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10 Questions with ... Mike Karolyi
October 3, 2005
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NAME:Mike KarolyiTITLE:APD/MDSTATIONS:WCCCMARKET:Hartford, CTCOMPANY:Marlin BroadcastingBORN:Winsted, CTRAISED:Winsted, CT
Please outline your radio career so far: (station/date, station/date, etc.)
WBIS Bristol, CT. 1986, Traffic Reporter 1986-1988. WCCC 1986-today.
1) What led you to a career in radio? Was there a defining moment, which made you realize "this is it"?
I have always felt that there are two main reasons that people get into Rock Radio, one reason is a desire to do bits and comedy and the other reason is because you have a passion for Rock music. For me it is my passion for Rock music that led to a career in radio. I tried my hand at playing guitar but learned very quickly that I have no musical ability whatsoever. So how do I get into the music business? For me it was radio. The fact that I have interviewed nearly every band that I grew up listening to is so incredible to me. I am very lucky.
2) 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?
WCCC, like every other radio station, has made some changes to our programming due to the recent FCC regulations. I have been with WCCC for 19 years and there was a time when the phrase "Bullshit" in Pink Floyd's "Money" was safe to broadcast. We didn't get complaints. Nobody seemed to be offended by it and, for the most part, it was accepted by our listeners. Today we cannot take the risk of airing the song as it was originally recorded. Aside from the editing of the songs we have stayed true to our style of broadcasting. We feel it is important to take the necessary precautions but not change the sound of WCCC. I don't think the everyday listener hears a different radio station since the FCC regulations have impacted radio.
3) How do you feel terrestrial radio competes with the satellite radio and Internet these days?
It doesn't cost anything to listen to WCCC. You can listen to us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and keep your money in your pocket. We play requests for our listeners. We give our listeners tickets to shows happening in our state. We are here for our listeners around the clock and our entire air-staff is from Connecticut. We are the listeners.
Instead of "terrestrial radio" and "satellite radio" the labels should be more exact like "Free Radio" and "Pay Radio".
4) What's your take on current music? Is it as good as six months ago, better, or about the same? Elaborate.
I have heard many people complain about the state of rock music and how bad the songs are. Stations are cutting their play-lists in half and dropping currents because musicians cannot write songs anymore? In my opinion the music today is just as good as it was 6 months ago or even 6 years ago. I think there are two things going on here.
1. Programmers are relying too much on "research". What ever happened to using your ears and going with your gut? WCCC has never used a consultant. WCCC has never done call out research. We haven't done research of any kind and we have had tremendous ratings for more than 7 years now. We have good ears and we use them to listen to the songs as well as our listeners. If we like it we play it. If the listener likes it the song stays. If the listeners don't like it the song is gone. It really is that simple. I wonder sometimes if too many people in our business over think everything.
2. I think we are going through a change musically. When the format goes through a change not everyone looks at it as a positive. Two years ago the WCCC play list was dominated by the likes of Korn, System of a Down, Static X, etc. Today you will still hear those bands on WCCC but the play list is now dominated by bands like Staind, Foo Fighters, 3 Doors Down, etc. That doesn't mean the songs aren't as good it means the climate has shifted a bit.
5) What's the best concert you've been to so far this year and why?
Ozzfest is my favorite concert so far in 2005. For the WCCC staff Ozzfest is a holiday. Every jock is on site doing interviews, stage announcements and meeting the listeners. The performances are almost secondary but not taken for granted. We got to see Sabbath, Iron Maiden and about 20 other bands all in one day. There is no other rock event that can touch Ozzfest.
6) What was the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you at a remote?
This isn't something that happened at a remote but it is radio related. I had a comedy club sponsor for a feature I was airing. In an attempt to find a different way to promote the club I decided to call them posing as a comedian, by the name of Shecky Slatts, and asking if I could get an audition. During the call I would tell very bad "knock knock" jokes and just harass them. Needless to say they didn't want anything to do with Shecky Slatts. At the end of the week I went to the comedy club to see the show. In between two of the comedians the host for the night began introducing a "surprise" guest comedian. "This guy is here direct from Las Vegas. Please welcome Shecky Slatts!" They put a spotlight on me and the host was gesturing for me to come up on stage. I was in total shock. I tried looking around as if I didn't know who they were talking about but it was no use. They were waiting until I came up on the stage. So I hit the stage and the host didn't reveal the joke he decided to just leave me up there to fend for myself. Well, I had nothing to say. My mind was totally blank. What seemed like 30 minutes later the host came up and explained what had happened and I returned to my seat. I have since stopped telling "knock knock" jokes.
7) 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).
WKRP would still be on the air if they used all the stories that came out of WCCC.
A number of years ago our morning show ran a blind date feature every Friday. One Friday this girl came in and was going through the process of choosing her blind date. During a commercial break one of our jocks came into the studio and started hitting on the girl. After talking for a while the jock left and the dating game resumed on the air. Everything seemed to be fairly normal until one week later when the girl called back in for a report on how the date went. The girl says the date didn't go very well but it wasn't a total loss because she would be going out with the jock that hit on her during the commercial break. She didn't want to give the jocks name but our morning guy had to know so he kept asking until she finally admitted who it was. As it turned out the jock was not only engaged to be married but he was engaged to be married to a girl that worked in our offices. This made for an interesting day on and off the air at WCCC.
8) How often do you do remotes and which work best for the station?
WCCC is on the street all the time. We do concert broadcasts, bar remotes, baseball game remotes, etc. I would have to say our concert broadcasts work best for the station. We incorporate clients into the broadcast and we are truly in our element at a concert. We consider what we do at concerts to be the "show before the show".
9) How do you market your radio station?
WCCC is "Independent radio". We feel we are lucky to be owned by Marlin Broadcasting and we let the listeners know that we are not corporate. We do not voice track. We have jocks on the air around the clock to play their requests. Another thing that we feel is important to our listeners is the fact that all of our jocks are from Connecticut. We are from the same towns they are from and we go to the same shows they go to.
10) What led to your station's recent ratings increase?
WCCC has had strong ratings for over 7 years now. When we were bought by Marlin Broadcasting there was a Modern Rock station, a Classic Rock station and WCCC in Hartford. Over the past 7 years the Classic Rock station got out of the rock business and became "The River" and the Modern Rock station became an Urban station. That leaves WCCC as the lone rock station in Hartford. The biggest reason for our success is that we have fun on the air and the jocks are allowed to be themselves. We are not restricted to reading liner cards and frontselling currents. WCCC jocks are smart and have interesting things to say so why hold them back?
Bonus Questions
What is your favorite TV show?
Curb your Enthusiasm
Favorite artist you have met?
Aerosmith.
Name the artist/act (living or dead) you'd love to meet and why?
Any member of Led Zeppelin because they are THE greatest rock band of all time.
What was the first song or full-length release you purchased?
"Destroyer" KISS
What do you do in your spare time?
Spend every minute with my wife and son.
Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without ...
playing with my son.
What has been the station's biggest accomplishment?
Remaining independent.
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