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10 Questions with ... Mike Gavin
July 4, 2006
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NAME:Mike GavinTITLE:PD/MiddaysSTATION:WHTG/WBBO G Rock RadioMARKET:Monmouth/Ocean (#52)COMPANY:Press Communications LLCBORN:North JerseyRAISED:North Jersey
BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
College at WPSC/William Paterson University, interned at WFAN/New York, and then spent two years doing anything and everything at a tiny station KRMN in the Texas Panhandle. There was no money and insane hours, but I got to learn everything there was to know about my newfound profession. I sold spots, went on engineering calls, and still found time for an afternoon airshift and about 50 other things on any given day. I left shortly after 9/11 to be closer to my family and friends. Then, I hooked up parttime with Press in Fall '01, got fulltime a year later, and through a series of well-concealed murders, was named APD of the G in Spring '04, and PD that Summer. Two years later, they still haven't found the bodies!
LAST NON-INDUSTRY JOB:
I moonlight now as the guy who plays music and videos and occasionally fills in on P.A. for the local minor league baseball team (The Lakewood BlueClaws).
FIRST RECORD EVER PURCHASED:
The first one I purchased was Aerosmith's Greatest Hits. The first one purchased for me was the Ghostbusters movie soundtrack. I didn't know Ray Parker Jr. was stealing from Huey Lewis until I was much older. In a way, Ray Parker stole a piece of my childhood.
FIRST CONCERT:
I was kind of a concert late bloomer, but I believe it was Pearl Jam at Randall's Island in NYC.
FAVORITE BAND OF ALL-TIME:
Pearl Jam. Others have taken their place at times, but with the new album I'm back in the saddle.
1. How did you become interested in radio?
I went into college with plans to become a sportscaster of some sort (probably baseball play-by-play). After joining up with the college station, I fell in love with radio and never looked back. I had a great mentor/advisor who came up in radio in the `60s and was as old-school as they come. He beat you down to the ground and then built you back up, just to see if you were tough enough to be in radio. He taught me right off the bat that this is not a business for weaklings. I think he might have owned a Cobra-Kai franchise in North Jersey.
2. What part of your job do you like best? Least?
Best: Interacting with the amazing staff we have here at G. I'm convinced we have some of the most creative young talent in the business right here at the Jersey Shore. From APD/MD Brian Phillips to our awesome fulltime air-staff, on down to some of our up and coming parttimers, I love the collaborative process of taking an idea from light bulb to on-air. These are the people that keep the station sounding fresh and relevant on a daily basis.
Least: Paperwork. I have way too many office supplies for someone who works in programming. I even have an electric pencil sharpener. I don't think I've used a pencil in 10 years!
3. What is your biggest challenge at the station?
Balance. We are constantly doing a balancing act here at G. Trying to balance the new music with the gold, the familiar with the unfamiliar, the male leaners with the female leaners. Being the only Alternative outlet in the state (and several neighboring big markets), we pull in a very diverse audience demographically, and we would like to keep it that way.
4. How has WHTG changed in the past year?
It's been a great year here at the G. Our Spring '05 ratings blew everybody out of the water (#3 overall 12+, and #1 12+ among Monmouth/Ocean stations), so our challenge now is to stay there, and for the most part, we have. We are also beginning to solidify our status as a force to be reckoned with in the format, and I think our friends in the concert and record business have taken notice.
5. How would you describe the radio landscape in your market?
Crowded. I've been told that more terrestrial radio signals penetrate Monmouth County New Jersey than any other county in the U.S. Between New York on the northern end, Philly on the southern end, and all the local Jersey stations in between, we are just about out of room. The fact that we have been able to carve out a nice chunk of that audience despite the competition from radio, not to mention the emerging technologies (cause they get mentioned enough, thank you), is something that I'm especially proud of.
6. What makes the station unique?
What makes us unique in general is the fact that we are a successful, mass appeal, Modern Rock radio station, in America, in 2006. A great deal of that credit goes to our pioneering forefathers at WHTG. The people of the Jersey Shore have been plugged into this format for two decades now and are ecstatic that we are keeping the music and some of the spirit of the old 'HTG alive.
What makes us unique in the market is our personality. Because of the generosity of our company, we have more freedom to develop our talent then our big market, big company competitors. And being live and local 24/7, there is plenty of time for us to develop new talent as well. I'm a big believer in personality radio. If you rely solely on the music, what do you fall back on when the music goes through a down cycle?
7. Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without _________?
Hugging my lady. Not gonna lie, she's a groovy chick.
8. Besides WHTG, what is your favorite radio station and why?
When not scanning through the local dial, I usually listen to WFAN (sports radio) in New York. I interned there, so I'm a little biased, but they are awesome. They are one of the top billing stations in the country, they have a hugely loyal audience, but they keep it simple/stupid. They don't over-think, over-program, or over-image. They just give the audience what it wants, and the personalities the freedom to shine. Now that's radio!
9. Biggest career highlight?
Probably the great Spring '05 book here at G. After we started simulcasting on WBBO, and after the collective deaths of Y100 and K-Rock, we weren't sure what would happen to us. After the book came out, it made me so happy that all the aforementioned talent here was finally being recognized. Sure, we've been a little lucky, but we always knew we had a great product and this was the first time that everybody sat up and took notice. Plus, it meant we'd be able to keep our jobs for a little while longer, which is a plus.
10. What career path would you be following had it not been for this industry?
I actually thought about changing career paths in college when I found out what radio people make! However, upon further examination, I found out that there is nothing I would rather do. If not for radio, I don't know what I would be doing, but I probably would not enjoy coming to work as much as I do now.
Bonus Questions
What are your hobbies?
My wife, my dog, the Mets, the beach, shows, bars, family, and friends. That's about all I need.
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