The Alison Steele Method For Creating a Hit Late-Night Radio Show

How do you make a successful radio show, far from the prime-time hours? Follow these five steps Alison Steele took when she became a deejay for the first time.

by Rich Watson 

Alison Steele (no connection to The Real Don Steele) deejayed late at night, removed from the more popular early morning breakfast hours or the afternoon commute home from work. 

Yet during the seventies she amassed a substantial and loyal audience despite having no experience at the job.

She had to learn as she went.

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Tom Donahue’s Sideline As a Record Producer

The pioneer of progressive rock on the radio was also a producer in sixties San Francisco, during his Top 40 days.

by Rich Watson 

Tom Donahue, the San Francisco deejay who created a revolution in rock and roll radio through the progressive, or freeform, format, also helped develop the local music scene during the sixties as a record producer.

The bands he signed paved the way for the musical explosion in the Bay Area during the Summer of Love and beyond.

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Scott Muni, Hostage Negotiator

In 1975, a gunman holding hostages called veteran FM disc jockey Scott Muni on the air. How did he handle the situation?

by Rich Watson 

Scott Muni was an institution in rock and roll radio. He was there when the Beatles arrived in America. He was one of the first “progressive rock” New York deejays, favoring long-form album tracks over singles. And he was the heart of one of the best-known “classic rock” radio stations in history.

One thing he isn’t as remembered for, though, is the time in 1975 when he was forced to negotiate on the air for the lives of hostages, held by a fan.

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