Showing Up: Stop the fearmongering…AI is your new assistant producer
Whether you do a show on your own, or you have a big cast, AI can be a useful resource. Most people start out skeptical (myself included), but when you play with Chat GPT for even a few minutes, you start to see how helpful it can be, especially when you’re faced with a blank page.
How you can use Chat GPT:
Brainstorm teases
Draft several different possible “punchlines” to help you find an “out”
Write
Good answers come from being as specific as possible in your request. Here’s the prompt that was given as an example at Boot Camp this summer. Notice that it has three components:
Role
Task
Format.
“I want you to do some research for me. (ROLE) Act as a popular radio show host who excels in creating questions that engage women between the ages of 25-54 and who listen to pop music in the Northwest US. I need a chart of potential funny questions I can ask this audience. (TASK) Give me 10 questions related to parenting, 10 questions related to dating, 10 questions related to current pop culture icons and 10 questions related to junk food. (FORMAT) Put your answers in a table format. Label X-axis 1-10 and Y-axis parenting, homework, single moms and junk food."
Here’s another example that KRBE/Houston producer Eric Rowe recently posted:
“I'm looking for engaging, evergreen content for a (ROLE) morning radio show that targets women aged 25-54 and adults aged 18-49. The show focuses on fun and relatable topics like relationship drama, workplace stories, daily news, polls, surveys, and viral trends. (TASK) I need (FORMAT) summaries of relevant stories along with clear sources and 2-3 discussion topics for each one. The content should include a mix of current events and timeless stories that will keep listeners entertained. Please provide fresh ideas with sources and conversation angles.”
You can be specific about what sources it uses, like Buzzfeed, Reddit, YourTango, etc.
Here are some ways Kramer & Jess from Baltimore are using Chat GPT:
Give me some facts about Captain Planet. Or whatever we’re talking about.
Rewrite a “listener letter” from a prep site so it’s more original.
Take all these text messages and give me a list of just names and cities so I can shout them out.
Sum up and bullet point this webpage, super helpful for making a website into “show prep” form.
Write 10 easy Ravens trivia questions for me.
Help me write a story of a parent who has an unreasonable request of a teacher. Give me 5 ideas.
Tell it your idea, and ask it to write an ending.
Ashley and Gord from Pure Country/Ottawa are using AI to create jingles for bits and games. They’re also using it it with graphics to make social and website audio posts more visually engaging.
Here are some bit ideas that use Chat GPT:
Song Summaries from Chat GPT: The KVJ Show reads Chat GPT song summaries. Listeners have to guess the song title.
Netflix or Notflix: Klein/Ally use Chat GPT to write fake show descriptions. Listeners guess which shows are actually coming to Netflix and which are fake.
And solo shows can benefit:
Tristi has Chat GPT rewrite articles in a more conversational style.
SUBMIT your writing and it will get to know your style. Coach it to be more conversational, to be punchier, friendlier. Ask it to eliminate details of the story that are too dense or serious for your show.
It will get to know your writing style and get better and better at mimicking you.
If you use it a lot, you may have to upgrade to Chat GPT Plus, for $20/month. Seems like money well spent!
AI will never be as terrible as it is right now. Jump on the train. Start playing with it and keep up with the new features it provides. It’s only going to get more intuitive and smart as the technology evolves. (Insert joke about AI taking over the world here.)