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10 Questions with ... Mike Gill
April 18, 2006
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NAME:Mike GillTITLE:Afternoon HostSTATION:ESPN 1450 WKXW-AMMARKET:Atlantic City, NJCOMPANY:Millennium Radio GroupBORN:1/24/1977 - Atlantic City, NJRAISED:Atlantic City, NJ
BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
After graduation from West Virginia University and serving as Sports Director at WWVU-FM, U92, I Started out doing PM Drive at WJSE 102.7 "The Rock Alternative" in Atlantic City, NJ. From there I went to alternative station WDOX serving as the Music Director at the same time I served as the morning show host on Sports Radio 1490 "The Game" WUSS-AM. After that station went under, I did a stint on WMGM-TV as weekend sports anchor, before joing ESPN 1450 officialy on January 2nd 2006.
1. How did you get started in radio- why radio?
I went to WVU to play baseball; after a arm injury and also realizing that I was shorter then all the other pitchers (they were 6 foot tall), I decided that baseball wasn't in the future... playing it, anyway. Upon leaving the team, I asked a friend on a friend on a Friday night what he was doing that evening; he told me he was doing play-by-play for a hockey game. That, to me, sounded fun, so I signed up with the campus radio station that day. And from that point on, I knew I wanted to be in radio.
2. What are you passionate about?
I am passionate about the sound of the station. I dont want to miss a chance to impress a listener with our sound. I do a lot of my own production, and I am very passionate about keeping the station sounding new and fresh.
3. You've been covering sports in Atlantic City for a while, on radio, TV, and in print. What kind of sports interest do you find in AC- what are people most interested in? The Eagles, local sports, other stuff? And why do you think the local minor league hockey team didn't survive?
The AC sports interest is interesting. This is a Philadelphia market, in terms of the fans. However, you get a lot of transplants who work at the casinos who follow the NY teams and some others. So the day-to-day call load is very interesting. But overall, the Eagles are king here.
In terms of the Boardwalk Bullies, I think the marketing effort was poor (a problem with all the minor league teams here), but also there is a lot to do here in AC, and there are a lot of transplants here that don't care about minor league sports.
4. What other talk and sports radio do you listen to?
I started as an intern at 610-WIP/Philadelphia and have always yearned to get back there someday. I listen often and though I can't say I pattern my show after any single one of the hosts, I do like the unique loyalty the listeners have with their hosts. I am trying to build that here in AC... and maybe someday I will be back where I started. I also listen to WFAN, I've been giving WPEN 950 a shot... I like a choice.
5. You did music radio for a while on a couple of Alternative stations in the market- besides the obvious absence of music, do you find any other important differences in sports radio from music radio? Do you perceive any differences in the relationship with the listener (given that talk and sports are used as "foreground" material more than as background to doing other things)?
With sports, the people are loyal and passionate to the host. With music, I think that in a market ike this, the music is the star, not the host. I always say that the best thing about sports/talk is that at my station, I am a TSL machine. You know you're going to hear a certain song at some point, but you're never going to hear what I say again if you missed it. I like music, and my time at JSE was great, but sports-talk is where the relationships are built.
6. Who are your mentors and/or your inspirations?
I interned at WIP and always liked Mike Missanelli and I really enjoy Glen Macnow. I also like listening to Steve Somers on WFAN. A mentor in getting started in radio for me was Jason Ulanet (KRBZ "The Buzz"/Kansas City); he gave me the confidence I needed to both entertain and inform.
7. Of what are you most proud?
That, at 29, I have already done mornings and now have my own PM drive show, "The Mike Gill Show". And the fact that I have been very versatile. I have done Alternative, Oldies, Lite Rock, TV, and written for the newspaper. If you need something done at the radio station, TV station, or written, I can do it.
8. What do you do for fun?
I run the Babe Ruth league here in Atlantic City. I love getting out with the kids (ages 14-15). Every weekend, I love that I can get out and give back to my community and be able to do it doing something I love. I also love spending time with my girlfriend Amy!!!!
9. Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without _____________.
...looking for a way to improve the sound of the station and make us a better station.
10. What's the best advice you ever got? The worst?
The best advice: be yourself. Don't try to be this host or that host, be Mike Gill. The worst? Not sure I have gotten bad advice, but there are sure a lot of things in this industry I have heard that I don't agree with, but, hey, tha'ts radio!!! That's why I love it: we all differ in our opinions on how to make this thing work.
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