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10 Questions with ... Vanessa
September 3, 2013
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BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
I started my radio career doing news for a cluster of eight Clear Channel stations in Maine when I was 19. Since then I've had the pleasure of working for Ken Barlow in the Florida Keys, Virginia and Indiana. I've loved doing REAL request shows; most stations just fake it these days. My strengths are production, attention to detail, super-serving the clients, and getting things done in a timely manner. My weakness is cake. I quit a great job with a great company to move closer to family and be a stay-at-home mom. I'm fired up and ready to do radio again!
1) Some people get discouraged or enlightened with the business when they actually step out of it for a while. Tell us your observations from the outside.
Radio is still a great product. I've analyzed the local stations to death and think to myself, "When I get back in the game I'm going to do this (whatever IT may be) better than them!"
2) Do you plan on sticking with radio?
I'd love to. There's nothing else I'd rather do. It gives me purpose.
3) What's the longest stretch you've had on the beach?
This is my first time being out of radio in 12 years. Yes, it was by choice, but radio is still all I think about doing.
4) What's the best way to get your foot in the door?
A lot of people have too much pride and don't want to start at the bottom again. Although starting over sucks, sometimes you have to work your way up, but hopefully it doesn't take as long the second time around.
5) What is the next job you'd like to obtain?
Call me a dreamer, but radio station ownership! I want to wake up every day, put on a suit, kick some radio ass and dominate the market, and beat the pants off the competition, then laugh at their tiny ratings. I have a dream team in mind consisting of the best people I've ever worked with or heard on the air.
6) How are you finding the "courtesy level" at places you've applied? (Callbacks, e-mails, rejection letters, etc.)
The true professionals have had the decency to e-mail me back with a polite "we have no openings" let down.
7) With consolidation there are definitely fewer jobs. How do you separate yourself from the pack?
You have to be the best! Have the right attitude every day, show up on time, double-check your work on anything you're even partially responsible for, be versatile to increase your value, say "yes" but keep your backbone, put the clients first, admit and apologize when you screw up ... and basically exceed the expectations of your employer and co-workers. When you work hard you make everyone around you want to work harder to keep up!
8) Are you spending as much time listening to radio as you used to?
Yes, music is my life.
9) Are you able to slow down and enjoy free time doing things with your family and friends that you probably did not have time to do while you were working?
Thankfully, yes. This is the first time in my adult life I'm waking up with nothing to do and nowhere to be. My son is a year-and-a-half, and we're connected at the soul. We spend 24/7 together now.
10) What has been your biggest career accomplishment?
Helping to build/reshape WSIG in Virginia. The station went from being a mostly syndicated, underdog, joke in that market to being #1. Yes, I'll take a bow for that, and the entire team deserves a high-5. Traditional Country CAN rule a market if you do it RIGHT. Through my request show, I got to know and care about my listeners. I loved them and they loved me. That station was truly built by the listeners for the listeners.
Bonus Questions
Any books you can recommend to people who need something inspirational to read?
"The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne, or "The Four Agreements" by Don Miguel Ruiz.
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