-
10 Questions with ... Ed Moloney
September 16, 2008
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. -
NAME:Ed MoloneyPOSITION:VP/ProgrammingSTATION:BusRadioMARKET:National
Please outline your radio career so far:
Morning Show Producer, WBCN/Boston -- 1986-1996
Creative Director, STAR 98.7/L.A. -- 1996-1997
Jonathon Brandmeier, KLSX/L.A. and KCBS/L.A. -- 1998-1999/2004-2005
Executive Producer DMX Music/L.A. -- 1999-2004
Production/Programming, JACK FM/L.A. -- 2004-2005
PD, Westwood One -- 2005-2006
VP/Programming, Bus Radio, Boston and L.A. -- 2006- present1)Wow... Top 40 radio exclusively for school buses! What's your TSL, and/or the length of the typical school bus ride?
Our average listener has a 40-minute ride each way to and from school (80 minutes per day) and one bus will do three separate runs for the different grade schools. Buses are loud and sometimes a bit rambunctious. It is our goal to create compelling content that gets the kid's attention and keeps them entertained -- and based on our phone call volume, we succeed!
2) How is the signal delivered to the school busses?
The shows are produced and scheduled in our studio, then downloaded to the buses through our network of wi-fi servers while the buses are parked at night. When the driver starts the bus in the morning they have their choice of three shows -- Elementary, Middle and High School. The shows are "on demand" and start from the beginning when turned on, then reset to a different show for the afternoon for the ride home. Our radios send back daily reports on which show was listened to and for how long and how loud the volume was.
3) Have there been any songs that have drawn lyrical complaints from parents?
We are extremely careful of what we play. If we can make a totally clean edit of a song, we may play it for the older kids. The Elementary show gets different music than the High School, but none of them get anything offensive. If we can't clean up a song, we can't play it.
4) Run down your on-air talent lineup for us.
Our AM and PM-drive show is The Mat and Lucia show, and features Mathew Blades (who also does AM drive at WKTI/Milwaukee) and Lucia Nazzaro with DJ Chicken Wing and a cast of high school interns hanging out!
5) How would you describe your first radio gig?
Making coffee and taking requests for no money, but I was working on one of the best morning shows of all time -- The Big Mattress with Charles Laquidara at WBCN/Boston.
6) What led you to a career in radio?
I was a fan of WBCN and wanted to hang out there. Who knew I'd still be in the business 22 years later?
7) What makes your station unique?
There are a lot of songs that we can't play due to content, so we are one of the only Top 40 stations that can't play 10-25% of the Top 40 songs on the current charts. We try to make up for that by breaking some new music that other stations aren't playing yet and discovering and playing some unsigned bands. We play a lot of kid's calls on the air, shout-outs, requests, pranks, PSA'-s and contests. We also drive the kids to busradio.com, where they can listen at home, create profiles, watch videos and more.
8) How would you compare it to other stations you've worked at?
I have been lucky enough to work at only major-market stations and for programmers like Oedipus, Kevin Weatherly, Gillette and Charlie Cook. These are a diverse bunch of guys all with a unique perspective. I paid a lot of attention! At BusRadio we do music research, listen to and analyze ALL request calls, etc., but most importantly I listen carefully to every show to make sure it just sounds right and has the right flow.
9) What is your favorite part of the job?
I love listening to music and I love creating great content. It's a great job! Being at BusRadio from the very beginning has been a great experience. We've accomplished a lot in 21/2 years!
10) Who is your favorite air personality not on your staff and why do you like them?
Ryan Seacrest. I worked with him in 1996 and still listen to him all the time on KIIS. Also, Jonathon Brandmeier is one of the best. I love his show. Both these guys are very real sounding and natural on the radio.
Bonus Questions
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
A rock star! I knew how to play a couple of guitar riffs and use a 4-track tape recorder, so I figured it would be easy! Working in radio was my backup career to keep the folks happy. While I was at WBCN we did put together a station garage band with a bunch of guys who worked there. We played some cool gigs, and the station even let us open the WBCN "Rock of Boston" show at the old Boston Garden!
-
-