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10 Questions with ... Tiffany Schortgen
July 12, 2021
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1. Please tell us about your career journey.
Radio was never part of my plan. I have a bachelor’s and master’s in marketing. I started my career as an Account Executive at an advertising agency and then moved on to teach marketing at a community college. During that time, I was a WBCL listener and heard the ad that they were looking for a Promotions Director and knew it was a perfect fit.
I had been working at the station a couple years when management decided they wanted more female voices on the air and urged me to give it a shot. I’ve been cohosting the afternoon show for three years now and love that element of my job.
2. Share the most challenging part of your career.
Balance is definitely challenging. Balancing my marketing and promotions responsibilities with my on-air role while being a single mom of two young boys is difficult at times. Most days the studio is a revolving door of people popping into to ask promotions questions between our talk breaks.
3. The best coaching advice you've ever received was…
It sounds overly simple, but “be yourself.” In Christian radio we tend to want to create a persona of perfection. It takes courage to be vulnerable, but it’s our flaws that listeners relate to the most.
4. How do you continue learning and growing?
Our Executive Director is big on continuing education, so we attend a lot of seminars – some are industry related but we also regularly attend conferences on leadership, diversity, and spiritual growth.
We have a talent coach that meets with our air staff regularly to continue honing our skills. Listening to other talent also helps. And I spend most days listening to self-development books on Audible while at my desk.
5. What’s one thing you wish you’d known about radio when you first started?
Not to get hung up on mistakes. In live radio they are going to happen. You have to learn to laugh at yourself and move on. Actually, some of our funniest breaks have resulted from one of us goofing up.
6. Tell us about someone in our industry who you really respect and why?
Being I’m new to radio, much of my learning has come from listening. There are many female DJs that I enjoy listening to, learning from and respect in the industry – Rachel (Pulse), Hailey (The River), Amanda (WCSG), Lauree (KLove) to name a few.
I also want to give a shout out to Kris Love and the Centricity Label. They do a great job of encouraging and promoting female talent in radio. Kris is always open to new, fun ideas for promotions and he has been an awesome sounding board as I’ve learned to navigate a new industry.
7. What would surprise people most about you?
I have a degree in massage therapy. As a teen I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, so I went community college and earned an associate degree in massage therapy---that I’ve NEVER used. I’ve spent a lot of time in college! I’m also one of the few people left in the world that prefers to drive a manual transmission. A few years back I decided to buy a Jeep. My grandpa always owned a Jeep when I was growing up and I have such fond memories of Sunday afternoon Jeep rides. He always drove a manual and it’s what I learned to drive on. So, when I bought my Jeep, I traveled 4 hours to find one with a manual transmission. To me, it’s not a Jeep if you’re not shifting.
8. What’s on your nightstand?
A lamp. I don’t even have a clock on it. In fact, the only clock in my entire house is on my oven. I use my phone for everything!
9. What are you most excited about this year?
We started a great contest this year called “Crash My Birthday.” Listeners nominate their friends and family to have their birthday crashed by us. We show up and surprise them on their birthday and decorate their yard like birthday threw up. We also bring them gifts, a cake, and balloons. Seeing their reaction is priceless! We do one crash a month and I always look forward to it.
10. What do you do for fun?
My favorite thing to do is hang out on the beach with my two boys. I live just a couple hours from Lake Michigan, and we make several trips there throughout the summertime. In the winter, I try to make a couple of trips to Florida to visit my dad near Fort Myers.
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