The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show: Difference between revisions

The Money Pit®
Genre	Home improvement Radio Show
Running time	2 hours
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
Hosted by	Tom Kraeutler and Leslie Segrete
Website	The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show
Podcast	[1]

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Revision as of 18:28, 16 June 2015

The Money Pit is the largest American syndicated radio show offering solution-based home improvement advice. Co-hosting the two-hour weekend program are experts Tom Kraeutler and Leslie Segrete. The Money Pit currently airs on over 335 affiliates nationwide, as well as in Canada and the Caribbean.

The term “money pit” is a pop-culture reference used to describe a property that requires more and more money to repair. Kraeutler and Segrete have turned this phrase on its ear and instead use it as a term of endearment for all homes, which need regular repair, maintenance and improvement in order to retain their value and provide comfort to their occupants. The co-hosts of The Money Pit assist audience members in making smart, often innovative decisions for home improvement planning and spending through the show’s call-in format.

Hosts

The Money Pit is the only syndicated home improvement radio show hosted by a male/female on-air team, effectively reaching both men and women in a national audience of home improvement enthusiasts.

Tom Kraeutler was a professional home inspector for more than 20 years, and leveraged this experience into a career as a home improvement expert and journalist. He was the on-air home editor for the Home Page television show ^[1] (MSNBC), where he focused on such topics as consumer protection, auto safety, crime prevention, and energy efficiency. Kraeutler also served as a home improvement expert on the prime-time personal finance show Take It Personally (CNN), and frequently appears as a guest expert on local, regional and national television and radio programs.

Leslie Segrete has a diverse background including interior design, carpentry, sewing and cooking. She was a member of the design team on the hit television series While You Were Out ^[2] (TLC), where she put her diverse skills to work to redesign interior spaces on tight budgets. Segrete holds a degree from the French Culinary Institute, served as art director for The Ricki Lake Show and the Oxygen Network, and served as a regular guest expert on Good Morning America.

Kraeutler and Segrete also serve as industry experts on topics of sustainable building and remodeling, energy efficiency and green living. Recently, Kraeutler served as a host for ENERGY STAR’s video podcast series,^[3] and Segrete hosted the Going Green Long Island ^[4] series on WLIW21 Public Television ^[5] in New York.

Format

On the air for over ten years, The Money Pit has a how-to format, wherein co-hosts Kraeutler and Segrete give listeners advice on home improvement projects ^[6] (i.e., renovation, repairs and decorating), guidance on choosing the best products and equipment, tips on consumer protection and home safety, suggestions for saving time and money, and do-it-yourself hints.

The content of each week’s show is driven by seasonal home improvement topics and listener questions. Listeners from all regions are invited to call in for a conversation with the show hosts regarding a specific home improvement, décor or repair issue or question. The Money Pit’s designated call-in number, 1-888-MONEY PIT, is answered by call screeners 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Caller topics and questions are logged by call screeners and passed on to the show’s producers who select candidates for on-air interviews with show hosts.

Kraeutler and Segrete are occasionally joined by special guests. Notable home improvement experts and industry supporters who have appeared on the program include Dirty Jobs host Mike Rowe, dean of home renovation and repair Bob Vila, environmentalist Ed Begley, Jr., and former Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ron Sims. Interview segments with the cast of the long-running hit PBS series This Old House are regularly featured on the program.

Each two-hour episode of The Money Pit is available as a weekly iTunes podcast. As of January 2013, it was ranked as the most-popular home improvement podcast, with more than 250,000 monthly downloads.

Audience Demographics

The Money Pit covers approximately 80 percent of the United States, with more than 40 percent of its reach being in the top 25 broadcast markets.^[7] Nearly half of the show’s listeners are female, and the average listener has a high income (at least $150,000) and is between 25 and 54 years old.

The Money Pit tracks additional details on home improvement interests, top project questions and regional trends through its annual Voice of the Consumer report.^[8] Compiled from year-round audience interaction with the radio program, MoneyPit.com,^[9] and presences on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, the report identifies consumers’ priorities for projects and products. Since its inception in 2003, The Money Pit’s Voice of the Consumer research has tracked over 19,000 consumer home improvement questions received by phone, email and social media. The results allow co-hosts Kraeutler and Segrete to anticipate content interests for the weekly broadcast, and provide home improvement manufacturer and retailer valuable insight into the home improvement consumer.

