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10 Questions with ... Matthew Arnett
November 18, 2008
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NAME:Matthew ArnettLAST WITH:KPPT/Newport, ORPHONE:(609) 377-4482
Please begin by giving us a brief career history ...
I was a morning show producer for KOME/San Jose when I was hired to host mornings for KTYD/Santa Barbara, where I was #1 in every demo. I moved on to KQCR/Santa Barbara, then KJFX/Fresno, then Boise, then Bakersfield, then returned to the San Francisco Bay Area to do mornings for KXFX/Santa Rosa. After a successful two years with #1 ratings, the cluster was sold and I moved on to host mornings on WZXL/Atlantic City, where I won an R&R Industry Achievement Award for being nominated as Rock Personality/Show of the Year.
1) What do you do to maintain a positive mental attitude and stay motivated?
This is a subjective business. Not everyone is going to "get" what I do and I really want to work for someone who "gets" me, so I put out my stuff the best way I can and wait until someone hears what I hear. I figure that will be the person I want to work for.
2) How are you occupying your time, besides looking for a job?
I'm a Regional Marketing Executive for Marriott Vacation Club International. I'm using my one-to-one communications skills to send people on great vacations. It is a great job that comes with lots of travel and free golf.
3) Some people get discouraged or enlightened with the business when they actually step out of it for a while. Tell us your observations from the outside.
Radio is in panic mode. There is too much fear and not enough invention.
4) Do you plan on sticking with the radio industry?
Only if I can find the perfect situation where the management would appreciate my talent and let me perform. For more than a decade I have been doing the Matthew In The Morning show ... and I'm really good at being Matthew. At 'ZXL, one of the consultants told me I should talk about NASCAR. Unfortunately, I think car racing is a waste of fuel, so talking about it, like I like it, would not work for me. Ultimately, that was one battle I won, but they had three other people telling me what I should or shouldn't do ... way too many cooks. I need to work somewhere where they let talent be talent and salespeople focus on selling.
5) What's the craziest thing you've ever done to get a job?
I wanted to work for a program director named Fred, so I posed as a homeless guy in front of the radio station with a sign that read "Will Work for Fred."
6) What is the next job you'd like to obtain?
I would love to be the host of the Matthew In The Morning show. My name is Matthew. I think I would be perfect for it.
7) What's the most unbelievable question you've ever been asked in an interview?
"I think you have great Rock 'pipes,' but maybe not Alternative 'pipes'."
8) Are you spending as much time listening to radio as you used to?
I just bought a new car with XM Satellite radio so I'm listening to a lot of shows I never could hear before, like The Monsters, Lex and Terry, Opie and Anthony and Ron and Fez.
9) Is there anything specific that you regret doing while you were still working?
I was listening to O and A say that their departing boss was the only one in their career they ever listened to -- and they didn't even listen to him all the time. It made me think that I should have stuck to my guns a little more, but I too often caved on issues and took directions I knew to be wrong just because I was afraid of being fired.
10) If you were offered a similar position to what you were doing for considerably less money, would you seriously consider taking the job just to stay in the biz?
No. I'm working (for Marriott) now, making good money, and my wife and family are happy. For the same pay I'm making now, in a heartbeat ... but not for any less.
Bonus Questions
What's your handicap now that you've had time to practice?
I shot a 75 today. I have lowered my handicap index to 6.5.
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