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10 Questions with ... Top40 Mainstream
December 10, 2019
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10 Questions with ... Top40 Mainstream
This week, we look back at 2019 with the best answers to some of our best questions.
Chris 'Decipha' Hernandez
PD
KALV/Phoenix (1/29/19)
You've been at the station for close to 10 years now. There's been a million changes in everything from music delivery to social media engagement and on and on. What would you say is the most significant change that you've dealt with in that time?Music delivery will always be one of the biggest changes. In the last 20 years we've seen music mediums shift from CDs to streams. How we discover music and retrieve music is something that will always change. Knowing what the next big thing will be and understanding how to measure it will always be an ongoing challenge. However, social media interaction and engagement can help be a key indicator of where the trend is heading.
Jeff McCartney
Top 40 Brand Coordinator/PD
KZHT/Salt Lake City (2/12/19)
You've been at the station for over 21 years now. To what do you attribute your longevity in Salt Lake City?A lot of things but quite honestly, it all starts with the people you surround yourself with. Most of my 21 years here have been spent with KZHT. Frankie Corrigan, who does mornings was part of the original team we put together back in 1997-98, is the only one who has been here with me the entire time, but the tenures of the others are just as impressive: Jessica hosts mornings with Frankie, while AJ does afternoons. Both have been here since 2005. Katie Sommers has shared a portion of middays with me since late 2011. Elizabethany has held down nights for six-plus years now. The longer you've known someone, the greater the chance you begin to fully understand and relate to them. It's true not only of our relationship with the listeners, but my many years working with the staff. It amounts to more than two decades in the case of KZHT.
Many of our listeners have grown up with this station and its personalities. They are invested in us because we have invested in them. That starts with a relationship built on trust and honesty. When someone like Frankie spills his guts out on the air, he builds an incredible amount of equity with the audience. One of the most memorable examples of this was when he and his wife Tammy used in vitro fertilization during the birth of their son Axel. As an influencer, he shared this most personal experience with the audience. They were along for the entire ride and many of them could relate to having difficulty conceiving. That presented us with a very unique opportunity: Use our partnership with a local fertility clinic to increase one lucky couple's chances of having a child. That is what great radio is about in my mind. Over time, building an incredible bond with the audience that rivals that of the competition, other platforms included. You don't create that overnight of course, but time and consistency brings strength to the product from both a music and talent perspective. I have seen it firsthand in research studies. While we own the hit music position here; it's our talent that truly set us apart from the rest. When the morning show is out of the studio for a broadcast, listeners come out in droves to see them. You'd swear Frankie was the mayor! Consistency and longevity are two of the most important drivers of our success in my opinion.
Priscilla Kinkaid
APD/MD/Air Personality
KHKS/Dallas (2/26/19)
What has been your proudest moment in radio?I'm proud of breaking the barriers. When I first started in radio, I was told that I wouldn't last long because I was a single mom and wouldn't have time ... No one starts in a major market, even if I did, I would have to move ... That opportunities weren't there for women in radio. I'm proud to say I made all of those things happen. Not because it was handed to me, or because my dad was in radio, but because of me. I worked for what I have accomplished and what I will accomplish in the future. Don't let anyone tell you "you can't do that" for any reason. Barriers are meant to be challenged and broken. All of those things made me work harder to prove them wrong
Robbie Mack
Brand Manager
WJFX/Ft. Wayne (3/5/19)
What's your take on the state of the union as far as music goes for the Top 40 format these days?2018 was rough, and I say that despite having our two best ratings periods in a long time in 2018 on WJFX. I'm hoping we turn a corner in 2019. One of the biggest things I think we did in 2018 that helped us was sticking true to what a good Top 40 station does...play the best music from multiple formats. Top 40 always gets into trouble when it has "too much" of one particular sound, particularly when we are in an "extremes" cycle and the pop core is lacking. A Top 40 station is a station for variety. The variety is in the different mix of songs we play. We were very early on "Broken" from Lovelytheband. That sounded like a Top 40 song right off the bat for me. We used dayparting to our advantage and gave a good amount of spins to "Have It All" from Jason Mraz during the day. That was probably a head-scratcher for some, but it had a catchy, care-free, memorable hook, and it sounded great last summer on the air.
The same listener who loves the latest from The Chainsmokers, also loves AJR, Post Malone, and Ariana Grande. We have a wider playlist than many of our fellow Top 40's. A year ago we were playing 22 currents outside of overnights. We made changes in March 2018 that paid off. I'm presently at 29 from 6am to Midnight, with some dayparting. Some will obviously disagree that tighter is better, but we are playing the songs that make sense for us and giving people a wide taste of what's popular and it's working well for us.
