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10 Questions with ... Casey Osburn
January 24, 2022
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BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
It’s hard for me to believe I’ve been in the business almost 25 years.
1998-2003 KHUT-FM / Hutchinson, KS (Country)
2003-2017 KHMY-FM / Hutchinson, KS (Hot AC)
2017-Present KFBZ-FM / Wichita, KS (Hot AC)
1. How would you describe your first radio gig?
My first paid gig was at heritage country station KHUT “Country 102.9” in January 1998. I wasn’t a country music fan, but just being on the radio was exciting for me so I didn’t care. Plus, this was still during the CD/cart days so, as a jock, we actually had to deal with getting the next song ready. I was also very fortunate to work in a good company with a lot of very smart radio people to learn from who WANTED to help. Some people might feel threatened when the new guy is asking tons of questions about music scheduling and clocks (and other things that weren’t part of my job) and they might hold back info. That wasn’t the case there at all. Everyone was very open and genuinely tried to help make me better, plus they could tell I WANTED to learn everything there was to know, so I was like a sponge those first few years.
2. What led you to a career in radio?
I have always had two loves in life since I was a kid: radio and tornadoes. I actually went to college and majored in Atmospheric Science, but after completing it, I really just wanted to take a break from that stuff for a while. So, I got a job in radio at KHUT working overnights on weekends at first, which evolved into a full-time gig. At one point, I realized THIS is my true love and passion. Plus, I occasionally get to use my weather knowledge on the air as I do some storm spotting for sister station KNSS during tornado season.
3. Congrats on recently celebrating your 5th anniversary at The Buzz. Given all of the technological changes (not to mention everything else) is it easier to pick the hits these days?
Thank you! It really doesn’t seem like five years, but I think the pandemic has distorted our sense of time. From a music perspective, one of the things programmers have had to do is slow things down a bit. We basically lost an entire year of at-work listening in 2020, so a lot of the big hits that came out during lockdown and months after are not as familiar to listeners as would be the case in normal times. “Blinding Lights” and “Levitating” are two examples. These songs are just beginning to show burn, and it’s been two years since “Blinding Lights” came out! So, we’re holding on to recurrent songs longer and, as a result, there is less available spots for new music. That makes my job easier since I can select from the cream of the crop more than would normally be the case. In the end, the methodology is the same: familiarity and songs a mom and a child can sing along to in the car. That’s Hot AC.
4. You still rock the mic every afternoon. What is it about still being on the air that you continue to love?
Oh, it’s why practically all of us got into the business in the first place. I love being a voice in the afternoon, having energy and enthusiasm and talking TO my listeners, not AT them. As we all know, radio station staffs everywhere are not what they used to be in terms of numbers, so we all wear many hats. But my favorite hat is being on the air. That’s what makes all the work worth it. That’s the payoff, the time to have fun and help radio come alive. And there’s no question having someone local that lives among the listeners is a huge asset. I know the city, I know the culture, I generally know what people are going through whether it’s the weather or some big event this weekend or whatever…I am living it with them here in Wichita. I try and make that come across on the air, and I’ll never get tired of it, even though it is a challenge every day.
5. Who would be a “dream guest” to come visit in the studio and plug in across from you on your show?
Well, there’s a personal answer and a professional answer. Personally, I’d love to spend a few hours talking with Paul McCartney. I don’t think I’d ever run out of things to ask him, and I’ve been a fan of the Beatles since I was a kid.
Professionally and realistically, I’d love to have Taylor Swift in studio. She is arguably the biggest entertainer in the world, and she is obviously a core artist that our listeners love. I actually love her, too, and I think a lot of people don’t give her the respect she deserves when it comes to songwriting.
6. How did navigating the pandemic make you a better programmer?
Great question because I think it did make me a better programmer. One of the best ways to learn something new about something is to see it from a different perspective. When the lockdown happened, listener habits changed dramatically as people worked from home. People wanted news and information those first couple of months. We actually had hourly news updates devoted solely to the coronavirus the first month or two. Then it got to a point where people were tired of hearing about it, as is human nature. By summer of 2020, you could feel the tide shift and we went back into an entertainment-first station, but still tried to balance everything. It was a subtle shift. In retrospect, it is very interesting to me to think about the psyche of our listeners and how it changed….and when.
Then there’s the music aspect: the charts slowed because songs took longer to burn. People were listening to stations like ours (Hot AC, CHR, AC) less because they weren’t working in the office. At-work listening is our lifeblood, so it forced good programmers to reassess everything! Are we playing powers enough? Do we need to play less golds? More golds? TSL and cume are both way down, so how do we handle that when we know the main reason for that is the pandemic. It forced me to rethink everything, which really isn’t that abnormal because I tend to overthink everything. Finding new ways to see things is really healthy for growth, and that happened by necessity the last couple of years.
7. “Local local local” has always been radio’s mantra. How’s it been connecting with your listeners? Have you been getting back out there yet?
Things are picking up. 2020 was basically a total loss, but a lot of the in-person things we typically do resumed in 2021 after being cancelled the year before. This past October we did Woofstock, which is an annual event with the Kansas Humane Society to raise money. In 2020 they had to do a drive-thru event, no tents, none of the usual stuff. But this last year, we were back out there and it was nice to see listeners again. It was almost like so much time had passed since we had even a remote broadcast, it was good to see faces and people saying “we love the Buzz” or whatever. It made us feel like, ‘awesome, you’re still out here. It’s so nice to see you again.’
8. What is the one truth that has held constant throughout your career?
People may not remember what you said but they will remember how you treated them. I got that line from Terry Drouhard who I had the pleasure of working with for 19 years. It’s so very true, because two different people can say nearly the exact same thing, but if one is being rude or agitated and the other is smiling and joking around, you can guess which one is going to get better results.
9. What were your favorite stations growing up as a kid? Jock(s)?
I loved “FM 102 KSKU” out of Hutchinson, KS, in the early-mid 80s before they changed over to Country in 1986. Then I became a KKRD guy. Those two stations really fueled my passion for broadcasting. The coolest thing is, several people I work with today were either on the air on KKRD or worked at the station in some capacity. Our GM, Jackie Wise, was in sales. Jack Oliver was KKRD’s PD. And Greg Williams was probably my biggest influence growing up in terms of radio. Jack and Greg both work here at Audacy Wichita and both are PDs of their respective stations (Classic Hits KEYN and Power 93.5 KDGS). Sometimes when I think about it, I can’t believe I work with Jack Oliver and Greg Williams. They’re both incredibly smart and have been in the business since I was a kid. And now they are five steps away down the hall.
10. Who were your mentors? Who would you say has influenced your career the most?
Aside from the people I mentioned before, Mark Trotman, Terry Drouhard and Jason Younger all had huge impacts on me when I first got into radio. Mark was my first “boss” and Terry and Jason were programmers that I worked with in my Eagle Communications days who were smart as hell. I could write a book on much I learned from Terry and Jason and not just about radio. These two guys have probably influenced me more than anyone professionally.
Bonus Questions
With an unlimited budget, which 3-5 artists would you pull together for a Buzz Bash show?
Unlimited budget?? Wow….so we’ve left reality and we’ve entered the world of massive hypothetical. How about Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Maroon 5, and Dua Lipa and AJR would open for them!
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