: http://routledgetextbooks.com/textbooks/instructor_downloads.

    Foreword by Perry Michael Simon

     

    Introduction

     

    Geller Media International's Quick Start Pages

    Topics

    Creating Powerful Communicators

    Aircheck Criteria

    Always Ask

    Part I

    CREATING CONTENT

    1. Creating Powerful Content

    2. Creating Powerful Podcasts

    3. Are You A Generator or Reactor?

    4. Personality & Morning Shows

    5. Performance & Formatics

    6. Finding & Developing Talent

    7. Right Casting - Right Job?

    8. Airchecking

    9. Managing High Ego Talent

    10. Avoiding Burnout

    11. Show Prep

    12.  Producers —Facing the Blank Page

    13 . Talk Shows

    14.  Call Screening

    15 . Powerful Interview Techniques 

    16. Public Service Announcements

     

    Part II

    STORYTELLING & VOICE

    17. Powerful Storytelling

    18.  Your Voice— Improving Your Instrument

     

    Part III

    CREATING POWERFUL NEWS

    19. Creating Powerful News

    20. In Case Of Emergency

    21. Citizen Journalism

    22. Traffic & Weather Together

    23. Newswriting

    24. News Anchoring

    25 Multi-Version News

    26. Integrating News & Talk

    PART IV

    ADD A PLATFORM

    27.  Adding Platforms -  Audio, Video & Print

    28.  Social Media

    29. Streaming & The Web

     

    PART V

    AI

    30.  AI - Artificial Intelligence

     

    PART VI

    MARKETING YOUR CONTENT                                                                       

    31. Promotion

    32. Building Your Brand

     

    PART VII

    MAKING MONEY

    33. Sales, Commercials & Sponsorships

    34. Fundraising & Giving

     

    PART VIII

    UNDERSTANDING YOUR AUDIENCE

    35  LifeStage Demographics

    36.  Research

    37. Final Notes

      

    Acknowledgements

    Permissions

    About the Author

    Index

    Biography

    Valerie Geller is President of Geller Media International, a broadcast and podcast training  and consulting company. Geller trains talent and works with top stations, individuals, broadcasters and podcasters and groups throughout the world, focusing on news, talk, information, and personality programming. She is a noted conference speaker and guest lecturer, teaching powerful storytelling techniques in both professional and academic settings.  Geller’s international client roster of more than 500 stations in forty-three countries includes the BBC in the UK, ABC in Australia, NPR in the USA and CBC in Canada. Podcast clients include Audible.com and Conde’ Nast Digital and has worked with broadcast media organizations throughout the USA, Europe, Russia, Mexico, South America, the Middle East, Singapore, Malaysia and Africa.