10 Questions with ... Dave Moore

NAME:Dave Moore TITLE:Nights STATION:WAWZ STAR 99.1 MARKET:New York, NY COMPANY:Pillar of Fire International BORN:Freehold, NJ RAISED:Millstone Township, NJ (Monmouth County)

Brief Career Synopsis:

Promotions for WYNY-WWXY-WWYY-WWZY/New York, morning show producer and weekends for WKXW-WBSS/Trenton, NJ, nights for WJSE/Atlantic City, NJ, late nights for WHTG-WBBO/Monmouth-Ocean, NJ, weekends for WPTP/Philadelphia, weekends for WMWX/Philadelphia, Broadcast Operations Coordinator and entertainment segment host for nationally syndicated "The Wall Street Journal This Morning" and "The Wall Street Journal This Weekend" for The Wall Street Journal Radio Network, and nights for WAWZ/New York

1) What was your first job in the industry? Any mentors?

When you're looking to jump into the world of radio, you'll take anything offered! My first paid gig was board ops for a one-hour fishing show called "The Outdoor Almanac" for WRLJ in Freehold, NJ. If I was lucky, I could stick around and run the board for "Grandparenting Today." It was thrilling radio, but at least I got paid, in cash. A few months into the job, there was a schism in the ranks. The PD stole WRLJ's transmitter, drove it a few miles down the highway and fired up a pirate (WZVU 104.7). I still cherish the newspaper clipping I saved when the FCC raided the place. With that learnin' under my belt, I was ready to handle all that the fine world of radio broadcasting could throw at me.

Mentors: Johnny Stone is a phenomenal PD for STAR 99.1. It's important to have someone you can bounce ideas off of from time to time. I don't think I ever told Johnny this but I always admired his style and really wanted to work with him as soon as he touched down at WAWZ. Other than that, I've had some excellent PDs over the years and took pieces of advice from every one of them, but I can't say that I've had any one mentor.

2) How do you prep for the show each day? What kind of challenges do you face, if any?

EVERYTHING is show prep (just ask my wife and daughter)! I spend a few hours every day digging through national, regional and local newspapers, magazines, websites, etc. I'm constantly taking notes in my cell phone, writing on legal pads or just making mental notes about things I've observed in life or funny conversations I overhear. If I can use it on the air, it'll eventually make it there.

Prep challenges? Sometimes I have too much prep, which isn't a bad thing. If I can save it for another day, I'll hold onto it. Sometimes I'll pass stories to other jocks or place it in STAR 99.1's evergreen show prep box, which I placed in the studio. **PLUG** If you're an AC, HOT AC, CCM, Country or any female-targeted station, I urge you to take a gander at Beth Bacall's SHE PREP service at www.ShePrep.com.

3) What has been your favorite bit in recent days?

The Letter H Game: I got a frantic call from my sister towards the end of October. After years of being a stay-at-home mom, she was ready to go back to work. The date was set, she was excited, and all seemed well. She then realized that her 5-year-old daughter was having a Harvest Fest at school and all the parents were invited. My brother-in-law was out of state and she couldn't bear the fact that my niece would be parentless on such a special day. Uncle David came to the rescue and invited my listeners in a way.

The kindergarten class was learning about the letter H that day and all the kids were asked to bring an item that begins with an H for show and tell. I asked my listeners to call in and give me an H item, but there were some rules. 1) It had to be an object and 2) I wouldn't explain why I needed it until the end of the night.

A bit that was supposed to last one fun-filled Friday night turned out to hang on for over a week as listeners wanted to find out what the H item was for, which one of their ideas was chosen, and how the event went. It was a simple little game, but it jammed the phones for four hours and still generates e-mails.

By the way, the H item my niece showed to the class was a pair of HEADPHONES which turned into a discussion about radio and STAR 99.1. Some STAR goodies were handed out too but I don't know how they got there.

4) Who is your favorite on-air personality NOT at your station?

Glenn Beck, K-LOVE's Jon Rivers and Phil Hendrie are some of my favs.

5) What does Christian radio need to do to break through to a mass audience on a more consistent basis?