Honors

The Money Pit has consistently been named among Talkers magazine’s “100 Most Important Talk Show Hosts in America.” ^[10]

Website

The website www.MoneyPit.com ^[11] serves as an extension of the two-hour Money Pit home improvement radio show. On the website, listeners can find home improvement articles and advice, follow blogs by co-hosts Kraeutler and Segrete, and listen to past broadcast episodes in the audio archive. The site also includes a community forum for the exchange of ideas and information between members.

Book

Kraeutler and Segrete co-wrote the book My Home, My Money Pit: Your Guide to Every Home Improvement Adventure, published in 2008. The book expands upon the home improvement themes typically discussed during the course of The Money Pit radio show, and offers advice for every home space and season, along with project planning tips.

References

External links

[1] Home Improvement Radio Team to Host MSNBC.com Chats; Money Pit's Tom Kraeutler and Mary Barretta to Offer Expert Tips on Home Improvement, Safety and Consumer Issues.

[2] TLC:: While You Were Out^{[dead link]}

[3] ENERGY STAR Podcast

[4] Going Green Long Island

[5] WLIW21 Public Television

[6] An On-Air Construction Education

[7] Demographics @ Money Pit

[8] 2012 Money Pit Media Voice of the Consumer Report

[9] MoneyPit.com

[10] House Beautiful Specials Names How-To Hosts as Columnists

[11] www.MoneyPit.com

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@@ Line 48: / Line 48: @@
 [[Tom Kraeutler]] was a professional home inspector for more than 20 years, and leveraged this experience into a career as a home improvement expert and journalist. He was the on-air home editor for the Home Page television show <ref>[http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Home+Improvement+Radio+Team+to+Host+MSNBC.com+Chats%3B+Money+Pit%27s+Tom...-a069276675 Home Improvement Radio Team to Host MSNBC.com Chats; Money Pit's Tom Kraeutler and Mary Barretta to Offer Expert Tips on Home Improvement, Safety and Consumer Issues.]</ref> (MSNBC), where he focused on such topics as consumer protection, auto safety, crime prevention, and energy efficiency. Kraeutler also served as a home improvement expert on the prime-time personal finance show ''Take It Personally'' (CNN), and frequently appears as a guest expert on local, regional and national television and radio programs.
-[[Leslie Segrete]] has a diverse background including interior design, carpentry, sewing and cooking. She was a member of the design team on the hit television series ''While You Were Out'' <ref>[http://tlc.discovery.com/fansites/wywo/wywo.html TLC:: While You Were Out]</ref> (TLC), where she put her diverse skills to work to redesign interior spaces on tight budgets. Segrete holds a degree from the [[French Culinary Institute]], served as art director for ''The Ricki Lake Show'' and the [[Oxygen Network]], and served as a regular guest expert on [[Good Morning America]].
+[[Leslie Segrete]] has a diverse background including interior design, carpentry, sewing and cooking. She was a member of the design team on the hit television series ''While You Were Out'' <ref>[http://tlc.discovery.com/fansites/wywo/wywo.html TLC:: While You Were Out]{{deadlink}}</ref> (TLC), where she put her diverse skills to work to redesign interior spaces on tight budgets. Segrete holds a degree from the [[French Culinary Institute]], served as art director for ''The Ricki Lake Show'' and the [[Oxygen Network]], and served as a regular guest expert on [[Good Morning America]].
 Kraeutler and Segrete also serve as industry experts on topics of sustainable building and remodeling, energy efficiency and green living. Recently, Kraeutler served as a host for ENERGY STAR’s video podcast series,<ref>[http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=products.pr_podcasts ENERGY STAR Podcast]</ref> and Segrete hosted the ''Going Green Long Island'' <ref>[http://www.wliw.org/productions/local/going-green-long-island/series-overview/48/ Going Green Long Island]</ref> series on WLIW21 Public Television <ref>[http://www.wliw.org/ WLIW21 Public Television]</ref> in New York.