Get on the Radio

Getting on the radio, or on any form of media, is a great way to spread your group’s message and reach new or wider audiences. It typically helps when you have a particular agenda or timely hook to share that the radio station and listeners will take an interest in. But for local radio there is often the opportunity to simply introduce ideas and share stories about local activities and people, such as your group, absent a big news headline. Speaking on the radio does require overcoming common reservations around public speaking, but practice is the greatest way to overcome such fears, and getting on the radio once can help improve chances for followup stories or regular guest appearances on local programs later.

 
For this project, particularly for groups that don’t necessarily have a specific local agenda to be pursuing at present, we will refer you to a 350 radio project that was originally launched to coincide with the United Nations climate change conference in Durban, South Africa in 2011. The Radio Wave campaign revolved around using a song called “People Power” by African and American artists about the realities of climate change and our movement. To visit that project website directly go to the Radiowave website.  To listen to "People Power" click here. 
 

Get it done

1. Craft your message and goal

Call a meeting with your group to discuss what message you want to spread through radio and what outcomes you wish to achieve. These could be tied to a larger local campaign, or it could simply be a chance to alert more people about the climate crisis and that your group has formed to take action and more people are welcome to join.
 

2. Select your target audience

At your meeting be sure to discuss who you are trying to reach whether it be students or youth, sports enthusiasts, political folks, or just a general audience. This is will impact what radio stations you try to reach out to as well as what sort of message you aim to share during an radio interview.

3. Select radio stations/programs

Survey what radio stations exist in your area—locally or at a state or province level. Select which stations you have best connections to and/or those that best match your target audience and find the contact information for getting in touch.
 

4. Reach out to radio

For a detailed guide on how to email and call radio stations click here.
 

5. Do your interview/broadcast

For more tips and suggestions for an successful radio interview click here.
 

6. Follow-up and get a recording

Be sure to request a record of your interview and, assuming it went well, share the link or file with your local group and network. And keep in touch with the radio stations. Now that they know you better they could be interested to hear more updates when you have new activities planned.
 

Key Resources

Tips on arranging an interview: click here.
A generic sample script for an interview: click here.
Sample talking points from Radio Wave: click here. Or download a guide on how to talk about 350: click here.
Listen to or download the “People Power” song or other podcasts that can be used for radio broadcast: click here.