Hosts make city business entertaining
DELAWARE — When Lee Yoakum was asked to host a radio show on WDLR three years ago, he wasn’t quite sure if anyone would hear it.
“Most stations will provide (public access) programming at 4:30 in the morning on a weekend. But they contacted us and said, ‘How’d you like to do it Friday morning at 9:30? Live?’ “We said, ‘Heck yes.’” Yoakum, the city’s community affairs coordinator, has been hosting Delaware City Digest ever since, bringing a mixture of irreverent
commentary, lively banter and serious discussion.
One of his first guests was Darren Shulman, Delaware city attorney, who became a regular and then a co-host, the two having adjacent City Hall offices and similar offbeat styles.
“I said this is so much fun, I’m never leaving,” Shulman said. “The joke was they’re going to have to lock the doors to keep me out.”
On a recent Friday, Schulman seized upon Yoakum’s typically creative introduction to the show: “Steady as she goes at fortress ‘DLR.”
“I wish I could get a compendium of all the ways you refer to this station,” Schulman said. “It’s been like the Mother Ship, and the Friendly Confines ... I think you’ve given it pretty much every description.”
Yoakum’s goal is to make the show fun and easy to listen to rather than bureaucratic, even with a parade of council members, city employees and school officials as guests.
The half-hour slot begins with a brief synopsis of news, announcements and calendar events, such as trash pickup or road closures.
“We approach every show as if we’re residents, not city employees,” Yoakum said. “It’s an old-school way of dealing with the community, but we do it in a novel way.”
On a recent show, Shulman announced the city’s posting of a job opening, noting, “Don’t ask me what a director of public utilities does,” — pausing for effect — “I think they direct utilities.”
Yoakum jumped in: “Let’s just say that some people are born to sewage, and others have it thrust upon them.”
The duo does little preparation for the show, with no written jokes.
Fred Shaffer, operations manager at the station who mans the controls for each show, looks forward to Friday mornings.
“It’s just how they work and play well together,” Shaffer said. “They interact with the guests very well. And they get their information across. And if you’re not careful, you might just learn something.”
Before the show’s end, Yoakum previewed Friday’s pre-recorded segment featuring sister-city visitors from Sakata, Japan: “We were able to tape a show that involved Pokemon, Godzilla and sake,” he told the audience. “And our Japanese visitors and the United Nations were not needed to solve anything.”
“Until it airs,” said Shulman in a deadpan tone.
While other cities have podcasts, YouTube channels and live-streamed meetings among their broadcasts, Delaware’s radio show is believed to be the only live broadcast, unusual for its simplicity and longevity. The shows are repeated Sunday mornings at 9:30 and via streaming download from the station’s website, wdlrradio.com.
Ratings, however, are elusive, Shaffer said. The station is monitored by the Nielsen ratings service. But it’s not a member, so it isn’t sure who’s listening.
On the recent show, Kim Schuette, communication director at SourcePoint, discussed Delaware’s senior services, with Shulman repeatedly noting Yoakum’s ability to qualify for the 55 and older programs.
“From people I talk to, they all say that everybody listens, anybody with a business or in government,” Schuette said. “It has a really dedicated following.”
At show’s end, however, she was exhausted.
“It’s hard to keep up with those guys. They’re pretty fast on the wit ... quick to react.
“They encapsulate what it’s like to live in Delaware. And they make it really lively.”