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10 Questions with ... JT Bosch
April 7, 2009
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Please outline your radio career so far:
WUPE/Pittsfield, MA: Board op, overnights, you name it, I did it
WAYI/Glens Falls, NY: Overnights, nights, MD
WVKZ (WWCP)/Albany, NY: Afternoons, Production Director
WRHT-WCBZ/Greenville, NC: Overnights, afternoons, Promotions, MD and eventually PD
WKSI/Greensboro, NC: PD, afternoons
WLAN/Lancaster PA: Afternoons, APD and eventually PD
WHKF/Harrisburg, PA: Afternoons, PD
WRBT/Harrisburg, PA: Afternoons, PD1) Many of us are wearing more hats these days. In addition to your traditional Top 40 cap (with a Red Sox logo, of course), you're also wearing a cowboy hat and splitting time with your Country station. How's that working out?
Getting to do a completely different format after 20 years in the business was something I couldn't pass up ... and an honor. It has been the most challenging thing I've ever done. It's not easy, but nothing worth doing is. I have a great support staff on both stations, so I have all the help I need. It's taken some time to work out the bugs of doing two stations, trying not to do more for one, and neglecting the other. But I would like to think I've gotten a handle on that. That was the one thing I didn't want to do, but ended up doing. I was so focused on not doing it, I did just that.
2) You're in a brutally competitive market, up against Rhythmic Top 40 competition, a heritage Hot AC powerhouse, and a bunch of other contemporary-flavored signals, including WLAN, a Mainstream Top 40 sister station that you previously programmed, that blasts in from nearby Lancaster. How do you differentiate 99.3 Kiss-FM in this environment?
Our on-air lineup ... We recently added Dave and Jimmy to mornings on KISS. They have done a great job for us. Hands down they are one of the best two morning shows in the market. The other being Nancy and Newman on our Country station. Add them to Ryan Seacrest in the midday, Mike Miller in afternoon drive and OC at night, and we have a killer lineup on KISS. Miller was one of the first two jocks on KISS when it launched. He really knows what KISS needs to sound like between the songs, and what the listener wants. And OC owns the nights... OWNS them, plain and simple.
3) How would you describe your first radio gig?
Anything and everything. I ran the board for Bruins hockey, Patriots football, Red Sox baseball, (now you know why I love the Red Sox so much) PSA show, overnights, weekends and filled in on any shift I was asked. I actually gave my PD the number to my other job in case he needed me during the day. If he called, I would ask my boss to find someone to cover, the station needs me. That led to full-time overnights. I would actually go home every morning at 5a and listen to my show from that day. I would sit in a room with a tape player and go over everything I did -- how I said it, what I said, etc. It made me a better jock in a lot of ways. I wish I had time to do that now! LOL.
4) You've worn a lot of hats in the past...
I'm currently wearing more hats than I was wearing, say, seven or eight years ago. But there was a time at WRHT where I was the afternoon guy, promotions director, Music Director and main club remote guy. I cut spots, did public service events, etc. We all did. Yes, there are fewer people in the building than before, but when did it become "not my job" to load Seacrest or pull a weekend shift, or do a public service event for charity? Trust me, if the PD isn't willing to do it, then I can't expect anyone on my staff to do it.
5) What is your favorite part of the job?
Being on the air. Still to this day, I love being in that room and playing music, talking to listeners, answering e-mails and doing contests. I still do it all live, too. That can be a challenge some days.
6) What is the most challenging part of the job?
There is never enough time in a day. I can get here at 6am, and before I know it, it's 3 and I have 20 calls to return, two sales people to get back to, music to load, and maybe get lunch. That's why I live on e-mail. I can get back to you in seconds and move on. Some will say PDs hide behind e-mail so they don't have to deal with stuff, but it's just not true.
7) What artist would we be surprised to find on your iPod?
I doubt it would "surprise" anyone, but I have a ton of '80s hair metal in there -- Tuff, Hanoi Rocks, Poison, I even created my own playlist called "Hairy Hot ones." It's all the hits and a few of the good songs that didn't make it, but I liked 'em.
8) What was your favorite station to listen to when you were a kid?
I grew up listening to WPYX/Albany. Mason and Sheean in the morning, Greggo in the afternoon. They were AOR then. You'd hear the new stuff and classic stuff. Funny, when I go back up that way to see family, PYX is Classic Rock now. And it's like I've stepped back in time to when I was 17. I still love that station.
9) Do you have a favorite hobby outside of radio?
This is where I should say, "Spending time with my wife," right? LOL. I ride motorcycles, play in the garage and do yard work. Yard work is one of the most mind-numbing things you can do. It really takes your mind off the business and relaxes me.
10) What advice you would give people new to the business?
Work hard, don't expect things to be handed to you, listen to those who have been doing it longer, and network. We can now e-mail anyone we want. Reach out. Maybe you'll hear back, maybe you won't. Don't take it personal if you don't hear back, it's not your fault. I didn't return a lot of e-mails like that back in the day ... and I wish I had. But now, I try to e-mail back anyone who reaches out to me, and I've gotten some good relationships out of it. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten an aircheck from someone just asking me to listen and give them some direction. I'm actually honored when someone asks me to listen to them.
Bonus Questions
For someone vacationing in your market, what one thing would you say they "must see?"
Take a 40 minute trip to Gettysburg. What happened there is one of the biggest parts of American history ... and it's right down the road.
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