-
10 Questions with ... Barry Michaels
November 6, 2006
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. -
NAME:Barry MichaelsTITLE:Mornings/PromotionsSTATION: WYYDMARKET:Roanoke/Lynchburg, VACOMPANY:Clear ChannelBORN:In a mangerRAISED:Virginia
Please outline your radio career so far:
Mornings/Promotions WYYD/ROANOKE-LYNCHBURG, mornings AC WFOG.NORFOLK-VA BEACH, mornings ABC SATELLITE RADIO (Hot AC), parttime-swing KYNG/DALLAS, mornings KIKK/HOUSTON, mornings AC WMJX/MIAMI, mornings KMLE/PHOENIX, mornings Oldies WQSR/BALTIMORE.
1. What was your first job in radio? Early influences?
My first job was part time at WYTI-Rocky Mount, VA. Our slogan was "The Mighty Whitey". How do you think that would fly today?
2. How do you prepare for your show day? What's your biggest challenge?
Show prep is a 24/7 thing - it never stops. Radio is so much more fun and relatable now because I can bring more of my life to the air, and, with 4 sons, I got stories! I'm one of those idiots, who for years, has gone to bed early and gotten to the station at least an hour and a half before my show. If I adhere to this schedule, then I can live up to my personal credo which is- 'I suck everyday-but today, I sucked a little less'. My biggest challenge at the moment is doing a solo morning show, having been the quarterback of an ensemble cast or a host/co-host situation for the past 25 years. You just have to work that much harder with phoners, bits and "sound" so you're not the only 'voice' on the show.
3. What has made your show successful?
I've been here less than 3 months and no one has shot through the control room window yet! So, yeah, I've attained a certain level of success.
4. Who do you feel is your competition in your market, and how do you go about competing with them?
Everyone is my competition. If they have a signal and show a .5 in the ratings, that's a .5 I could potentially have. Two of my mentors, Bert Levine (owner of WROV/Roanoke) and M.F. Kershner of WBJW, Orlando (now WOMX), taught me to constantly look for my competitors' weaknesses and to always, always seize the moment! Even though I never worked for him, Scott Shannon taught me how to be LOCAL! I was a hot rockin', flame throwin' morning jock in Orlando and I'd hear Scott on Saturdays doing lost dog announcements on Q105 in Tampa, and at first I thought, what the hell is he doing? And then, it dawned on me. This guy is super serving his public on the #1 station in town and that's how he got those numbers. It certainly made me re-think what I was doing on the air.
5. What is your most memorable on-air moment?
There are 2 moments, and I wish they could be happier moments, but the morning of September 11th, and the morning after the Oklahoma City bombings. How to handle 9/11 was a no brainer...get the info on now, stay calm, and help the listeners through one of the darker moments in our history. The day after the bombings, I was working for the ABC Radio Networks, feeling an enormous amount of pressure because I was on over one hundred stations state-side and the Armed Forces Network too, and I attempted to give all of us a reason to go on by talking about our children, as in, our future, what they had said to embarrass us, etc. We laughed and cried together and we made it through the day.
6. What is your favorite show feature and what makes it successful?
My all time favorite is "Wheel of Meat". You get a grocery store to sponsor, listeners "spin a wheel" ala "Wheel Of Fortune", and they can win steaks, hamburger or chicken livers. Everyone wins! Nice local angle to this too, in that, I invite local celebrities to come by the station and spin. Huge cume on this one.
7. Best advice for making a show for a Christian station?
The same advice I got over 30 years ago. Be yourself! Be real!
8. Who do you look up to as a air/personality not at your station?
I grew up in an idyllic part of the country, Martinsville, Virginia, and the geography afforded me perfect reception of those 50K giants: WLS, WCFL, WABC, WGAR and so many more. Those voices kept this lonely country boy company, plus they entertained and inspired me. I liked Lujack because of his caustic wit, Bob Dearborn for his smoothness, Don Imus because he was and still is a smartass, and, my God, was there ever anyone who did news with a better set of pipes than Lyle Dean? He made this snot nosed kid pay attention to what was going on in the world. Stern-he opened doors for all of us!
9. If you were just starting out in radio toady, but you knew what you know now, would you continue forward?
Oh yeah! But, that's easy for me to say, I'm working. And, there are many people who are better qualified and have more 'stripes' than I who aren't! You have to simply adapt and adjust- instantly, in today's radio. It is as it was when I started, keep a smile on your face 'get happy or get out'!
10. If you could have any job outside the music business, what would it be?
A gynecologist in Beverly Hills, a lumberjack or a writer.
Bonus Questions
1. What's in your CD player right now?
Junior Brown. He's outstanding!
2. Do you have Musical Guilty Pleasures?
I love anything MOTOWN. Listening to LOVE-FM/Chicago and Majic 102/Miami-Two very well programmed and executed stations. And, I have some tapes of Bill Mack doing overnights on WBAP--That guy was just too damned cool!
3. Cat or Dog person?
I'm a "dawg" man. Being surrounded by a pack of Boxers is about as fun as it gets. Playful, loving animals.
-
-