10 Questions with ... Charlotte Burke

NAME:Charlotte Burke TITLE:Program Director STATION:NewsTalk 720 KDWN MARKET:Las Vegas COMPANY:Beasley Broadcasting BORN:Auburn, Indiana RAISED:Angola, Indiana

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

I started out in 1984 as a board op at my local small-town station, WLKI (Angola, IN). I then moved to Fort Wayne, IN and worked for stations WDJB & WFWI (The Fort), I got a big break after about two years and went to work in Miami where I spent a few years doing news and jock duty at WAXY, WIOD, WINZ and Lite FM, I then moved to Phoenix and worked as news reporter and anchor at KFYI, I returned to Miami and was the News Bureau Chief of Metro Networks-Miami. I was hired as a CBS Network Correspondent and Anchor (based in New York City) and after about a year I became the Executive Editor of CBS Radio News, In 2005, I became the Vice President and General Manager of Martha Stewart Living Radio where I helped create and launch the Martha Stewart Channel on Sirius. In 2006, Beasley Broadcasting asked me to help build and launch its NewsTalk station KDWN in Las Vegas.

1. How, and why, did you get started in radio -- why radio?

Radio has always been a huge part of my family's life. My dad, who ran a nightclub and was the leader of a popular local band, had a weekend radio show when I was very little. I always woke up early, got myself dressed and stood by the front door and begged him to take me to the station. He taught me to cue records and stack carts before I could really even read. Then, when I was in middle school, the local station program director met me and kind of liked my voice and told me I could apply to run the board and read the weather on-air (live!) if I was interested, which, of course, I was... but I hadn't even turned 14 yet, so I lied and told him I was (a much more worldly) 15. Over the years, I've dabbled in TV and some other things, but radio and I are like an old married couple who got together as kids -- sometimes you just get lucky and find the right one early. I love what we create using words and sound and music. I love the balance of autonomy and cooperative efforts. More than any other medium - radio shows how much humans need to connect to one another, and I find that deeply comforting and endlessly fascinating.

2. About what are you most passionate?

On a personal level it would have to be Motherhood. It's the longest and hardest and best gig of all. I was a single mom for many years, so my 16-year-old son has spent almost as much time in radio stations as I have. Trying to get it right and raise a good and happy person requires a lot of optimism and passion.

On a professional level, my passion would have to be finding and encouraging talent that just blows me away. When you come across someone who has truly great potential, it's so rewarding. There's nothing I'm more proud of than hiring well and cultivating my crew's talents.

3. You've made the move from national radio -- heading up Martha Stewart's channel on Sirius and serving at CBS Radio News -- to rebuilding a local station from the ground up. What appealed to you about the challenge, and what have been the most interesting and/or difficult things you've faced in the process?

I loved my time working national radio, but I feel like KDWN is a unique opportunity to actually create a "brand-new heritage" radio station. A lot of things just seemed to align to make this station a great place to be.

From day one, Beasley has been dedicated to building a strong radio news identity in a city where that's never really existed. Not many program directors get the kind of support I have to build our news team. On the talk side, I think we have the best local show host in Heidi Harris. We've also received a lot of love from our syndicated hosts. Jerry Doyle is, of course, syndicated - but he lives in Las Vegas and has been so gracious and helpful to KDWN.

As for challenges or differences -- leading at a place like CBS or Sirius is kind of like coaching the U.S. Olympic Basketball team; I was there to strategize and come up with new ideas and plans to make things work, but those guys already handle the ball pretty darn well. I now spend a lot more time teaching and stressing the fundamentals. Also, working directly and closely with the Sales Department is a never-ending learning experience. At a network, you are a bit more isolated as a programmer. My respect for our sales team continually grows as I see the toughness and confidence it takes to be great at that job.

4. Las Vegas is, by anyone's account, a unique market. What would someone from outside the market be surprised to learn about the area, in general and for radio in particular?

