10 Questions with ... Debbie Mazella

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

I started in radio in 1994 as a traffic reporter and worked part-time at WPST/Trenton and WJLK/Asbury Park until landing the midday gig at WJLK (94.3 The Point) in September of 1999. I stayed with The Point for almost eight years and worked my way up to APD/MD. I left WJLK in August of 2007 to become the MD and midday host at WMGQ (Magic 98.3)/New Brunswick. I also took on APD duties shortly after starting and became PD in December of 2016.

1) What led you to a career in radio?

Growing up, my parents were into music, and always had the radio on in the house or the car. Then, when I was 12 years old, I won a radio contest for a New Year's Eve phone call from my favorite member of KISS, Ace Frehley. After asking him questions about his onstage persona, guitars, and telling him I dressed as him for Halloween. He asked how old I was, and when he found out I was 12, he said, "For someone so young, you asked some good questions and should think about doing something involving music or radio someday." That was all I needed to hear! I became a member of my college radio station (WSIA) where I first met Dan Finn, and after that, made my way to my current role at Magic!

2) Congrats to you and the Magic staff on the just announced Marconi nomination! Your station and market is located in the shadow of market # 1. What's it like to compete with the New York City stations on a daily basis?

While competing against big-city stations can be a challenge, it's also a huge motivator. Every day when I go into the studio and then later into my office to work on promos, music scheduling and imaging, I always treat Magic as a major-market station. If you want to compete with some of the biggest brands in radio, you have to be at their level. At the same token, I try to continue the tradition that Magic has held for 40 years - super-serving the Central New Jersey community. We have a fantastic, major-market sound, complete with an upbeat mix of music, imaging featuring voiceover pro Amy Brooks and production wizard Bill Schultz. and an on-air staff that knows the music, the market and the lifestyle of our P1 listeners. I like to think Magic is unique because we have the best of both worlds -- serving a local, passionate community while providing the highest quality product to listeners and advertisers.

3) You are wearing multiple "hats." What do you do to make sure that you are covering everything that needs to be looked after?

It's really about managing your time and knowing what your priorities are. Each morning, when I wake up, I go for a run, listen to music and think about what my top priorities need to be that day -- freshening up the imaging, changing up some music rotations, meeting with my staff. Of course, each day has its surprises, so you never know what you might come up! That's part of the fun of the job --no two days are ever the same. But that's one of the things that attracted me to radio.

It also helps to have a fantastic team in and outside of the office. On top of everyone in the office, Market Manager Dan Finn and the entire Beasley Media Group team provide a ton of support to make sure we sound great on the air and also have resources to help us stay on top of our game and stand out in a competitive radio landscape. There are a ton of pieces to the puzzle, and they all help me put them together to make Magic the best it can be.

4) How important is social media to your station's success?

It's critical! Everyone is on the move and communicating more than ever on social media - Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, you name it! While we're not posting what we're eating for dinner every night, we make sure to include a mix of station events, contesting and just everyday conversation focused on our listeners. We share the content that's on our site, our in-house podcasts like my "On the Verge" feature for new, up-and-coming artists and fun things going on around the station and community.

It's a great way to keep a pulse on what listeners are talking about and are interested in as well. When you see something really take off on social media, we try to incorporate it on the air if it's appropriate. Our entire team knows how important it is to our content strategy, both on and off the air. If you're not actively engaging with listeners and providing them value on social media, then you're losing out on a ton of opportunities to grow your station's digital brand presence.

5) "Local, local, local" has always been radio's mantra. How do you keep your station visible and involved in the community?

At Magic, we have the advantage that some of the major-market stations lack - being able to hyper-serve a local community and be present at many large events. We recently kicked off a new campaign called "Turn Us On" for our listener club. They're able to tell us where they have Magic on at work, and we enter them into a drawing for a monthly prize. If they win, we surprise them and stop by their office with the street team and a ton of prizes for the entire office. We also partner regularly with some of the biggest local brands, like the Embrace Kids Foundation for our annual "Embrace Kids Radiothon" live from Rutgers University, the Community Food Bank of New Jersey for the "Students Change Hunger" drive, Habitat for Humanity and more. While other stations have to split their time in multiple towns in multiple states, we're rooted in Central Jersey - that's what listeners have come to expect!

6) What is your favorite part of the job?

Music and talking with people are two of the things I love most, and radio lets me do both of those things every day! I still love being on the air, interacting with listeners and talking to established and up-and-coming artists, and now, as PD, I get to work with my staff even more closely and continue to help the radio station evolve with the tastes of our listeners.

7) What is the most challenging part of the job?

Like I mentioned earlier, competing with major-market stations without some of the luxuries that they have from a research and marketing perspective can be a challenge, but it inspires me and my staff to think outside the box to find ways to maximize the resources that we have to be a solid competitor. That's what keeps every day exciting!

8) If you could add one full-time position to your budget right now, what would it be?

A morning show producer to help Joel and Maryann with all the work they put into their show!

9) What artist would we be surprised to find on your personal playlist?

I've always been a "rock chick" at heart, so people who hear me on the air might not know I'm a huge Ozzy and Black Sabbath fan ... Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters, too! (I actually have a cardboard cut-out of Dave at home; he makes sure the cats behave when my husband Gerard and I are at work!) I also really love Alice In Chains and Pearl Jam.

10) Who were your mentors? Who would you say has influenced your career the most?

My biggest mentor without a doubt is Mike Kaplan, the current SVP and PD at Entercom's Alt 92.3 in NYC. When he was PD of WJLK, he gave me my first full-time job as an on-air personality, and helped me become a good jock and programmer. Over the years, we've become great friends, and I couldn't have gotten to where I am today without him!

There are so many others, too, including the former GM of my college radio station, Greg Adamo, Matt Ward and Pete Tauriello from my traffic reporting days, my former PD here at Magic, Jeff Rafter, Entercom's Jim Ryan, and my current Market Manager Dan Finn, and also Justin Chase and Buzz Knight!

What did you want to be when you were growing up?

From the time I was 11 years old, I wanted to work in radio. I loved music so much and thought it would bring me into a world where I could get to meet my favorite artists and bands, and turn others on to their music. Funny how things work out sometimes, right?