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10 Questions with ... Jeannine Jersey
March 23, 2009
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NAME:Jeannine JerseyTITLE:PD/AfternoonsSTATIONS:WTICMARKET:Hartford, CTCOMPANY:CBSBORN:Silver Spring, MDRAISED:Annapolis, MD and West Chester, PA
Please outline your radio career so far:
WTIC/Hartford, CT - PD/MD/Afternoons - 2001-present
KVUU/Colorado Springs, CO - APD/MD/Afternoons - 2000-2001
WRXS/Salisbury-Ocean City, MD - PD/MD/Afternoon Drive - 1998-1999
WWFG/WOSC/WSBY/Salisbury-Ocean City, MD Promotions Coordinator/On Air-1998
WZWW/State College, PA - Public Service Director/Production Assistant 1997-1998
WGMR/State College, PA - MD/Morning Show Talent - 1995-1997
WEHR/University Park, PA - Air Talent - 1994-19951) What Got You Interested In Radio?
I love, love, love music, and I grew up wanting to be a recording artist. I sang and played piano. I quickly realized that I wasn't going to be a rock star, so I decided I would be the person making other people famous instead. When I was a freshman in college, one of my friends said they needed jocks for the college station. I signed up and within four months, I was the PD at the station. So, I changed my major and the rest is history.
2) Who were your early influences?
Brian & Brian at B-104 in Baltimore, John Lander at Eagle 106 in Philadelphia. I interned with Jeff Cushman, and I used to look over his shoulder and watch him do Selector when he was at WOSC in Ocean City, MD. And I can't forget Kevin Callahan at KVUU in Colorado Springs!
3) What makes your station unique? How does this compare to other stations you have worked at?
We have heritage personalities on our station. Our morning show has been with us 27 years, our afternoon driver has been here close to 18 years, and our midday girl has been in the market for over a decade and a half, which is unheard of! We have a very established crew, doing what they do, and doing it well.
4) What other stations and markets do you monitor?
Stations in New York and Boston (since we're sandwiched between the two). If something is working there, it usually works here a few weeks after they start playing. In terms of promotions, I think that cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas are on top of the female friendly and lifestyle types of promotions.
5) Describe your weekly music meeting: A) What is the process when you listen to new music? B) Approximately how important by percentage is gut, research, sales, video play, and chart position when determining the status of a record?
We used to have weekly or bi-weekly meetings with a stack or records and two different kinds of research, and we'd listen to everything and just hash it out. Now, it's a little more informal since we are all wearing so many hats. Sometimes, we even just discuss music as we pass each other in the hallways. We do look at the research, and my defacto Music Director Ryan Jones helps us out a TON. We also look at what is going on in the different formats. At least twice a month, we do sit down and talk about what we discussed in the hallway.
6) What research tools do you use to program your station?
We've segued into exclusively using online research. Our online research gives us an idea of what our P1's and our more active listeners are liking. With online research we learn what is happening now and in the future.
7) Have you explored launching an HD Radio channel?
We have an HD channel. We simulcast our AM station. I think that HD could be huge if it catches on because it is a better sound quality and there is a variety of content with Talk and Sports. It's just doing to take a while.
8) What do you do in your spare time?
I've been helping out with the Habitat for Humanity to rebuild New Orleans. We just started out the "Strength In Numbers Foundation" and we are tying in a media day with the station. If you want to join in for a great cause, you can find out more at http://www.strengthinnumbersfoundation.org.
9) What's one thing that would surprise many people to learn about you?
I sing in the choir at my church with The Asylum Hill Congregational Church Sanctuary Choir! I've been singing my entire life! I still tinker on the piano, and occasionally, I'll do an open mic night with a friend, just for fun.
10) Where do you see radio in five years?
That's a tough question considering the past six months. I'm an eternal optimist, and I believe radio will dig itself out and find a way to come out of this slump leaner and meaner despite our limited resources.
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