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10 Questions with ... Cosmo
August 5, 2008
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NAME:CosmoTITLE:PD/MD/morningsSTATION:KROGMARKET:Medford-Ashland, ORCOMPANY:Opus BroadcastingBORN:Kansas City areaRAISED:Kansas City area
BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
Started my career at Cumulus in Topeka as a board-op. I bugged people long enough that they finally let me on the air, doing weekends on CHR KQTP (Q103). Graduated college and headed to KC to do weekends at KCHZ. Shifted to overnights, and then went back to KQTP for my first full-time gig doing the night show. After a format change, I headed Northwest to do nights on Cumulus Alternative KNRQ/Eugene, OR. Got laid off, ran out of money, and headed down I-5 to work for KROG/Medford, OR. Was this brief?
LAST NON-INDUSTRY JOB:
As a car salesman (notice I didn't say selling cars, which is why I didn't work there long).
FIRST RECORD EVER PURCHASED:
I don't remember the first cassette tape I bought, but the first 2 CDs I bought were Extreme - Pornograffitti and Bel Biv DeVoe - Poison. I still remember taking them to the cash register.
FIRST CONCERT:
The Moody Blues with the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra in the summer of '95
FAVORITE BAND OF ALL-TIME:
The Foo Fighters
1. How did you become interested in radio?
I've always loved radio. I remember recording songs I liked off of Q104 in Kansas City when they were a powerhouse CHR. At one point in high school, I had bumper stickers from four stations on my car. When I was in community college, I realized the theater thing probably wasn't going to get me anywhere, so I took some classes to explore areas of interest. One of those classes was a broadcast performance class. Everyone said I had a good voice, and when we toured a radio station, I knew that's what I wanted to do.
2. What was your favorite station to listen to when you were a kid?
As I mentioned before, I used to love listening to Q104 in KC when it was CHR in the 80's. I also have to mention the four stations I loved in high school: two Modern ACs: 102.1 The Zone and the short-lived Channel Z-95, and the Alternative stations: 107-3 The X and the late, great 105.9 The Lazer (out of Lawrence, KS).
3. What's one thing that would surprise many people to learn about you?
I'm a pretty big geek. If I had more disposable income, I'd probably be collecting comics... seriously. Actually, maybe that's not so surprising.
4. What part of your job do you like best? Least?
Best: Programming the station. It's very rewarding when people tell you how much they love listening to your station.
Least: Office politics, having to discipline air-staff (who I also consider friends, so I hate to put on the "boss hat" but sometimes you have to), and when my alarm goes off at 3:30a.
5. What has been your biggest challenge since being promoted to PD?
Finding time to prep for the morning show, schedule music, and deal with whatever else is thrown at me, while still making time to relax.
6. What would an outsider find most surprising about the Medford radio market?
With the recent sale of the local Clear Channel cluster, we have no major broadcasting companies in this market. All the stations are either local or smaller regional companies.
7. What makes The Rogue unique?
We have one of the few local morning shows in the market, and we have absolutely no out of market voice-tracking.
8. How is your signal upgrade helping the station?
It's great that, since we added three translators in Douglas County, you can now listen to The Rogue all the way from the California border to a little north of Roseburg, OR. We can now bring the New Rock to people that haven't had any for a long time!
9. Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without _________?
Checking my MySpace... seriously, it's an addiction. I need help.
10. What career path would you be following had it not been for this industry?
It's hard to say. I was a theater major at first, so I'd probably be waiting tables in L.A. I've always had an interest in web design, too.
Bonus Questions
What are your hobbies?
Bike riding, hiking, photography, watching movies and sports, and spending time with my girlfriend.
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