A Great Deal of Thinking

This past week has been an unplanned sabbatical from the Madman podcast. It has given me a lot of time to think and analyze the program and the listenership stats.

Truth be told, I am not convinced that the program is having the impact I intended. While I work hard and enjoy the program, I'm not sure that it's different enough from all the rest of the talkers out there to draw a sufficient audience. My opinions are not that uncommon. In fact, although I do not listen to Rush, Glenn, or Sean, The feedback I get indicates that we come to the same conclusions often using the same or similar language. I'm not really surprised at that since these three are among my influences in radio. In fact, it's a little flattering to find out how close my conclusions and even some of my style is to these great broadcasters. Okay, it's more than a little flattering.

I like what I do. I enjoy the research, the stories, and the humor. I am very confident in what I do and am comfortable with my skill as a broadcaster. The listeners I have enjoy the program. The problem is there just aren't enough of them. I had far more listeners for my previous program, Foundations, which was aimed specifically at Christians. The content was Biblical and social commentary. I spoke about matters of faith, culture, and the role of the follower of Christ in this world. Political comments were limited to cultural matters and not on specific campaigns, political parties, or individual politicians. Madman in CrazyTown has not generated anywhere near the audience that program did. This leads me to draw some conclusions.

The first is that my current program is not different enough from the other talkers out there. The key distinction of not being willing to mock those in authority and strive to disagree with honor and integrity is not enough to draw a significant audience. It is likely that a civil approach is so different from even the thinking of other conservatives that it is rejected out of hand. Anger seems to be at the root of our discourse on both sides of the political aisle. A voice of reason following the Biblical mandate to give honor where honor is due no matter the character of the leader is not accepted by the majority of the politically engaged people. A calm voice cannot be heard above the shouting din.

The humor is not distinct enough either. People do enjoy the jokes. However, similar jokes are being told by other broadcasters on the same topics. After all, how many jokes can you really come up with about the Occupy protesters? Stinky hippie comments only go so far. Whether I'm funny or not is not the question. The question is whether or not people can get the same type of humor elsewhere.

The other conclusion is very simple. Foundations was what the audience was really looking for. In times of great uncertainty, people seek out something, anything, they can count on as being a sure foundation. Hope, optimism, and faith are the anchors people need in dark times. The audience for this type of program was four times larger than the audience for MiCT after the same period of time. Most of my audience from Foundations did not follow me to my current show. They were hungry for something more spiritual, more firm, and more sure.

I also have to consider who I really am. I am, in my heart of hearts, a minister of the Gospel. After years of preaching in the inner city of Peoria, serving in a number of ministry capacities including as a pastor, I cannot separate myself from who I really am. Over the last couple of months, the last few weeks especially, I have begun to miss my former format. I even considered doing two programs simultaneously but dismissed that option as being too time consuming. Both programs would be mediocre at best and my audience deserves better.

As you may have gathered, I am concluding broadcast of A Madman in CrazyTown effective immediately. My heart is not in it. Frankly, talking about the same basic thing every day is getting old. I'm not adding anything new or fresh to the debate. If I were, the audience would be much larger. I am grateful for all of the listeners I did have. My wife and I have spent a lot of time in prayer this past week about the future of this program and doing a broadcast in general. We came to the same conclusion. MiCT is done. Its season is over.

I will be returning to the air soon with a new program name. It will not be called Foundations, Foundational Truth, or anything else I have used. The focus will be similar with an additional emphasis on some new areas of discussion. I will be off the air for at least two to three weeks while I retool and come up with a new name. I will likely continue to use Liberated Syndication for my main hosting service but may also use my existing account with Sermon Player as a back up until I purchase web design software capable of supporting HTML5. I will keep all of you posted.

Thank you for all of your support the last several months. I have really enjoyed doing the program but I need to be true to myself and my God. He made me a certain way and I cannot break from who that is.

I'll be back.