10 Questions with ... Miguel Fuller

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

• 2003-2005: Worked part-time while in college at WDMG The Big Dawg in Douglas, GA. I board op a NASCAR race like a champ!
• 2005-2008: I held several positions at Clear Channel/Savannah, GA. I started as an intern, then went to weekend/swing on WAEV (97.3 KISS FM). Once I graduated college in 2007, they brought me on full-time as Operations Assistant and Producer/Traffic for AM Savannah with Bill Edwards on Newsradio 1290 WTKS.
• 2008-2011 - Producer/Co-Host on "That Guy" Kramer In the Morning on WILN (Island 106)/Panama City Beach, FL
• 2011-2012 - Producer/Co-Host on "That Guy" Kramer In the Morning on WSJT (Play 98.7)/Tampa, FL
• 2013-2015 - Morning Show Host on The Miguel Show with Mandy & Holly on WILN (Island 106)/Panama City Beach, FL
• 2015-Present - Morning Show Host - Miguel and Holly on WPOI (HOT 101.5)/Tampa, FL

1) How would you describe your first radio gig?

Radio Bootcamp! After going through promotions and part time board op work, I was offered a full time position with Clear Channel Savannah after I graduated from college. John Wetherbee, Chris Alan and Russ Francis all taught me how to be a detail-oriented worker and to always think in the mind of the listener. I always knew I wanted to be in radio, but I had no clue how much business there was to be done. Even down to writing exciting, creative promos, each person worked with me to get it through my head.

2) What are you doing social media-wise?

Interacting. You can't just talk to your audience; you have to interact with them. I respond to every snapchat, every Insta message. I really do feel like that is the small difference in remaining "live and local." It's not just what comes out of the speaker. That also helps with show prep. Being able to see into the lives of our listeners through Instagram and snapchat helps paint a picture of what they are doing and what they are interested in.

3) What is your favorite part of the job?

Having an impact on listeners' lives. It's so east in a PPM world to lose the soul of what we do. I think Holly and I have worked really hard to be PPM friendly but still have a solid connection with listeners. When we started the show in Tampa I was super nervous that we wouldn't be able to connect because the city is so big and people are so busy. I remembered what Ace & TJ taught us years ago at BITFEST in Charlotte with BitBoard. "People are people. Whether it's a small town in Alabama or a big city with a huge skyline. People just want to connect, be heard and be entertained." Being able to do that through the speakers and through social media is still my favorite part of the job.

4) What is the most challenging part of the job?

Not burning out. We all have this desire to win. We want to keep going, keep pushing until we are number one. Then when you are number one, you want to keep innovating to stay at number one. I've learned over the years that you HAVE to take a mental break from the job. Whether it's getting a hobby outside of radio or making sure you plan a vacation or just a break from work. I always find when I do my daily recharge, through crossfit, I come out feeling clear headed and full of ideas. Before I would feel burned out and creatively spent. We have to learn to take breaks and recharge.

5) What's one thing that would surprise many people to learn about you?

I'm a secret NPR junkie. I've always been a news/political nerd but over the past two years my appetite to learn about off-the-wall topics has grown. I find a lot of the interviews and topics to be surprisingly fresh and different than what you would expect from NPR.

6) What was your favorite station to listen to when you were a kid?

There was two while growing up in Atlanta. 99X with Barnes, Leslie and Jimmy was the epitome of cool. I remember in middle school my friends and I would talk about the pranks and stunts they would pull as soon as we gathered in homeroom. In 2001 when Q100 signed on and Bert, Jeff, Melissa and Jenn came on, it was a game changer. It went from sarcastic funny bits to drama on the morning show. The Bert Show was the precursor to reality TV at the time and I ate it up in school.

7) What is it about our industry that keeps you wanting to do it for a living?

When Holly and I moved from Panama City to Tampa, I had received a message from a social worker. She told me that in all of the years she had worked in that city, she had never seen the gay and lesbian kids walk a little taller. She started to inquire why and she told me that several of them mentioned that they listened to me on the radio every day and they felt like they had a role model in an out gay man living openly and honestly on the radio. Well cue the waterworks! I instantly started tearing up! What keeps me going is knowing that the personality flaws in ourselves that we make fun of and discuss openly with our on air family telegraphs to them that they are not alone. We show them that it's okay to be weird. It's okay to laugh at yourself.

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

Be positive. I've seen some really talented people lose out on gigs because they didn't know how to check their attitude at the door. EVERYONE at the radio station has a million things going on. No one wants to deal with a bad attitude. No matter if you are a part time promotions assistant or a morning show host or PD.

9) What advice would you give people new to the business?

Be open. When I started I knew that I wanted to end up in mornings, but I'm also a super curious person and I wanted to understand everything. I learned how to do music, I shadowed a sales person, I did imaging, I voice tracked for a few months on a station out of my format. Have a road map but be ready to take a different course.

10) What would you like to do to save radio from its "dying-industry" image?

We need to know our worth. We all joke that we just play music and talk for a living but at the end of the day we are the most powerful tool of connection. People don't feel like they know the local newscasters, but they know every detail of our lives. We should always remain humble and hungry but know that we offer something special.

What did you want to be when you were growing up?

My poor Mom had to deal with a child with an over active imagination and crazy work ethic from a young age. When I was in middle school I told my mom I wanted to be a radio host, a TV talk show host, an ice skater and a teacher. All these years later I really can't see how the ice skater fit in there.