10 Questions with ... Fitz Madrid

NAME:Fitz Madrid TITLES:Afternoon Driver STATION:KUPD MARKET:Phoenix COMPANY:Sandusky BORN:San Diego RAISED:San Diego

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

KCR, KIOZ, XHRM, KISF, WRKO, KWHL, KMXB, WJBX, KUPD. I've also worked at the county hospital in San Diego and at Hooters!

1) How have the recent FCC regulations impacted the way you program your music and the station's dialogue on the air? What are your feelings about these recent changes?

To me, the worst aspect of the FCC's resistance to issuing clear guidelines has been the emergence of the "Human Shield" contract where announcers are held solely responsible for the paying of any fines generated by their performance.

Not only is this death creatively, it's chicken shit of the companies to offer up their employees to protect their stockholders without dramatically increased compensation. And I've not heard of a single announcer who went from $27.5k to $120.6k after signing one of those pieces of shit. What announcer is getting 100% of the ad revenue generated during his shift? So why should any company ask an employee be 100% responsible for fines that can come at any time for seemingly any reason.

As an aside, I think that announcers waste too much time talking about how fair or unfair the lack of guidance from the FCC is. This is the world we live in, and all of us kind of do have a sense of what is too far. Whether or not the people we work for have the same sense is questionable, but I think we all kind of know.

2) How do you feel terrestrial radio competes with the satellite radio and Internet these days?

Radio competes with those mediums in the same way it competes with other radio stations: listener by listener, quarter-hour by quarter-hour. Satellite radio isn't going to supplant traditional radio because the product isn't significantly different and, in many very real ways, it's worse.

Internet radio will become a real danger to radio when, and only when, in-car Internet is as common as cellular. That, to me at least, has the potential to be a significantly better product.

3) What was your first job in radio? Early influences?

After college radio at San Diego State University's KCR, my first job was intern to Cyndee Maxwell at KIOZ. She and Greg Stevens showed me how radio works, and I'm very thankful for the insights they shared.

The first "great" DJ I ever meet was Peg Pollard. Peg kicked ass. After Peg, the biggest influence on my air work was Todd Kelly (http://www.indie1031.fm/shows/tk.php). Todd was the first radio nerd I ever met and he changed the way I thought about announcing.

Kevin Stapleford, Don Nordin (http://1077sfr.com/), and Michael Halloran (http://www.fm949sd.com/station/lineup.cfm) have been big helps.

4) What makes your station or market unique? How does this compare to other markets or stations you have worked at?

KUPD is a very fertile ground for air talent. Many of my ideas that had been dismissed out of hand in other places are wildly embraced here. And some of them have even worked.

The quality of the other announcers here is unbelievable; rock solid 24/7, and it's inspiring. With everyone else being so good it drives me to try even harder. The first time I heard Larry McFeelie I knew I was in a whole new ballgame and it really fired me up.

5) What do you view as the most important issue facing radio today?

The Wal-Mart effect of Clear Channel. Like Wal-Mart, Clear Channel can bring better quality of product (radio) to places where it was previously unavailable. But at the end you a Wal-Mart in your neighborhood now and all the local things that made your town interesting have gone away.

This can either good or bad.

Good in that good sounding stations are now available in small markets but bad in that you can hear exactly the same station in several dozen small, medium, and even some large markets.

6) What is the biggest change that you'd like to see happen in the business?

I would like to see fulltime overnights return. All announcers need a place to work out the kinks of their trade and overnights was that place. Now the entry level position in radio is sales or promotions and the things that make a good sales person or a good promotions person aren't the same things that make a good air talent.

7) Who are your favorite four air personalities not on your staff?

Laura Lee (www.98xonline.com), Scott Riggs (www.slacker.com), Jeff Zito (www.99xwjbx.com), and Michael Halloran.

8) Most of us have known or even worked for a "colorful" owner/GM/air talent. Care to share a story? (The names can be changed to protect the innocent).

I worked for George Tobin several years ago, and George kicked ass -- one time literally. It made me like him even more.

9) What's been your biggest disappointment in radio today?

The recent settlement between a handful of the chains and the FCC over payola is a huge disappointment. What we now have is its payola with out the "pay" and just the "ola" part.

The issue was that some artists were getting airtime they wouldn't have gotten without consideration and now some artists are going to be getting airtime that they wouldn't have gotten without government intervention.

If in the past it was record companies with money overly affecting airplay, it's now record companies without money overly affecting airplay. Either way it's out of the broadcasters' hands, which is bad.

10) What is the one truth that has held constant throughout your career?

Be nice to people. And be careful who you work for.