Zann
Afternoons
KBKS/Seattle (3/26/19)
You're coming up on your one year anniversary in Seattle. Is doing afternoons on 106.1 KISS a dream come true?The latest transition in my career has been a dream in the making for almost a decade. If we're being quite frank, I always thought working for iHeart was out of my reach. When I started out in Philly, I remember there being a clear battle between my station and iHeart. In that moment I kind of figured out that iHeart was truly the radio company to beat. As far as doing afternoons for iHeart in Seattle? I've had a lot of people try to stick me in other dayparts that just weren't for me. But, had I not done them, I'd never have known I wasn't into them. Being given an opportunity to do afternoons in a market that I fit into and for a company that I've always wanted to be part of is definitely part of a dream coming true. The continued support I have from iHeart is what's helping the ultimate "dream" come true. As a female in the industry it's also cool to be in a daypart that has had a limited female occupancy until recently.
Jay Whatly
Afternoons
KRUF/Shreveport (4/30/19)
You have one of the all-time great "got my foot in the door" radio stories. Please share the details.This is easily my favorite "radio story" to tell, even 12 years later. When I was a sophomore in high school, I made a collection of "battle rap songs" that aimed at our rival high school. The other school had students who made songs about us in response. We would post them weekly on our MySpace pages, and both schools would get behind their guy and vote on a winner. It's so embarrassing looking back on them because they were all absolutely terrible. In a weird way, though, they were the greatest things that I ever did. A friend of mine from schools father was the OM at GAP Broadcasting/Shreveport at the time, and he heard the songs and absolutely loved them. Shortly afterwards, my friend introduced me to his dad and we just hit it off. He asked me if I wanted to apply for a job with GAP, and considering I had recently applied to work at a grocery store, I quickly said yes and went to work. I've been here in this building ever since.
Mallie Delgado 'Mallie D.'
Morning Show Co-Host
KGOT/Anchorage (7/16/19)
You were Miss Alaska! What was the pageant experience like?When I competed for Miss Alaska 2014, I had actually never competed in a pageant before ... I was anticipating the stereotypical catty girls, but on the local and national level, I never experienced that. I consider myself very fortunate to have had the best, kindest and most intelligent women in my Miss America class!
Big Reid
Nights
KMVQ/San Francisco (9/3/19)
You've been doing nights at 99.7 NOW for a year now. Looking back at that year, is there one thing that stands out that you didn't realize about yourself as a jock?That I care about my listeners more than anything. I'm not trying to sound corny; this is a real thing. I knew going into this and already having experience doing weekends that I was going to become familiar with the people and build that friendship. But in the last year, I have become super-close with a lot of my listeners. I try my best to be there for them even when I'm off the air. I'm available 24/7 if they need someone and I know they appreciate that.
Skywalker
APD/Afternoons
WSPK/Hudson Valley (10/29/19)
You're closing in on 20 years at K104. First of all congrats! Secondly, what are some of the things that you attribute your lengthy success to?Solid leadership at a consistent company. As well as performing. I totally realize what I experience at K104 is the exception and not the rule. I will ride the wave as long as it will have me. I can honestly say I am as engaged and passionate now as much was on day one. I am constantly looking to improve myself and complacency is not part of my D.N.A.
Zac Davis
Sr. VP Programming/Entercom
Richmond-WRVQ PD (11/5/19)
You wear plenty of hats, overseeing 7 stations. What kind of time management tips would you be willing to share?It's all about having the right mindset. No two days are the same, and you never know where or when something is going to need your attention. So I find it best to just go with the flow each day expecting the unexpected. You can't be too rigid about your plan for the day because inevitably you will get pulled off task and you can't lose your cool when that happens. A good number of my staff have told me (after the fact) that they were surprised I didn't go off on a teammate or a colleague in a meeting when/if they were difficult, and I remind them that's counterproductive, and that cool heads prevail. I like to treat teammates the way I would want to be treated. Having patience with each other and working to achieve the best solution for the brand, the client, and the listener is the ultimate goal. Lastly, identify those teammates you know you can rely on and depend on and be sure to recognize their superpowers. Learning to delegate is a very important part of time management. I have experienced Program Directors here which allows me to entrust them with our brands. Mike Street oversees our Urban and Country outlets and just won a Marconi Award for Medium Market Personality of the Year! Gregg Henson is our News/Talk and Sports Specialist and has WRVA and The Fan on great trajectories. Zach Vaughn is our Rock guy and does a great job with our Alt brand.
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