Stop thinking we're inferior to secular radio! A grimace comes to the faces of some of my secular radio friends when I remind them I'm in Christian radio. Why? Because some feel we're not relevant, not real radio, a niche format preaching to our own choir, an imitation of what's already available. Now expand that to a listening audience. Do you think they feel the same way? I'm only asking because this is how I felt about Christian radio for the longest time.

Are we in Christian radio giving the audience something to listen to? Does your station offer just as good of a presentation as the highly rated secular stations in your market? How are your promotion and marketing campaigns? What are you doing to reach the listener that never would have thought to listen to Christian radio?

I'm amazed at the amount of new STAR 99.1 listeners I hear from every week. After spending some time on the phone with them, they'll explain that they thought they could never get into Christian music, but while listening for a day or two, it dawned on them that it wasn't much different from WPLJ, 106.7 Lite FM or Fresh 102.7. In fact, STAR 99.1 sounded a lot like their favorite stations, talked about some of the same issues (in safer terms) while providing a positive message.

The recent success of the movie "Fireproof" is an encouraging example of Christian media breaking through to the mainstream. Add that to more and more crossover artists being shared by Christian and secular radio and we're slowly gaining ground.

6) What are the greatest challenges in your position/job?

How do you know what to say to a listener that's in emotional pain? What do you say to a girl whose father just walked out on the family? What words can I offer a woman going through her second divorce and feels like a failure? I do a nightly call-in show where I invite listeners to share their life, dedications, prayer requests and anything on their hearts. Some of these stories can be very serious and my biggest challenge is just being there to anyone who needs an ear.

7) And what are the greatest rewards in your position/job?

Listener feedback will always be my greatest reward. I'm not in radio to fuel my ego, but to offer entertainment in a hectic world. I often hear from driveway callers that are waiting for a teased personal story that might relate to their lives, people that have never called a radio station to chime in on a topic, or a caller that heard something I said months ago and they've held onto it.

Here's an example that happened on 11/8/08: My wife and I were at a wedding and a woman in the wedding party approached me. She was laughing while recalling when I had my wife on the air yelling at me for eating all the ice cream in the house. Now, I think that must have happened close to 7 months ago, but it resonated with the listener because her husband does the same thing. It's situations like this that keeps me enthralled about radio.

8) If you could have any other job outside radio, what would it be?

Musician. I went to college to study music and a counselor suggested I take an audio recording course. I found the class fascinating and that steered me in the broadcasting direction.

9) Any favorite or funny artist run-ins?

For some reason every artist run-in turns into something being shoved up someone's nose. Recently, The Afters tried to stick a guitar up my nose and Brandon Heath stuck Sharpies up his nose. Downhere is going to swing by the station in a few days and I'm thinking I should bring some tweezers just in case.

10) Complete this sentence: When I'm not "twittering" (www.twitter.com/daveontheradio):

I'm prolly sleeping or on:
Facebook - www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=740290978
MySpace - www.myspace.com/daveontheradio
LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/daveontheradio
Bebo - www.bebo.com/daveontheradio

1) Do you read everything or nothing? Do you have any favorite magazines, books, newspapers?

I have a Kindle on my Christmas list this year. Seriously, I need to settle down or I'm going to turn into the bookworm that Burgess Meredith played in that one "Twilight Zone" episode (Time Enough at Last). I blow through a few books a week and it doesn't really matter what the subject is. I make it a point to learn something new from each book read. Favorite newspaper would be "The Wall Street Journal."

2) What music is in your CD player/on your iPod right now?

Bright Eyes "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning" and The Decemberists' "The Crane Wife"

3) Cat or dog person?

Animal person: Two cats (Ringo and Ellie May Meepers), two goldfish (Samantha King and Pocahontas Mulan), one hamster (Samantha) and one hermit crab (Teddy).

4) Describe your favorite meal.

Eaten

5) What is your favorite Bible verse?

Matthew 17:20: "He replied, 'Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, "Move from here to there" and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.'"

6) If you were stranded on a desert island, what three things would you want to have with you and why?

1. A boat. 2. Bear Grylls and his "helpful" crew or that guy from Survivorman. 3. Benjamin Linus. Why? Why not.