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10 Questions with ... David Moore
October 20, 2020
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. I strive to create great radio. Take all the data you can get your hands on, connect the dots and flawlessly execute it. I am not opposed to larceny when it comes to ideas; I have found that the most successful ideas I have ever had were variations on something I saw someone else execute.
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BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
Programming for over 30 years in Anchorage, Fresno, Nashville, Baltimore, Jacksonville, Madison, and Phoenix.
1. What stands out the most from when you started your radio career 35+ years ago working with Fred Jacobs?
By the time I was 20 I knew that I wanted to program radio stations. I interned at WRIF when Fred was the PD. A couple of years later, I had to do an independent study thing to get a degree in communications -- I contacted Fred and asked him if he had some projects I could work on. One of the first things he had me do was monitor 91X in San Diego on the listen line, followed by assisting in the launch of the Classic Rock format on WMMQ in Lansing. While the business has changed, the way it makes me feel has not. I am a lifer, I love creating great radio, the business aspect of it fascinates me and the fact that we keep score keeps it interesting.
2. You have worked at some Heritage Rock stations over the years. How does feel to be working with GM Trip Reeb and programming ALT AZ 93.3?
Trip is a great leader; an accomplished programmer and he creates a supportive and positive environment for creativity. We share a love of pretty much anything on four wheels. It helps that he has a great sense of humor and is a genuinely decent human being.
3. You wear several hats at Hubbard Radio/Phoenix. What is a typical day like for you?
Alt AZ APD Dustin Carlson is the lynchpin of the station and I would be screwed without him. I program KSLX and KAZG on a day to day basis and between the three stations I seem to be busy. The only consistent things in a typical day are scheduling music, consumption of several iced teas from Starbucks and lots of cursing. I am lucky to have two stellar promotions directors, Ben Hartman on Alt AZ and Elizabeth Matus on KSLX and KAZG and I seem to spend a lot of time with them.
4. Let’s shift back to ALT AZ 93.3 where you just had a nice ratings month in September. You mentioned a ratings growth on weekends. What is different on the weekends and what else has led to the station’s ratings growth?
I have a theory backed up by nothing more than “it seems like this happens a lot” that when you make music adjustments on a station the benefits often show up on weekends first. We made some tweaks to the music earlier in the year I think this may be what we are seeing. My logic is that people are more likely to have defined weekday habits and are locked into listening to Holmberg on KUPD or Mark and NeanderPaul on KSLX, while weekends have less of that and there may be more button-pushing going on.
5. On September 28th, ALT AZ 93.3 added The Woody Show to mornings and shuffled your on-air lineup. Why led to the change?
In this building alone we have Holmberg’s Morning Sickness on KUPD and Mark and NeanderPaul on KSLX. John Jay and Rich are across the street at KZZP. Competing in morning radio is hard anywhere and it is exceptionally difficult to get much traction up against these huge shows. We had the Mo Show on, and while Mo is world-class talent, it was hard to consistently get the show into the top five in key demos. At Hubbard we are believers in talent, and in this case the best talent option for Alt AZ in mornings was The Woody Show. Mo moved back to middays and Kacie Kozman is now on weeknights. The pleasantly surprising part of this development has been how awesome Woody and his team are to work with -- they make the show sound local and work as hard as any show I have ever seen.
6. Give us the 411 on the music and imaging on the station.
Dustin and I work closely with Mike Stern at Jacobs Media on music and other station stuff. Dustin writes and conceptualizes the imaging and it is awesome. I just heard a winner’s promo for the In or Alt Contest we are airing right now and thought it jumped out of the radio.
7. How would you describe yourself as a programmer?
I strive to create great radio. Take all the data you can get your hands on, connect the dots and flawlessly execute it. I am not opposed to larceny when it comes to ideas; I have found that the most successful ideas I have ever had were variations on something I saw someone else execute.
8. What is your favorite part of your job?
I feel like I was designed in a lab to do this for a living. I love most parts of the job except for maybe things like payroll. I have never had a morning where I dreaded going to work in a radio station.
9. Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without ____________?
Hot tea and iced tea.
10. What would surprise people most about you?
No one is ever surprised by anything about me because I talk constantly and have already told them everything. Without regard to their interest level or lack thereof.
Bonus Questions
What are weekends like for you?
I detail my car, ride my bike along the canals in the East Valley, drink four Venti iced teas from Starbucks, listen to my new music feed on Apple Music while reading Mojo, Uncut and Q magazines, watch the D-Backs or the Packers, spend time with my wife Heather and my 18 year-old son Sam, chill with Sally our elderly black Lab and eat lots of tacos (we take tacos seriously around here).
Favorite food?
Thai, Mexican, any fried potato product.
Favorite drink?
Tea, all the time.
How often do you get back home and what are your top priorities when you get back to Detroit?
Pre-pandemic I try to get back at least once a year. I am the youngest of six and have a huge extended family; nearly all of them still live in the Detroit area so I try to see as many of them as possible. One of the cool things is that my brothers and sisters all live in different parts of the city so when I am there, I tend to spend a lot of time driving listening to Detroit radio, which is still excellent. I also get a pepperoni pizza at the Green Lantern.
Rank your sports teams in order of passion.
Diamondbacks, Packers, Tigers.
Favorite new band over the past year?
KennyHoopla is interesting. Put U2, Rage Against the Machine, The Cars and TV On The Radio into a blender and filter it through 2020 and you get KennyHoopla.
First record ever purchased?
I think it was the Jackson Five’s Greatest Hits or a Three Dog Night album.
First concert?
Kiss on the Alive tour.
Favorite band of all-time?
I can narrow it down to five: Ramones, Led Zeppelin, Drive-by Truckers, Tom Petty, Rolling Stones
Anything else you would like to add?
No matter what happens with technology and culture there continues to be a need for people who can create meaningful connections through the use of audio.
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