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Charese Fruge’ (@MCMediaonline) Talks To Tiffany Hill
November 29, 2022
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Hot AC, Country, Classic Rock, and AC. Those are the formats Tiffany Hill voice tracks all in one day. You have to have some serious focus to be able to pull that off successfully. But that’s what it takes to maintain success in the radio business these days, and Tiffany is no stranger to success or focus. “My first air shift of the day is mornings at Today’s Best Music, Q108 in Clarksville, TN,” she explains. “I then voice track middays on our sister station, Today’s Country, Beaver 100.3. I switch gears a few more times tracking middays for our classic rock station in Asheville, NC, 1059 The Mountain, and middays at our AC station in Columbus, OH, Sunny 95. No side hustles with this schedule, though for years I voiced imaging liners for the Business Radio and Doctor Radio Channels on Sirius XM.”
Tiffany started her radio career at the age of 19 in an old fishing captain's house in New Bedford, MA on 1340 WNBH. She soon moved up to the FM dial, where she hosted middays and afternoons in Country, CHR/Urban, Oldies, AC, Active Rock, Classic Rock, and Today's Hits. “After my freshman year in college, I began looking for a more resume-worthy summer job than the water slide on Cape Cod,” says Hill. “Since I was a Broadcast Journalism major at Emerson (Mom and Dad forced that major on me instead of Musical Theater), I created a cassette reading the news from USA Today. I had no clue. I sent tapes to some radio stations and to my astonishment and excitement 1340 WNBH in New Bedford, MA called me back. They hired me as a producer for their local nightly talk show ‘New Bedford Tonight.’”
“I learned how to edit on reel to reel and somehow talked my way into a Saturday afternoon air shift, explains Hill. “We also carried the Red Sox games so my introductory shift would at times be preempted by the Sox. The music was also on automated reels from Drake Chenault. I had to jump up and change the reel when the alarm went off. I worked my way up to full-time a few months later and after working in Providence, Philadelphia, and NYC, I decided to move to the country about 8 years ago and have LOVED it ever since!”
“My biggest accomplishments over the years were successfully hosting mornings at the legendary B101 in Philadelphia for ten years and being honored by the American Women in Media with three Gracie Awards,” says Hill. “It was also a huge honor to be nominated for a Marconi Award for Best Major Market Personality. That was almost unbelievable. This may seem odd but despite 34 years on the radio, it is not something that comes easy for me. I am often the quietest and most shy person in any given room. I just work really hard to act like it comes easy. I admire so many in this field and continue to listen with awe.” That being said, it comes as no surprise that this has been Hill’s biggest challenge over the years. “I am ‘extremely’ shy. When I was a young girl, I was so shy I could not look adults in the eye. The whole ‘act as if’ theory really works!”
One of the biggest challenges for the industry is capturing the attention and creating loyalty and engagement among younger listeners. We may need to move forward as an industry, but as far as Tiffany is concerned, the expectations remain the same. “Things have certainly changed so much over the years, both in the industry and in the tastes and preferences of the audience. But we still have the same goal. Be entertaining. Every time. Authenticity seems to be the biggest draw,” she says. “Yet with that, I do still believe in research, tried and true methods of prep, hard work, and creativity. It is a marriage of being what the audience expects, yet still surprising them enough so as not to become predictable.”
When it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion in the industry, Hill says there is still room for growth. “Certainly, over the years we’ve progressed with more opportunities for everyone, but there is always room for improvement,” she says. “The biggest challenge today is that there are not as many opportunities for introductory positions where you can fail repeatedly to find out what NOT to do. Thankfully there are some wonderful coaches like Randy Lane and Steve Reynolds to share what DOES work and why. I had the opportunity to work with them both and learned so much.”
As far as advice for women who want to get into and succeed in the broadcast business, Tiffany offers some great advice: “Believe in yourself. Your ideas are valid. Your opinions are valid. Try to not take things personally as everyone has a different background and experience that will shape the way they work with others. As such, all others’ ideas and opinions are valid as well. I have always loved the art of listening. Whether in an interview or conversation, truly hearing others is where we learn the most. Overthink less and second guess less. Make a decision and go all in!”
What keeps Hill up at night? “Fear of oversleeping. Going over in my head the 50 better ways I could have ended or even approached that break,” she says. But finding balance for Tiffany is imperative. “We are useless on air if we are exhausted, burned out, or uninspired. We simply must make time for ourselves,” she says. “Even for meditation. Especially for meditation.
I was lucky enough to have had the opportunity to program an Active Rock station that I loved. Even with an incredibly supportive team and management, ultimately, I had a difficult time finding a work/life balance of programming while also hosting mornings. It took a toll and I needed to step back which they were also incredibly supportive of. I've been so fortunate to have worked with so many who believe in me, and I am grateful for the lessons I learned during my struggle.”
Finding a way to share the importance of mindfulness is a priority for Tiffany moving forward. Oddly, she tries to stay away from social media to do so. “I do have an Instagram account however: @tiffanyvoice if you’d like to follow my hiking adventures!
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