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10 Questions with ... Nick Wize
April 14, 2015
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BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
I have spent a lot of my career in Detroit, which is where I am from. I started off interning and eventually getting on the air doing weekends at Channel 955. After interning and before weekends, I had brief stint doing nights in Waterloo, IA. I got to achieve a personal goal of mine and cracked a mic in New York City in 2009. I spent almost three years at 92.3 Now as the producer and second mic on the night show, plus weekends. After NYC I went back to Detroit and did nights at 98.7 Amp Radio. Late 2012 I went to Panama City Beach and had the time of my life in the Spring Break capitol! Last Novemeber I went East on I-10 to Jacksonville where I am currently doing afternoons at 97.9 Kiss FM.
1) Are you wearing more "hats" than you have in the past?
I am. Along with afternoon duties I also run the digital department and oversee all seven of the websites for our cluster, as well as all social media accounts.
2) What is your favorite part of the job?
Well, of course talking on the radio is always the best part, but taking on this digital role -- which is new to me -- has been very exciting. I like being able to see my numbers at any time, and I love the challenge of hitting the set goals. I check the digital stats every day the same way I check the stats of my fantasy football team on Sundays. I check often ... always hoping for high numbers.
3) What is the most challenging part of the job?
Balancing digital duties and programming duties. I have never been a very organized person and I am trying to become one.
4) What artist would we be surprised to find on your iPod?
iPod? I don't use an iPod. I either listen to the radio in my car, and if I am not in my car I have the iHeartRadio app. I am being serious. I try to support our industry the best I can. I have an iPhone 6 and I don't have any songs on it.
5) Who is your favorite air personality not on your staff and why do you like them?
I am going to exclude morning shows because I have a few favorites. I personally think Buster Satterfield is the best jock in the game right now. He isn't afraid to break the rules when they need to be broken and isn't afraid to be entertaining. Every market he goes to he has a following.
6) Who were your mentors? Who would you say has influenced your career the most?
Evan Rose, better known as Chunky, is the one who answered my e-mail, and let me in the building for the first time. He is the one who introduced me to Dom Theodore, who has opened more than one door for me, so I am going to go with those two.
7) What is it about our industry that keeps you wanting to do it for a living?
The competitiveness. I love sports, but I'm not good enough to play any of them. Radio is the sport I am kind of good at.
8) What advice you would give people new to the business?
Go to college and do something else. No, I'm kidding, I would tell that person to learn as many roles and wear as many hats as you can. The more valuable you make yourself the more worth you will have at the station, and that is what will separate you from your peers. Nobody does just one thing anymore.
9) What is the current state of the radio 'talent pool'?
This is a tough-to-answer question. The radio business has so many creative people in the industry, but most don't get a chance to show it. I have always thought of radio as the entertainment industry ... low on the scale but definitely in that category. These days, I am not so sure.
10) What would you like to do to save radio from its "dying-industry" image?
I would like to make a deal with every jock and PD that every time you crack the mic you must talk for at least a minute. Let's agree to not jam music down everyone's throats and play the typical game of the meter. Let's quit taking ourselves out of our industry. This would never happen, but if it did, I could answer the talent pool question by seeing who's keeping the meters around when they open that microphone.
Bonus Questions
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
I originally wanted to be a sports play-by-play guy. I was the kid who would turn the volume down on the Detroit Red Wings games and call the game myself in my bedroom. In high school I did play-by-play for the sports teams on the school's TV station.
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