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10 Questions with ... Shaun Andrews
February 28, 2012
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BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
Ummm ... HERE! 4/98-present ... started as and intern, moved up the ranks through the years, and have been PD since 10/06.
1) What led you to a career in radio?
I always enjoyed music and wanted to do something with it. I wasn't going to be a musician or a vocalist, but I loved listening to the radio and always thought I could do that. Oh, and back in the day when my family and I would take long trips, I would "schedule" the music for the trip, on looseleaf, about 15 songs/hour.
2) What makes your station unique?
We are live and local. Our DJs are local; they live here, work here, know the area, have a loyal following and you can actually meet them at appearances. And since we are locally owned and operated we can be much more progressive musically. We aren't tied down to someone in Phoenix telling us what records will work in Utica.
3) Are you wearing more "hats" than you have in the past?
No ... since I have a full staff, I'm able to just keep the two to three hats that I'm comfortable wearing. I'm just not sure what I should do this year with my N.Y. Mets and Dallas Cowboys hats??!!!
4) What are you doing social media-wise?
Social media is a wonderful way to be even more entrenched in the listener's world, instantaneously. The station and our jocks are on Twitter, Facebook, etc. We use Hootsuite as well to link everything together. I know personally that I'm making much more of an effort between doing my midday show, programming the station, etc. to put a lot more interactive content on the social sites during my shift.
5) "Local local local" has always been radio's mantra. How do you keep your station visible and involved in the community?
We are the go-to station in the market that is live and local ... and out and about doing a whole slew of community outreach events. Local charity benefits, talking in schools, major interactive market events (i.e. twilight movie premieres) right there in front of our core audience.
6) What is your favorite part of the job? The most challenging?
Scheduling music is the answer to both. I love scheduling music ... every log is like a painting. The challenge is making it work with multiple tracks by certain artists, such as Pitbull and Rihanna.
7) What's the coolest promotion you've been involved with recently?
Just this past Xmas season, we did our annual stuff the bus toy drive where we stuff local school buses full of toys. We had a grand finale event where we stacked the toys in front of the buses and local charities came to take what they needed. 14,000+ toys ... it was an incredible sight.
8) What is the one truth that has held constant throughout your career?
Keep the sound of your station consistent; don't go too far one way or the other and let the audience decide ultimately if they dig a song or not.
9) What advice you would give people new to the business?
Let's get some new people to get into the business! I can't get any new part-timers to save my life.
10) What would you like to do to save radio from its "dying-industry" image?
Show that you can be local, make money and have fun!
Bonus Questions
What's the best sweeper/liner you've ever heard?
A sweeper that mocked the EAS tones ... and every time it came on, the staff even bought it.
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