Friday, July 20, 2007

Down Syndrome Radio #2

Oddly enough, the post(Down Syndrome Radio)I did about the idea of having a weekly radio program on Down Syndrome actually has legs. A local radio station is accepting of the idea of this type of programming. I would have to choose either 15 minutes/30 minutes/1 hour+ for the runtime of the show. Let’s just pick an hour for discussion sake. The hour long segment could run once a week with a possibility of a rebroadcast during the week. There is a catch though; I would be responsible to find sponsors (advertisers) of the show, which shouldn’t be to difficult since I’m in the advertising and marketing business. The one our segment would cost me approx. $200 per week, which means that I would probably be responsible to find at least 3-5 advertisers to commit. The cost of everything actually sounds pretty reasonable.

The station itself is small and broadcasts within a 60 mile radius. I think the distance is far enough to find the ears of some program manager of a larger station that may take an interest, or not.

I’ve decided that I need to cover more than just Down Syndrome on the show. It needs to appeal to a wider audience.

I’m going to inquire a bit more into this crazy idea before I pull the trigger.

Think about what the positive and negative outcomes of a show like this could be.

19 comments:

Qadoshyah said...

Sounds great!

Archie said...

Great news!
I guess I'm an optimist, but I would see far more positive than negative coming from this. If 'random' listeners tuned in, they would get a taste of what abilities are out there. The already narrow-minded probably won't tune in anyway; there's always going to be a bully in the schoolyard.
More positives: support for those who haven't 'reached out', raised awareness, networking opportunities...

Amy Flege said...

wooohoo..thats awesome!! good luck! cant wait to hear more about it! i think you will have much more positives then negatives come out of this!!

jennifergg said...

I think it sounds wonderful. You could speak about news, and interview families, and kids, and everyone. You could talk about science, and inclusion, and IEPs and everything else under the sun...let me know if I can help. I think it's terrific!

jennifergg said...

oh and hey, I know nothing about this but could you rebroadcast segments as podcasts, so us folks outside of the radio range could listen in, too?

Shannon @ Gabi's World said...

Awesome news! I hope it works out for ya!

Kim Ayres said...

I think it's a fantastic idea. I also think there are a number of other ways you could take it.

DON'T FORGET THE WEB!

I don't know whether you have a site set up for your business yet, but you use the blog enough to know what a powerful tool in the Internet is.

You could either create a website/blogsite to accompany the show that allows people to comment, send in ideas, their own sound clips/ interviews/ videos/ other contributions, or try and get interest from one or more of the National DS societies to see if they'd like to tie in - either with sponsorhip/ advertising and/or web support.

Jennifer's suggestions of podcasts are, I think, essential.

If you'd like to a skype brainstorming session, just let me know. I'd love to be abl to contribute ideas, strategies and thoughts

Jeff said...

Brother B

My personal thoughts are (as usual) while the show is about DS you can give the whole things a Fathers spin....and delve into fathers issues along with ds.

I also would be glad to assist in a brainstorming session.

I think everybody has already hit on the web and podcast ideas which I think are great.

Peace

Sara said...

I think that is wonderful!!!!!!! What a great opportunity to spread awareness!!!!!! Good for you !!

Amy said...

Podcasts, please!! I live too far away to tune in. How about asking you local Barnes & Noble bookseller to sponsor? I'll bet Melissa Riggio's father would be happy to support the show (especially if you sometimes interviewed authors or reviewed books). Feel free to call on me anytime to help brainstorm. I'm looking forward to the day when I can call in and say, "Bstrong, long time listener, first time caller...."

Maryann said...

That's amazing. How wonderful! I wish I were closer so I could listen!

L. Noelle said...

Beautiful! This is what it's all about! Go for it! Start small, finish BIG~! You have absolutely nothing to lose...$200.00...That will be a piece of cake to get. You will probably be able to bring in triple that!

BStrong said...

Hey all. Thank you for the support. Before I even attempt to take on a project such as this, I need to straighten out a few things at the home front.

Sorry for my lack of comments and such, but you know how it can be.

Cheers.

Unknown said...

Congrats on your new radio endeavor!

I didn't see a personal email I could contact you at but I was wondering if you wouldn't mind linking to our parenting blog. The url is: http://www.childnparent.com

Thanks!

Unknown said...

I think it is an outstanding idea!!!! How cool would that be.

and when you grow...you could have teenage DJs with Down syndrome who will play their current favorite play list!!!!

Kim Ayres said...

C'mon Brian - I go to all the trouble of mentioning you in my blog and you spend 3 weeks without writing anything new

Leticia said...

Hey, let me know how this progresses, I'm in the midst of starting up a local educational station, and in the years to come, we'll need such programming.
Here's another idea;
I am hosting the first ever Down sydrome blog carnival tomorrow August 12th, on Cause of Our Joy http://cause-of-our-joy.blogspot.com . If you have a favorite post about Down syndrome to share, please email it to me ASAP, and I'll post it.
Don't worry if you missed this one, we'll be doing this every week on different blogs, so you can join in another time, or host it yourself. I just thought this would be a great opportunity to get to know one another better and spread Down syndrome awareness.
Hope to see you at the carnival!
Leticia Velasquez

Tricia said...

I am reading. I am thinking. Any good ideas I will let you know!

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