Las Vegans are surprisingly conservative. (Note that is a small "c" conservative, not the political kind) There is a sort of mental dividing line between what is the "work of the city" and day-to-day real life. People here don't bat an eye as they drive past huge billboards of scantily-clad women on the route to church every Sunday. There is no denying the vice of Las Vegas, but in everyday manners and public language, Las Vegans are among the most polite and G-rated that I've experienced anywhere in the country. This is also still the Wild West in some ways -- a place of self-made, independent-minded people with a certain "gun-slinger" attitude that I find encouraging. How hard you work and what you can do matters more than who you know or where you come from. Radio-wise, it's a challenging market simply from a numbers game. Between six-thousand to seven-thousand people move to Las Vegas every month. More than half the population did not live here five years ago. That means every Las Vegas radio station is "new" on some level. In one of the most heavily-marketed cities in the world, every radio station has to compete just to get noticed.

5. When you're looking for talent, what catches your ear -- what elements are you looking for when you evaluate talent?

This is so hard to describe. I just know it when I hear it. I think it might actually be a genetic mutant Superpower. And it's all about the ability to connect. Some talent just pops right through the radio, into a listener's ear, and then burrows directly into the audience's brain where they live as a friend, expert, authority, crush, or whatever. I always think that if a listener has a pre-conceived mental picture of what your talent looks like -- then that's a good sign. Sight unseen, they are already a real person to your audience.

6. As a newsperson, you've covered some of the biggest stories in recent memory. What was the most memorable for you as a newsperson?

I think for journalists of this generation, the attacks of 9/11 and the aftermath defined us professionally in a way that nothing else could have.

The shock and subsequent re-framing of what was possible, and even probable, made us all look very hard at the purpose we serve in the newsrooms and on assignments. People might be surprised to know that lots of newspeople don't really like to talk all that much about stories we cover - It's probably a protective coping mechanism. But over the years, I've had a lot of discussions with my New York and D.C. news-employed friends about 9/11 and our coverage, and the stories we told, and what we saw, and the people we met -- and there's an identical look on all their faces when they talk about that time.

7. Who are your heroes?

My mom. She has the best ethical compass of anyone I know. Whenever I get lost, I call her up and she quickly helps me find North again. She's also got a great radio ear and a natural head for the business.

Harvey Nagler of CBS Radio is on the list for his leadership and enthusiasm. He is a great radio programmer -- but it's his people skills that amaze me most. He gets the best out of his people and they love him for it.

President Teddy Roosevelt is number 3. I love that he was all about action and results. He's inspiring to me because he was keenly aware of his weaknesses, but he wasn't defined by them. I love that he was brave enough to lead and strong enough to take the heat that went with the job.

8. What do you do for fun?

I love to cook -- and I love to feed people. To me, there is nothing better than a house packed with my friends for brunch or a dinner party. I'm a fairly big reader. I really like college football and basketball. Just lately, I've been playing a lot of Guitar Hero III and Rock Band video games with my kid... and we are getting pretty good, if I do say so myself.

9. Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without _______________.

...laughing really hard.

10. What's the best advice you've ever gotten? The worst?

The worst advice was from my mother, who advised me non-stop for the first 12 years of my career to quit radio immediately and become a lawyer. Or to quit radio and become a dentist. Or to quit radio and become a circus clown. Basically, to do anything at all, but for God's sake, to get out of radio!

The best advice came from the legendary CBS anchor Christopher Glenn. My first morning ever working with him, I was so nervous and excited that I couldn't keep my hands from loudly rattling the news copy I was holding. Right before we went on the air, he turned around and asked me where my first radio job was. I told him it was in a little town in Indiana. He smiled and said, "Well, Char, those are the same people listening this morning. It's the same job. Don't ever think different." I remind myself of that all the time. I think radio people tend to complicate our work -- we make it so difficult and convoluted. No doubt it's challenging work, but that doesn't mean it's complex. In reality, the craft of radio is beautiful in its simplicity.