10 Questions with ... Todd "Shaggy" Gregory

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

I have been doing mornings for over 10 years and in radio for 12. I started as a stunt boy and worked my way up to co-host/producer of Kix in the Morning. I have also done middays and weekend shifts as well as hosting my own Saturday night show in Allentown, PA. I am a listener-friendly personality who believes you must really care about the listener. If you show them that the station cares about them and their community, they in return will support the station. From judging middle school talent shows to helping out the 4-H, I have done it all and seen the effect it has. I love music and the radio business and believe it is my true calling to entertain the people via the airwaves. I have full understanding of The Prophet System as well as Scott Studio. I have good production skills with Adobe Audition and I play well with others. I live my persona 24/7, even as of now being off air for 10 months, the people here know me as "Shaggy" and still call me that.

1) Do you plan on sticking with radio?

Absolutely. I love this business. From a very young boy, I was always playing radio and when I got to live my childhood dream, I knew I was meant to be in this business. (Please don't make me go back to being a mobile DJ!)

2) What has been your best resource for finding out about job openings?

All Access is a great source of jobs, but I also have reached out to the contacts I have made in my 12 years in the business. Connections in this business are so important. You never know when a connection will come in handy on your search for a gig.

3) What is the next job you'd like to obtain?

I would love to be in either the Country format or Classic Rock. Country because I grew up listening to it on those long car rides with dad and grew to love it as I worked in the format for 12 years. Classic Rock is what I listened too in my room with the headphones on, blasting Bad Company and Grand Funk. I know the artists and love the music .

4) How are you finding the "courtesy level" at places you've applied? (Callbacks, e-mails, rejection letters, etc.)

I have received a few e-mail responses and even a letter via snail mail. I wish more PDs would just e-mail you and let you know that they listened to your aircheck and you were not the right person for that job ... OR, better yet, telling you that they love your work and you ARE the right person for the job.

5) With consolidation there are definitely fewer jobs. How do you separate yourself from the pack?

I have developed a persona as "Shaggy" and I am more than a DJ ... I am a personality! Shaggy is a easy-going, fun guy who people care about and people relate to. Having that connection with the listeners kept me in the same market for over 10 years.

6) What has been your biggest career accomplishment?

I would say all the charity work, and being able to use my job in radio to help others. From Saint Jude to sleeping on a bus for Toys for Tots, letting a community know that you and the station care about what they care about will make them want to support you and the station.

7) Is there anything specific that you regret doing while you were still working?

I took my job for granted and once I lost what I had, I realized that I did not stay hungry. There are so many talented people in this business who are hungry. I must always stay hungry. I will never forget that again!

8) 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?

Yes. I was made to be on-air and out on the streets with the people. If the right situation came up I would take less money to be in the business I love. Money is not the key to life (it doesn't hurt), but I would rather have a job that I loved that paid less than a job I hate.

9) Having been through all you have dealt with in this biz, what advice would you give people trying to break in?

Don't get into the business if you're looking to make lots of money. It's a great job for a single person, but a person with a family to raise would have a tough time making ends meet on a radio salary. If you do have the radio bug, offer to do whatever is needed for the station, from being a board op one day and setting up a remote another. Show them you are a person who can multi-task and be a team player. The more you know, the more valuable you become to the station.

10) How will this experience change you when you get back to work?

I will never take my job for granted! With the business they way it is today I must prove myself each and every day. And I am also going to learn and grow in the business ... maybe learning about being a PD or MD and not just an on-air personality ... Be more than I can be! (Did I steal that line from the army ??)

My favorite new diversion is ...

I have been learning to play the drums, and I have acquired my first-ever library card and I'm doing more reading. The more knowledge I have the more valuable I become.