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10 Questions with ... Will Sterrett
July 29, 2008
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NAME:Will SterrettTITLE:Assistant News DirectorSTATION:NewsRadio 740 KTRHMARKET:HoustonCOMPANY:Clear ChannelBORN:Moberly, MORAISED:Columbia, MO
BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
I started my career at KWIX-KRES/Moberly MO in 1996, and joined KFRU-KPLA-KLIK-KJMO/Columbia MO a year later. During college I split time between KOKO-KWKJ in Warrensburg, MO and KTXY-KCLR-KSSZ/Columbia, MO before joining Waitt Radio Networks in 2002, where I held several posts on the company's AC Active (Hot AC) format before taking over the PD chair of WRN's Oldies Plus format in late 2005. The following year I moved to the CNN Radio Network in Atlanta before joining Clear Channel at WLW/Cincinnati in 2007 and transitioning to KTRH/Houston this year.
1. How did you get your start in radio- why did you choose radio?
It may seem cliche', but it's true - I didn't choose radio, radio chose me. Both of my parents worked in radio in the 70's, and in fact my Dad began his career at KWIX 25 years before I also started there. My Mom briefly worked as a News Anchor at KSIS-AM/Sedalia, MO, and given their backgrounds this business wound up in my DNA. Although both my folks were out of the industry by the time I was born, they remained friends with the then-owner at KWIX, David Shepherd, and he offered me a position there in the summer of 1996.
2. About what are you most passionate these days?
I'm passionate about several things in the radio industry, but the one common thread they all share is my desire to see the entire industry become stronger. From the bottom to the top, we're all in this business together, and will ultimately sink or swim together. All stations, regardless of format, stand to benefit from a dedication to constantly evolving on-air products which encourages everyone to constantly raise the bar. The way to make the industry stronger is to constantly question every facet of what we do, because that way we find the flaws in our on-air products and fix them.
3. You joined KTRH after working in radio news in Cincinnati, Missouri, and at CNN Radio. What are you finding so far are the differences, if any, in covering news in Houston -- is the experience of gathering the news in Texas different from other places? Is your approach different or the same?
Gathering news is pretty much the same wherever you go; the types of stories differ depending on the market. At CNN Radio we served 2,000 affiliates around the globe, and so a lot of what we did was influenced by (and often times a radio-modified version of) the programming on CNN's television outlets. Cincinnati's news audience is largely interested in the traditional crime-and-fire and community interest stories, but the presence of PPM in Houston requires a different approach. Here our stories are frequently offshoots of other stories - a different angle to an event - which is paying off with our core audience. For example, a couple months ago a transgendered man in Oregon made national headlines by announcing he had become pregnant. That story sparked a question for me - since men have to register with Selective Service and women do not, what about transsexuals? It was a timely question because of the story from Oregon, and a question very few in the audience knew the answer to, so I put together a story on that. It's a new approach to news, dictated by the reality of PPM. (In case you're wondering, Selective Service works off your gender at birth - so a man that surgically becomes a woman could still, theoretically, be drafted.) Bottom line, the newsgathering process isn't as different as the types of stories you work.
4. You programmed music for Waitt before returning to news -- why did you decide to go with news rather than continue with music radio?
This goes back to my early days in the business at KWIX, where everybody did a bit of everything. You would pull a music shift, anchor and report news, cover sports, you name it. It was this type of rounded-style that gave me an interest in all facets of an on-air product and gave me an interest in news. 10 years later I wanted to take my career to the next level, and felt devoting myself to news full-time would be the best way to make that happen. Jerry DeMink and Harley Hotchkiss opened the door for me at CNN Radio, for which I'll always be grateful. In addition, news is generally different day-to-day, which keeps it from getting boring.
5. If you hadn't gone into radio, what would you be doing today?
This is a tough one. In college I initially majored in Speech/Debate Education, and I may have wound up in that environment had I not gone into radio. Now that I've been in the business, if I were to leave I'd probably do something media-related, be it writing for a newspaper or working for a polling company.
6. Who are your mentors, your inspirations, the people you've learned the most from?
Every single person I've worked with has shaped me in some way into who I am. That said, I owe everything to Mark Todd for bringing me aboard at Waitt Radio Networks and making me into the talent I am today. John Ginzkey taught me the art of balancing sales and programming, and Mike O'Reilly, Billy Shears, Nevin Dane, and Amanda Moyer all pushed me to constantly improve my work. Bryan Erickson and Roger Hudson at KTRH have done a wonderful job explaining how PPM shapes our news product. Then there are Randy Hill, Bam Howell, Jesse Tack, Joey Tack and Michael Romeo - the kind of people I met in this business who are friends that transcend radio.
7. Of what are you most proud?
In general, the goals I've reached. I wanted to work in format syndication, which I did for Waitt Radio Networks; for more than a decade I wanted to be a part of CNN Radio, which I accomplished, and I wanted to work in a major market, which I am now doing at KTRH. I'm proud that I've reached the most important milestones in my career.
8. What do you do for fun?
I follow sports quite a bit. I support the oddest mix of teams: Texas Rangers baseball, Mizzou Tigers and St. Louis Rams football, and Atlanta Thrashers hockey. I am a radio guy deep down, so I spend a lot of my off time listening to my favorite talk hosts from around the country. My favorites include Scott Voorhees, Steve Brown and Tom Becka at KFAB/Omaha, Mike McConnell and Scott Sloan at WLW/Cincinnati, Stephanie & Meredith at FM107/Minneapolis, as well as syndicated fare from Neal Boortz, Bruce Williams, Jerry Doyle, and Phil Hendrie.
9. Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without ______________.
My computer. I'm on it first thing in the morning through late at night. Honorable mentions for coffee and my cell phone.
10. What's the best advice you ever got? The worst?
Best advice ever I got from Ken Kujawa, my first PD, back in '96 when he was training me in and said "Just open the mic and talk. The 'radio voice' will come." Simple, yet true.
Not sure what the worst advice was. Fortunately I didn't follow said advice.
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