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10 Questions with ... Steve O'Brien
February 4, 2019
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. I listened to the radio growing up and bought albums all the time. In high school, I wrote a letter to our local hockey team, The Oklahoma City Blazers, wanting to help them keep stats. John Brooks was the play-by-play guy at the time; we hit it off well and the rest is history!
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BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
I started part time at the Oklahoma News Network in OKC, then moved on to KMUS in Muskogee, V-100 in Topeka, KVSO in Ardmore and Magic 95 in Lawton before moving back to OKC in 1985 and I've been at 104.1 ever since.
1) You've been at Magic for 34 years now! First of all-congratulations. Secondly, what has been the recipe for your longevity?
I've been very blessed and quite lucky. Oklahoma City is my hometown so it's been great to work at 104.1 all these years.
2) You're still on the air doing middays. Is it important to you as a programmer to still get in there every day and crack the mic?
I just wrapped up 30 years of doing mornings with the Magic Man Jeff Roberts, so we celebrated near the end of 2018 and then we kicked off a new morning show, "My Magic Morning Show with Jeff & Cara," to begin the new year. I do think it's important for a PD to be on the air and hear how everything comes together.
3) How does the Jeff & Cara morning show set the tone for the rest of the station's broadcast day?
As I mentioned, Jeff has been at 104.1 for 30 years and is one of the most popular personalities in the market. We teamed him up with Cara Rice, who's quite a talent herself. Put those two together and you get plenty of fun and laughs for the morning drive.
4) Magic is part of a very busy cluster for Tyler Media in OKC. What's the vibe in the building like?
It's a great place to work! Tyler Media has had an imprint in the Oklahoma City market for over 50 years. We're family owned and operated. You'll see Ralph, Tony and Ty in the building every day. Plus, we have great leadership from our OM team of Kevin Christopher and Buddy Wiley.
5) What led you to a career in radio?
My love of music and sports. I listened to the radio growing up and bought albums all the time. In high school, I wrote a letter to our local hockey team, The Oklahoma City Blazers, wanting to help them keep stats. John Brooks was the play-by-play guy at the time; we hit it off well and the rest is history!
6) Who were your favorite disc jockeys as a kid growing up?
Here in Oklahoma City, Danny Williams and Ronnie Kaye were HUGE on 930 WKY. Whenever they were on location, they drew quite the crowd!
7) "Local local local" has always been radio's mantra. How do you keep your station visible and involved in the community?
We do a Teacher Feature each week to reward local teachers. We're involved with The Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma for food drives, The Oklahoma Blood Institute for Blood drives and help host one of the largest book sales in the country with our local library.
8) Needless to say, social media is a big piece of the puzzle. How does your staff interact with the listeners in that regard?
Jeff and Cara start the day with several postings on Facebook ,Twitter and Instagram. Our audience is pretty active on social media. And our afternoon host Jennifer Leigh makes sure to fill the rest of the day with creative posts.
9) What is the most challenging part of the job?
It was getting up at 3:30am for mornings, but now that I'm on middays it's not bad at all. Working at 104.1 is really not challenging because we have so many great people to work with.
10) What is your favorite part of the job?
I still enjoy being on the air and meeting listeners when we're out. I also enjoy working with the music; so much has changed for AC radio over the past 30 years.
Bonus Questions
If someone had never been to Oklahoma City before, what is the one thing that you would make sure to tell them to see?
Oklahoma City is growing so fast it's hard to pick one thing but the Oklahoma City Memorial will tell you the story of what happened to our city during the bombing in 1995. It will definitely move you. Since then we've moved forward with so many exciting things including the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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