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10 Questions with ... Jimmy Steal
December 13, 2016
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1. What got you into radio?
The music! And the desire to have a positive impact on as many people as possible. Earlier in my career I LOVED being on the air, what a high!
2. What was your last non-radio industry job?
Early on I had a few: construction, convenience store, electronics store, music store, writing music reviews...
3. What misstep or error do you see young, inexperienced programmers often make?
I don't know if I'm qualified to answer that question but if I had to guess...I'd say after mastering the SAME fundamentals of what makes all radio stations great, then focus all of your energy on what makes your station/brand DIFFERENT...
4. As a programmer who has programmed at every level and in different formats, how would you approach a career in programming if you were starting in radio today?
As always, I'd look for the best talent I could possibly find to execute the strategic plan. It is your major point of differentiation in a world where people can stream their favorite song from the phone in their pocket anytime and as often they'd like. Yes, the foundation of your brand must be strategic but if your product is not anchored by unique, compelling, creative personalities then you are vulnerable.
5. At Power 106, you've surrounded yourself with a great team. What qualities do you look for as you are assembling a team or replacing a team member?
Anyone interested in working at Power 106 must not only have the deep skill set for whatever position we're trying to fill, they must also be a great fit into our Power family! Our Power team all execute and believe in our CEO Jeff Smulyan's 11 Emmis Commandments emmis.com/who-we-are/eleven-commandments/. Specifically, at Power, I look for the following: music/tech geeks, amazing work ethic, passionate execution, radiating positivity, driving innovation, and knowing that it's a privilege to work in our business. It also goes without say that you must have respect for yourself, our team and our brand!
6. Speaking of the team at Power 106, who are some of the key players for you?
I'm going to get into trouble here because you asked for "some" of our key players, and the truth is they are all key players! We're blessed with the very best team imaginable! On the music tip there is DJ E Man, who is amazing, as is the rest of our programming/promotions/digital crew: J Cruz and the entire Cruz Show team (Jeff G, Edgar, Krystal, Todd, Fluffy ) Dianna Jason, Fernando Lujan, Felli, Yesi, Reflex, Justincredible, Mando, Ashley, Vinny, Teddy, Q, Eric DLux, Daniel Marcha, Marz, Ralph, Cory, Sophie, and Janessa...and I know I'm leaving out somebody, ugh! Suffice it to say that we have a staff that does not know the meaning of the word impossible! They love what they do and it shows in every piece of content we push out!
7. What role/position at the station has exploded in the last five years?
I think it's obvious that Social and Video have become absolutely vital in extending our brands across platforms giving us an amazing ability to bolster and deepen our brands in ways that were not possible with just our terrestrial signals.
8. If you weren't in radio, what do you think you'd be doing professionally?
I think I might like to work either at a VC to have a direct pulse on what the best and brightest are pitching as their vision of tomorrow, or anything that keeps me close to music and digital marketing as well...
9. What do you like to do in your spare time?
Spare time? Seriously? I am a music geek with +25K songs on my hard drive, I love tech, I love hiking, I have two great kids and a very understanding wife....and that all would account for my "spare" time : )
10. I had a GM once that constantly quoted Sun Tzu's "Art Of War" in meetings. Can you recommend some reading for programmers?
Art of War is a great book. If you are time starved, like many programmers, I'd recommend great blogs like Greg Satell's Digital Tonto, and YouTube video's by futurist Gerd Leonhard. You really need to look at things outside of our industry for a greater perspective on digital consumption, big data and a host of other things that are just now starting to profoundly impact, and help us interpret, our audiences behavior. Here's a link to a short Gerd video that will introduce you to his perspective:https://youtu.be/ystdF6jN7hc. If you do have time for books "The Accidental Creative" by Todd Henry is a good one, as is "The Lean Start Up" by Eric Weiss, a lot of parallels can be drawn between being a PD and a startup founder.
Bonus Questions
What's your view of the state of Rhythm radio or do you even look at Radio in terms of formats?
I do not spend too much time worrying about "formats" and industry things that have little to no bearing on driving our ratings performance. To succeed I make sure our team focuses on the biggest hits for our audience that fit into what our listeners expectations of what Power 106 is.
What do you love most about living and working in Southern California?
Growing up in NY, I have an appreciation for just how great the weather is here year round. The LA market is competitive, which I thrive on and there is a healthy dose of both the music and tech industry here too. I like being close to where some of the most innovative companies in the world are located. I've had the privilege to make friends over the years at the leading tech companies and I'm fascinated by how they "program", conduct research and market their brands/products.
Let's talk artists...who do you emerging as the next superstars in music?
Hip Hop R&B its def Anderson .Paak and Michael Kiwanuka. On the rock tip I'm really liking Three Trapped Tigers, Bjorn Riis, and Steven Wilson.
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