10 Questions with ... Tonya Campos

NAME:Tonya Campos TITLE:MD/On-Air-Middays STATION:KKGO MARKET:Los Angeles COMPANY:Mount Wilson Broadcasters BORN:Dinuba, California RAISED:Ruidoso, New Mexico and Visalia, California

Please outline your radio career so far:

I started in radio at the age of 14 out of necessity. My parents had separated and money was extremely tight, so when I happened upon a "career day" at school, I spoke with the DJ they had sent out that day and found out I could be on the air at any age. So I just started showing up at the station until they hired me. I had found a job that I liked and just kept going. I have worked in Fresno, San Diego and Los Angeles. This year marks my 30th year in radio.

1) Congrats on the launch of GO COUNTRY in L.A. How's it feelin' so far? I hear the early numbers have been great.

Thank you, it's feelin' great! Our first couple of trends looked awesome. It is something to be real proud of, but we are still in the beginning stages here, so there is always more work to be done. But overall, we are real pleased with the way this whole launch has gone.

2) Tell us about the presentation and lineup for those who have not heard you yet.

We are very fortunate to have some familiar names here. Shawn Parr and Robin Banks do a real energetic morning show, I am on middays, Todd Baker handles afternoons and Whitney Allen's show really amps up our nights. We are playing "today's hits and yesterday's favorites" and we squeeze in a lot of music, even in the morning show.

3) What is the major difference(s) between this station and KZLA?

I get asked this a lot and I think there are a lot of differences. Go Country 105 is a new radio station. It is not KZLA II. KZLA played country music and we are playing country music, but I think to grow, we don't need to be in a shadow. We are owned by a different company, we are named something different, we are even located in a different part of town. It is normal to be compared, but we just would like to come out from that shadow. Also, our play list is much larger than it was at KZLA and we are incorporating a lot more of the classics, which I think our younger audience has never been exposed to. I played "Jesus and Mama" by Confederate Railroad recently and got a call from a 25 year old asking if it was a new song and where she could buy it. That song is only 15 years old, but if you subtract that from her age, she was only 10 when it came out, so to HER, this is a "new" song.

4) You grew up on the west coast, so what kind of music did you grow up on and when did you first start listening to Country.

At the time in childhood when you first start taking an interest in music, I was in New Mexico and it is real hard to NOT hear country music there. My fondest childhood memories are always accompanied in my head by the music of Patsy Cline, Ray Price and Johnny Tillotson. My parents had all their albums. My dad's favorite song in his entire life was "Rollin' With The Flow" by Charlie Rich. All those artists and songs bring back memories.

5) What kind of listener response is the new station getting and are you getting lots of folks who used to listen to you on KZLA?

The listener response has been wonderful. You know, KZLA was around for 26 years, so a lot of KZLA listeners had been listening since they were children. That's how you know a station has been around for a while, when someone calls up and says they met you when they were 12 and they now have children of their own. That happened to me recently. In the beginning at this station we did get a lot of calls lamenting the loss of KZLA, but I think they have settled down now and realize country is back and you now here more rejoicing than lamenting.

6) Area wise, the Los Angeles market is huge. Does the signal cover all the places where the Country listeners are?

Yes. We have a real strong, clear signal and we get calls from listeners from places I didn't even realize our signal reached. I like getting calls from people that live in communities that I've never heard of.

7) How does the large Hispanic community respond to the station and what do you do to embrace them?

Go Country 105 has only been on the air a few months, but we have had real good response from our Hispanic listeners. In the future we do plan on doing more to embrace them. I think county radio is thinking this requires a lot of programming changes, but it is not real hard to attract Hispanic listeners. It is more about marketing than programming. Something as simple as van hits or a billboard in Hispanic-populated neighborhoods makes all the difference in the world. Let me tell you, there are a lot of products that I would have never known about had I not received the samples in my mailbox. Just INFORM them that you are there for them and they are free to join in on the party!

8) I imagine that you are seeing a parade of artists coming by to say hi since you are in such a major market.

You would think!!! Los Angeles is known as the "entertainment capital of the world" and that brings a lot of big names to town, but it seems to be increasingly difficult to get big names to drop by for visits. Many times their schedules are so tightly booked that they have little time for even squeezing in a phone call to the station. I guess with all these technological ways to reach people's musical tastes these days, they are stretched pretty thin- internet interviews, television, other formats playing their music, etc., maybe a bit too thin.

9) Who are your heroes and not just radio heroes?

My heroes are people that have started out in life with nothing and made something out of themselves through pure hard work. Not just famous people, but anyone born into hardship. Or people that lose everything and come back from the ashes. If I were pushed to pick one famous person that really fit this description, it would be Tina Turner.

10) Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without____________.

Without an ache or pain somewhere!

1. What do you do for fun?

Watch Indy car racing, read, spend time with my partner, Tracy and the older I get the more I am enjoying walking.

2. What did you think you wanted to do when you were a kid?

At the age of ten, every cell in my body wanted to be a commercial airline pilot, bit I got sidetracked by radio. I still went on to obtain my private pilot's license though. I absolutely LOVE anything about or related to aviation.

3. What was the best advice you've ever gotten?

The best advice ever was from my mom who used to always tell me, "Don't ever feel less than, you are as important on this earth as anyone you will ever meet."

4. Worst advice?

Work real hard. It will pay off. I'm still waiting!