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10 Questions with ... Jared "Jare Jordan" Fallon
October 2, 2012
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BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
After high school football practice, I would drive an hour to the Twin Cities to answer phones and pull CDs for the Tony Fly show on KDWB. Had a couple weekend/fill positions with WAQE (fired after hosting the Saturday Night All-Request Oldies Party... probably not the best show for a 16-year-old to host) and WIAL before getting my first full-time position with WBIZ (Z100)/Eau Claire, WI. I worked my way up to OM for the seven-station cluster before joining CCME/Cincinnati in June of 2011. I became PD of WKFS (Kiss 107) last June and then began filling out the Ten Questions form for AllAccess.com.
1) What led you to a career in radio?
Well, I'm a middle child, so as soon as I can ever find something that gets me attention, I'm naturally attracted to it like a mosquito to a bright dangerous light. When I was 13, I first heard Tony Fly on KDWB/Minneapolis. And he was saying things and doing things that I had never heard on the radio before. That year my Dad brought me to the Minnesota State Fair and KDWB was broadcasting live, and there was this huge crowd of people waiting for him to show up. That was it for me. (That and the movie "Pump Up The Volume.")
2) Are you wearing more "hats" than you have in the past?
I've accumulated a fairly substantial amount of "hats." But being an OM/PD/MD coming from Eau Claire WI., I was accustomed to wearing a lot of hats and taking on a lot of responsibility. When I came here (June 2011) I was hired as MD and afternoons, and I found myself getting bored. Now as Programmer, Music Director, PM drive, along with voicetracking and imaging/branding for Kiss and other markets, I doubt I would recognize "bored" if we passed on the street.
3) What are you doing social media-wise?
Learning. The fact is that our listeners aren't contributing to the station over the phone nearly as much as they were before Facebook or Twitter (and, of course, texting). So it's our job to go to them and interact with them on these social networking sites and somehow find an interesting way to bring that interaction on-air with us. The nationally syndicated "Saturday Night Online Live" is proof that the audience is there waiting for us to come and entertain and interact with them. But proceed with caution because the listeners/followers have NO FILTER on these sites. Every thought that pops in their mind is spelled out in sometimes graphically detailed, grammatically incorrect form. U no wut im sayin? :)
4) What is your favorite part of the job?
Programming music. It takes a lot of attention and there's a rhythm to it. Getting all the songs in the right categories and flying through a day of music and then hearing the final product on the air ... that makes my inner nerd giddy. And it makes me use the word "giddy."
5) What's one thing that would surprise many people to learn about you?
I went to school in New York to become a film and television actor at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in Manhattan.
6) Do you have a favorite hobby outside of radio?
Crossfit. It's an intense mixture of weight training and cardio. Each workout is completed when you're lying in a puddle of your own sweat, blood and tear drops, mumbling incoherently.
7) What music do you listen to when you're not working?
I stream a lot of stations throughout the country similar to Kiss -- not specifically for the music but for different ideas, concepts or inspiration for programming, so the music is never too far away from my ear hole. If I can escape, though, I turn to Country or AAA. Even my iPod is confused at this point.
8) What is it about our industry that keeps you wanting to do it for a living?
I was told "Find something you love and find someone who will pay you to do it." I was/am fortunate to be in that position. I love doing what I do.
9) What is the one truth that has held constant throughout your career?
Tim "Romeo" Herbster told me "There's always more to do." And that will always be true. No matter what station you're at, what market you're in, what time it is on the clock. There's always something that you can be doing to make the station brand better. Adding new sweepers, double-checking the cross fades on all the songs, updating your recurrent and gold library, updating your blog ... When did we last post on our Facebook page?
10) What advice you would give people new to the business?
Be as good as you can at as many things as you can. Whoever is willing to teach you something, learn as much as you can get out of them. There are some very talented people who only are strictly "air talent," or strictly "programmers," or "imaging/branding." That's awesome for them -- but for the rest of us, you need to run fast while juggling babies while naming all the girls in the song, "Mambo Number Five."
Bonus Questions
What ringtone do you have on your cell?
My text message notification is the Old Spice whistle. It's cool the first time you hear it, but a couple hours into the day most of my co-workers want to stab me with plastic utensils.
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