Our latest Small Talk shone the spotlight on LBC' s Nick Ferrari show. Our speaker was the programme' s producer Johnny Jenkins. His main job is setting up the show, normally the day before it goes on air, pitching stories and booking in guests. Yep, he' s the key to the door if you have a client wanting a Nick Ferrari grilling! As heard by Shout! Communications co-Managing Director, Keren Haynes.
I personally don' t know anyone in broadcast who started their career as young as Johnny. He was just 14 when he did work experience from school at the commercial radio station, Gateway 97.8 in Essex.
When the work experience stint came to an end he continued working there as a volunteer and at the tender age of 15, presented his first live show. Politics is clearly in his blood because, and whilst he said this with a laugh, one of his first interviews was with UKIP. By the time he was in sixth form he had a job, one day a week, at Gateway.
University took him to Warwick to study for a degree in politics, but he contributed to BBC Essex, BBC Coventry and Radio 5 Live whilst a student. Post uni he secured some work at BBC Radio London - a one-hour slot reviewing the papers.
This man is dedicated to his cause because he had to get up at 0200 to make it into Broadcasting House on time. A newspaper slot on BBC Radio 5 Live followed and this turned into a weekly 15-minute slot.
At LBC, Johnny has worked across a number of shows, including producing Eddie Mare' s Drivetime and Andrew Marr' s show. This coming weekend he' s working with Matt Frei and Vanessa Feltz. But it' s his admiration for Nick Ferrari and his love of politics that' s kept him rooted to the breakfast show.
As if he hasn' t got enough to do, Johnny also does a weekly newspaper review on sister station LBC News and writes a column for LBC' s website. I didn' t mention, despite all this experience, he' s still probably only in his mid 20s!!
Working for Nick Ferrari
Nick, Johnny says, is a great boss. And he is the boss because he approves everything. Johnny will pitch stories and guest ideas to Nick Ferrari, but it' s only when he' s got the thumbs up will he book spokespeople in.
But stories come and stories go….The Nick Ferrari show is about stories and issues in the news agenda, so stories do get dropped if better ones come along. Johnny says he doesn' t like messing people around, but the programme' s priorities come first. As PR professionals we just have to accept that' s the nature of the beast. Where possible though Johnny will try to find a dropped story another home - perhaps running it the following day or offering it to another show on the station.
It must mess Johnny around too. He said he was just packing up to go home a few weeks ago when the Trump verdict came in. The programme he' d planned in detail for the next day basically got ripped up and he started again. It can, he says, be fun!
Johnny reads every email he receives. But as stories are only really planned the day before they air, then he doesn' t need to get an email days earlier. In fact, an email the day before could be just the nudge he needs to book your client in.
What Stories Work Best?
The best chance you' ve got though, of getting a spokesperson on air, is if your story is in the news agenda or could be linked to it. For example, you might be a charity who could talk about the cost of the living crisis. The bar, however, is high. Can you see the story on the Six O' clock news, Johnny asks….if not, it' s probably not for him.
The prospect of VAT being payable on private school fees has apparently got the phones ringing off their hooks. Animal stories also provoke a good response, such as the cow on the rampage that was run down by a police car recently. In fact, the programme chose the cow story over the England Euros game!
As Johnny points out, LBC Radio' s Nick Ferrari has been presenting the same show for 20 years. That means every August he covers A Level results. So if you can offer a story that' s a bit different that' s all to the good. Shocking and/or surprising stories are good - something, Johnny says, “that will make you drop your toast.”
What Sort Of Guests Does Nick Ferrari Like?
Well, they certainly can' t be boring! Will Mrs Jones in Clapham find it interesting? That' s the other benchmark for the LBC Nick Ferrari programme. Mrs Jones in Clapham and the Six O' clock news are the test of a good story - but the success of that story boils down to how many listeners call in to discuss it.
In truth guests are most likely to be big serious names, in particular politicians, but not celebrities. Or they might be case studies - punters who can bring a story to life. Experts are useful too on a whole range of subjects. Whatever story ends up at the top of a news bulletin and Johnny is likely to want an expert on the topic. The other night he was looking for a vet!
Once a guest is within Johnny' s vision they may be vetted out. He might find an old clip of them on another station, or call them to run through what they might say. Johnny calls this a “We' ll say”, meaning a summary of what a person will say/. If a guest sounds dull though…..well we know, that won' t cut it, LBC Radio' s Nick Ferrari doesn' t do boring. The Head of Cancer Research or similar may get away without a test - Johnny may presume they' re good to have got to that position.
They' re conscious of achieving a gender balance too. In practise this means if Johnny has to choose between two guests, one a man the other a woman, he will go for the latter. Other broadcasters are the same - so it' s always worth remembering this when you' re planning a campaign.
Who Listens To LBC's Nick Ferrari Show?
That will be Mrs Jones in Clapham then. In fact, the audience is very diverse, a reflection of the fact the core listeners are in London. Whilst LBC is talk radio, therefore competes with the likes of BBC Radio 4, they enjoy a younger audience. As a breakfast show they' re aware that listeners are often just dipping into the show for a short time - perhaps families in their cars dropping kids off at school for example.
Johnny clearly loves the ups and downs of live radio. He says every show there' s something you don' t expect. Nigel Farage was in as a guest recently and nothing worked - the phones were down, and the interview clips just didn' t run. Another time the minister for broadband was on the show and his line cut out. Anything, Johnny says, from the presenter' s mood to technology, can have an effect on the show.
Logistics of the Nick Ferrari Show
Don' t phone LBC' s Johnny Jenkins - you don' t know how long he' s been up or when he finished work! An email is better and keep it short.
The show will take a guest on the phone, but the content won' t go beyond LBC in the Global group if you do. It' s much better for sound quality if a guest is on Zoom. You don' t have to be in vision either, but again it' s best practise if you are because there' s a digital team who will take clips for social and other shows.
Top Tips For Getting A Spokesperson On The Nick Ferrari Programme
- Think what stories are dominating the news agenda, and think how your brand could be linked to them
- Have strong, opinionated spokespeople - this is a programme that pits opposing views against each other. There' s no room to sit on the fence!
- When approaching the programme email, don' t call - and keep your communication short and sweet
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