10 Questions with ... Jason Griffin

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

I've spent my entire career at KBIG (104.3 MyFM). I started off simply enough in the Promotions Department in November 2005. Soon after, I became the "Red Carpet Guy" for the Charlie Tuna Morning Show. I was soon producing segments and running the board for a few different shifts. In August of 2007, I become Program Coordinator. One month later, KBIG flipped to "MyFM" and I have been here ever since.

1) What Got You Interested In Radio?

It was more music than anything else. I have always loved music and when I was younger I really wanted to own a record label. This seemed like the closest way of getting to that!

2) Who do you consider your radio mentors?

Dave "Chachi" Denes. He got me into this business and I appreciate everything he has done for me and all he has taught me. But I have also been lucky enough to work with some amazing programmers, specifically Andrew Jeffries and John Ivey and they have also taught me a lot.

3) What makes your station or market unique? How does this compare to other markets or stations you have worked at?

Los Angeles as a city is so diverse. I will always remember something I was told by a professor in college that Los Angeles has the second highest Spanish speaking population of any city in the world. Only Mexico City is larger. You add to that to the many other groups of people and you have a mix that you really can't find anywhere else in the country. LA has such a great cultural mix and amazing to see on a daily basis.

4) Is Arbitron's Personal People Meter (PPM) currently available in your market, or in a neighboring market? What are your thoughts on this new ratings technology?

I think that PPM is a great technological advance over diary, but it still has its flaws as anything does.

5) What approach do you take after a soft book?

We do the exact same thing we do after we do well. We go right back to work. It's like Public Enemy once said "Don't let a win get to your head, or a loss to your heart." We take everything in stride.

6) How much leeway do you give your jocks to talk between records?

If they mention something that is pertinent to the listener, then it can usually be overlooked. But talking just to talk is never a good thing.

7) How is the relationship between programmer and record label changing? For better or worse?

I think we are in a good place right now. We understand what labels need, and they understand that we are trying to put the best product possible out there for our listeners. It's all about common respect.

8) 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?

Our music meetings are anything but weekly and normal. We do music meetings when we get new research in, or we feel that our station is sounding too stagnant. Andrew and I will sit down and discuss how much movement we should make, and what sounds good for us at the moment. The chart is basically just a reminding tool for us.

9) What do you view as the most important issue facing radio today?

Even though I think terrestrial is the best music product, the influx of musical competitors is the most pressing issue.

10) What is it about your station that you feel really makes it cut through?

I think the music is the thing that stands out most. We are not polarizing in either direction which is good for the whole.

1) What career path would you be following had it not been for this industry?

I definitely still would have been doing something in entertainment. Before doing radio, I was in television production. So possibly that would be my path, or maybe movies or music? Who knows?

2) What's the best hire you've ever made?

I really can't take credit for all of the hires, but our team of Producers like Vanessa Hale and Tim Frasier do a phenomenal job with our station.

3) Besides your own, what format would you like to program and why?

I would love to do a Rhythmic CHR or Top 40 station. I love how fast paced those formats are and the influx of new music that they get to play and experiment with.