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10 Questions with ... Kevin 'McKay' Mangan
June 8, 2009
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NAME:Kevin 'McKay' ManganTITLE:APD/Afternoon DriveSTATIONS:WKZY 106.9MARKET:Gainesville/Ocala #81COMPANY:Pamal BroadcastingBORN:9/15/86 Lowell, MARAISED:Amherst, NH
Please outline your radio career so far:
WJYY (105.5)/Concord, NH - (2003-2006)
WAPE (95.1 The Ape)/Jacksonville, FL - (2006-2009)
WKZY (106.9)/Gainesville, FL - (2008-Present)1) How would you describe your first radio gig?
Rewarding... Kevin Hilley took me under his wing when I was 12 years old. He let me sit in on his show a few times at WJYY and I was hooked! Once I was 16, Harry Kozlowski, AJ Dukette and Nazzy hooked me up with a morning show internship at WJYY. Nazzy made me more than just his coffee b*tch. He let me read the winning lottery numbers, do commercial tags and be a regular part of the show. After a 6-month internship, AJ and Harry let me do weekends. I then moved to nights for a 3-year period.
2) Who were your early influences?
Oh boy? Where do I begin? In no particular order: Kevin Hilley, Nazzy, Dale Dorman, Jackson Blue, Romeo, Rick Dees, etc.
3) How did you get your present job?
Matt "The Bratt" Derrick, our PD at the time, was humored by my email saying "Dear Sir" and thought he should take a listen to my stuff. After a quick bribe, he hired me for my first full-time gig! I was thrilled!
4) What career path would you be following had it not been for this industry?
Probably firefighting or dispatching, I did both of those for an on-call fire department for a few years in New Hampshire.
5) Describe a typical day in your position?
I do a lot of the organizing here. I do promotions, imaging, sweep floors, I help in production, I baby sit the automation system if need be (Audio-Vault likes to stop working... a lot!) I deal with whatever else needs to be dealt with. Then I do my air-shift!
6) For someone vacationing in your market, what one thing would you say they "must see"?
The University of Florida. I'm not a big college sports fan... but the locals BLEED orange and blue. Seriously, I've donated blood and the guy next to me was orange and blue, creating a purple color, almost like LSU. I hope his friends didn't find out! But the campus is HUGE and GORGEOUS! The state takes a lot of pride in how the university looks.
7) What do you view as the most important issue facing radio today?
You have to be willing to SPEND money to MAKE money and put pride in your product by hiring excellent on-air, sales and promotions staffs.
8) What are your thoughts on Syndication and Voice-Tracking?
I'm not a big fan, but in this current economy... it's a way of life.
9) What other stations and markets do you like to monitor?
WXRK (92.3 NOW-FM in New York, WQAL (Q104) in Cleveland and Mix 98.5 in Boston, and of course my competition Kiss 105.3 and 98.5 KTK!
10) Where do you see the industry and yourself five years from now?
Hopefully the industry will be on much more solid-ground and well established with new technology. I hope to be PD in a medium market.
Bonus Questions
1) What do you do in your spare time?
I read a lot of news stories from back home, I listen to other stations around the country, I scope out fire fighting news from New England and head out on as many weekend trips as possible.
2) Favorite artist you have met?
Kelly Clarkson and Gavin DeGraw. Both were very down to earth and humble people!
3) Do you have any good stalker stories?
Her name was Barbara. She would call me EVERY TIME I was on the air at WAPE and invite me to come visit at her half-way house, have me rub her feet, and she said she would make me her "killer" veggie soup. She finally dropped off a bowl of the veggie soup one afternoon while I was filling in on middays. Don't worry, the soup was NOT consumed!
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