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10 Questions with ... Rob Heckman
December 13, 2005
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NAME:Rob HeckmanTITLE:APD/MDCOMPANY:Hearst Radio, Inc.MARKET:Baltimore, MDSTATIONS:WIYY 98 RockBORN:Wilmington, DERAISED:Concordville, PA
RADIO CAREER OUTLINE:
WCHE West Chester, Pa.1984-1989 various shifts, MD and Ops manager
WWTR/96 Rock Ocean City, Md. 1989-1990 part-time
WZZO Allentown, Pa. 1990-95 Part-time then became Promotions Director in 1993
WIYY/98 ROCK Baltimore, MD. 1995-present APD/MD1) What was your first job in radio? Early influences?
WCHE in West Chester, PA. I did the Sunday morning god squad shift. I discovered WMMR in 1979 and was hooked. That station was amazing, what with John DaBella, Pierre Robert, Joe Bonadana, John Stevens, Michael Tearson and Lynn Kratz to mention a few. That place was a factory of talent. George Harris, Charlie Kendall, Michael Picozi. Anita Gevinson, Randy Katz, Tom Robinson, Mark Goodman (who left and went to MTV for launch). I'm still bitter about that (just kidding). I learned a lot from Rick Strauss working with him at WZZO and 98 Rock.
2) What format does not exist that should? Would it work?
All Weird Al all the time and it would not work, too bad. I love that guy
3) What career path would you be following had it not been for this industry?
FCC Commissioner. I would clean up those "Filthy" airwaves. The nerve of Dr. Johnny Fever saying booger on the radio. Doesn't he know that kids are listening?
4) What makes your station or market unique? How does this compare to other markets or stations you have worked at?
The Baltimore and D.C. markets being so close makes it kind of unique in that this is one of the few places in the country that 2 major markets are so close to each other. There are quite of few signals (including ours) that get into both markets. Since I have the chance to speak to a lot of people on the All Access website, I will go on the record and say that BALTIMORE IS NOT A SUBURB OF WASHINGTON, D.C. We have our very own baseball and football teams, and our own Soundscan market. We also have hot chicks, running water, and the crabs are pretty good too. If a concert is coming to DC that doesn't mean that it is coming to Baltimore. We do give tix away for some D.C. shows, though. Just to give you some idea, The Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, VA (which is the shed for D.C.) is 80 miles from our studios.
5) 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?
We installed a 20 second delay system that can be dumped 4 times before it runs out of delay. Need I say more? I even took the word bullshit out of Pink Floyd's "Money."
6) What can we be doing with our station web sites to better our stations as a whole?
Update them on a consistent basis and don't junk them up with a ton of banner ads, pop-ups, etc. A pet peeve of mine is stations that relaunch their websites with a new look and a new U.R.L. and don't remove the old website from the web. That confuses the listeners, especially if you have the old URL book marked. I also believe in streaming. I believe that if your company allows streaming and you're not doing it, you should really think about getting on that right now.
7) How is the relationship between programmer and record label changing? For better or worse?
I didn't know we could still talk.
8) Who is your favorite air personality not on your staff?
Taco Bob on WJRR. That guy always cracks me up.
9) What is your favorite radio station outside of the market and why?
WIP is the best sports talk station in the country.
10) Besides your own, what is your favorite radio format?
Sports talk.
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