Taylor Hohulin “Love Your Community”

Love As Radio Philosophy

Why did you get into radio? For me, it started with music. I’d seen the impact Christian music had made on my life (and I have the dandelion tattoo to prove it – thanks Five Iron Frenzy) and I wanted to be part of bringing that music and impact to others. Early in my training, I learned how much I enjoyed sharing stories and talking about faith on the air, and I discovered the satisfaction that comes with producing a great sweeper.

But one thing that never factored into my motivation for getting into radio was a love for the community in and around Des Moines, Iowa. And yet the more I think about it, the more I realize love for your listeners is one of the most crucial things you can have as a radio professional.

I’m not talking about affection here—that’s something that happens in your heart over time. I’m talking about the kind of love that you can put into practice from your first day in a new city. As it turns out, the Bible describes love in terms of actions we take and decisions we make. The famous passage on love in 1 Corinthians has some great prompts that work great as prompts to evaluate whether or not I’m loving my listeners.

Love is patient and kind.

How do I treat difficult listeners? Am I willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and respond kindly rather than responding out of my anger and frustration?

It does not envy.

Am I more interested in my listeners or the things they can give me? Are they anything more than a source of donations, music team responses, and names for the mailing list?

It does not boast. It is not proud.

Is my goal with every decision to benefit my listeners, or am I only building my own reputation among friends and radio peers as someone innovative and cool?

It is not self-seeking

Am I working to create something that will bless my listeners, or do I only see them as obstacles preventing me from making the kind of radio I really want to make?

It is not easily angered; it keeps no record of wrongs

What’s my first reaction when a listener complains? Do I only think of my listeners as a collection of all the worst phone calls and emails I’ve ever received?

But if there are prophecies, they will be set aside; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be set aside…and now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.

There are many important things that go into making good radio, but at the end of the day, you won’t be remembered for your innovative clocks, response rates to your music research, or your TSL-boosting tactics. But if they encounter the love of Jesus through you? That’s the kind of thing that sticks with people.

Taylor Hohulin co-hosts Mornings with Taylor and Jen at Northwestern Media’s Life 107.1 in Des Moines, where he also serves as Program Director.

You can contact him to chat radio or weird science fiction at Taylor@Life1071.Com