10 Questions with ... Mike Rossi

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

Facebook: @MikeRossi937
Twitter: @MikeRossi
Instagram: @mikewstw
LinkedIn: mike-rossi-204191

Full-time: WNRK/Newark DE ('76-'78), WAMS/Wilmington DE ('78-'85), WMJJ/Birmingham ('85-'86), WGRX/Baltimore ('86-'87), WSTW/Wilmington DE ('92-present). Positions have included: on-air host, MD, APD, PD, Promotions Director.

1. WSTW is celebrating 40 as a staple in the Wilmington market. Has the format always been some sort of contemporary music presentation?

WSTW switched to a contemporary music station 40 years ago this fall. From 1950 to 1978, it had been a beautiful music station.

2. Remarkably, you've been at the station for 31 of those 40 years! Please describe the path from those humble early days to the PD chair.

Returning to my hometown after quick stops in Birmingham (WMJJ) and Baltimore (WGRX), I picked up two jobs the same week in 1987. mmy 'Plan B' was to work as a cost estimator and weekends/part-time here. At the start of 1992, late WSTW GM Bob Taylor wanted to add homegrown talent to the full-time lineup. He hired me for middays and rehired John Wilson for mornings. Later that year, new PD Mike Sommers elevated John to APD and me to MD. I served as MD for Mike five years, then for John 10 years and finally for Mike Yeager nearly five years. I have been programming the station since late 2011, and was happy to hand over MD duties to Aaron Price in September 2016.

3. Your high school had a radio station. Not many kids have that kind of opportunity to figure out what they'd like to do with their lives at that age. Did you immediately see yourself as a radio lifer?

In high school, all I knew was that all things radio were exciting and fun! To have WMPH at Mount Pleasant High School here in Wilmington was a godsend for me. Many of us honed skills that landed us paid part-time shifts in the region before senior year (WNRK/Newark, DE for me). I fell in love with the industry with a great group of friends in high school, many of whom have carved out very successful careers in radio programming, research, engineering, sales and management as well as communications academics. Now, circle complete, I am on the school district advisory board for WMPH.

4. You're still in the air studio every day holding down middays, including a wildly successful lunch time all-request segment. How does being on-air make you a better PD?

The intimacy and immediacy of interaction with the listeners, my team, our music, even the physical equipment, whether in-studio or on location, informs my programming. I'm sure not every PD needs that direct daily contact to be successful, but it's something I'm grateful to be afforded.

5. Wilmington is such a hub for business and commerce. How do you make sure that the station is in the business of the business communities?

From Delmarva Broadcasting Pres. Jeff Boden, our mission is clear: We create value for our business partners by effectively delivering their compelling messages to the audience we gather. The ways and means of accomplishing every bit of that statement are wide-ranging and ever-changing. Part of the art and science of our industry is balancing innovation with consistency for advertisers, consumers and the whole community.

6. WSTW is known for having a huge signal in part of one the most populated areas on the planet. Is it exciting knowing that so many people are exposed to and sampling your station?

I used one of those population mapping tools to learn our terrestrial signal reaches an area with a population of 6.2 million people - one of every 50 Americans! While that's very exciting, we stay focused serving our immediate geography of the Wilmington, DE Metro (New Castle County, DE; Salem County, NJ and Cecil County, MD) and the neighboring counties in Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland and Pennsylvania.

7. Delmarva Broadcasting has deep roots in Delaware and into Maryland. It must be great to work for a locally owned and operated company.

Our sister station, WDEL-A, signed on in 1922 and has been owned by the Steinman family and their entities since the 1930s. The group has grown to currently include nine brands on 10 signals. It is a steady, close-knit group that's great in which to work! The company values our employees, which is indicated by the number of long-standing employees around the group. I personally value my amazing on-air team: Nancy Johnson and Joe Alan mornings, Brian Soscia afternoons, Aaron Price at night and weekenders Annie Day, Johnnie Howard, Jason Thomas, Mark Rogers, Vince D'Ambrosio and former PD John Wilson. There are all great professionals who I am privileged to work with.

8. Who have your mentors been over the years?

Along with all those mentioned earlier, I must credit my first WSTW PD, the late Steve (Michaels) Berstler and former WSTW GMs Pete Booker and Mike Reath as great leaders. Ray Quinn was among my earliest champions. Rich Fennessey (Tom Sommers) gave me my first chance in Wilmington radio as an overnighter and MD at WAMS way too many years ago. Alan Burns and Randy Lane have been greatly influential along the way, and my good friend Leigh Jacobs has inspired and informed this career walk of mine since high school.

9. In a dream scenario, if you could add one new position to the ledger going into the new year what would it be and why?

The company is great at providing the tools and resources for success, so this is a bit of stretch. I would love to add a utility player that would serve as a producer, social media content provider and on-air pinch-hitter.

10. What's one of the truisms that you learned early in your career that still holds true today?

Here are two: Drink a lot of coffee and don't step on the vocals.

2019 will mark 25 years since ace part-timer 'Mike Winters' cracked the mic at WSTW. What are the chances of that ever occurring again?

If I could only pry 'Mike' away from the Jersey Shore, he'd be welcome to come play again!