-
10 Questions with ... Aaron Santini
November 11, 2019
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. -
BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
First cracked a microphone in 1994 while in high school. My first full-time gig was overnights, then MD/nights at WKPK/Gaylord, MI (Traverse City market) From there I moved on to KSMB/Lafayette, LA for APD/MD/nights. My next stop was a long run with Cumulus at KKHQ/Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA as PD/afternoons, then PD/mornings. I hopped to the other side of the Mississippi for my next gig, from KKHQ to WKHQ (cool, right?) back in the Traverse City market for PD/mornings. And in September of last year, I arrived here at the OM for Midwest Communication's cluster in Evansville, with PD duties for WIKY and WABX.
1) How would you describe your first radio gig?
Miraculous. No joke. I walked into a situation at a station that was an absolute flame-throwing Top 40, with Hall-of-Fame level mentors in McConnell (Man@Large) Adams, and Brent Carey. Seriously, I was stupid lucky falling into that situation for my first full-time gig.
2) What led you to a career in radio?
I was cut from the basketball team, which was soul crushing to 17-year-old Aaron. But my local hometown station (my hometown has roughly 3,000 people) needed someone to call the games on the radio. When one door shuts, as they say. I was hooked after that.
3) You are wearing a couple of different "hats." How do you make sure that you're prioritizing the way that you need to be?
First off, if anyone tries to tell you they have this down to a science, they are a liar and you should take them off your Christmas card list. I'm a systems and routines guy. I set out a schedule of what I need to accomplish each day, and I use the living crap out of Google calendar. If I have one nugget to pass along that really works for me, it's that I finish whatever it is I'm working on at the moment before I move on to the next task. Even when something is on fire, which happens frequently in our business, I force myself to complete what I'm doing at the present time before moving on to extinguish. I find it much more effective to check that "thing" off the list first, rather than circling back to it.
4) In addition to everything else, you do afternoons on WIKY. Do you find that the air studio is a "safe haven" for you?
Absolutely! Those few hours are the fun, stress-relief part of my day. And luckily for me it comes at the end of my day, so any frustrations that have built up with OM/PD Aaron for the day go away when I turn that mic on and attempt to entertain the audience.
5) How does the WIKY morning show with Dennis Jon Bailey & Diane Douglas set the table for the rest of the broadcast day?
DJB & Diane won a Marconi at WIKY for a reason. In the simplest terms, they set the rest of the station up for success each day by the trust they've built with the WIKY audience. When we do a promotion or get behind a community initiative, if DJB & Diane ask them to jump on board, they jump on board. I've really never experienced anything like it in my career.
6) "Local, local, local" has always been radio's mantra. How do you keep your stations visible and involved in the community?
We are constantly behind, or creating, community initiatives at WIKY. Not that long ago we won an I.A.B. Cardinal community service award for our "Ton of Turkey" campaign last fall. Some people mistake being local for being at every festival, farmers market, parade, etc. That stuff is important, but to really embed your brand into the fabric of the community, you have to do stuff that is truly impactful. Every Friday, the morning show hosts an "extortion breakfast" and gives a community organization air time to talk about their event or initiative. We were the radio sponsor the local Special Olympics polar plunge in February and our midday jock, Debra Miller, volunteered to be a plunger/fundraiser. It's that type of stuff that people remember, and embed you as local.
7) Who would be a "dream guest" to have on your show?
Jon Stewart. Love that guy.
8) What is the one truth that has held constant throughout your career?
Dick Kernan told me when I was 18, "The only thing that's consistent in radio is change." The single most truthful thing I've ever heard regarding our business. It's an industry of constant adaptation.
9) What was your favorite station to listen to when you were a kid? Favorite jock?
I grew up in a rock & roll household, so I was jamming out to 105.1 The Bear out of Cheboygan, MI as a kid. Christopher Knight and Mike Grisdale were the morning show on The Bear growing up. They are literally the reasons I became interested in radio.
10) Who were your mentors? Who would you say has influenced your career the most?
I've had three true mentors in my career - McConnell (Man@Large) Adams, Brent Carey, and Dick Stadlen. All three shaped me in different ways. Large and Brent on the radio end, and Dick on the management end. I can tell you confidently that without Dick's PhD level tutelage on how to manage radio personalities, there is no chance of me being in the position I'm in today.
Bonus Questions
If someone were visiting Evansville for the first time, what would you make sure that they did or see?
And here comes Aaron's inner nerd. The must-see, if you only had to pick one, is the LST-325 landing ship. It's the only fully functional LST ship left, and a veteran of the World War II D-Day invasion.
-
-