10 Questions with ... Taylor Jukes

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

After graduating college in the early 2000’s, I worked all sorts of radio positions in Canada, in markets like Vancouver and Toronto, experiencing everything from the Street Team, to Promotions, to Music, while also hosting every on-air daypart, steadily building ratings at each. I transitioned to a Program Director about 10 years ago, working in Classic Hits, Alternative and Top40, before becoming PD of the largest Top40 in Canada, Virgin Radio Toronto (CKFM) - where we won CMW’s ‘CHR Of The Year’ Award, multiple years in a row. I was fortunate to be part of the team that launched iHeartRadio Canada, and not long after, went on to run iHeartRadio Content, Promotions and Events for Canada, while at the same time – I started to develop relationships within iHeartMedia US. Started with Y100 Miami (WHYI) in early 2019, when the station was ranked 17th, and today we have rebuilt and grown the station into the top ten.

1. How would you describe your first radio gig?

The most exciting gig a 15-year-old that loved music could score! The local Rock radio station (CKLZ) was advertising a gig for a volunteer Street Teamer, and I sent them my resume about 20 times until they finally called back and let me set up tents at concerts. I went to college for radio as soon as I graduated high school to pursue a career on-air.

2. What led you to a career in radio?

I’ve always loved music. From a young age my father was introducing me to music that was beyond my years, which later helped when I programmed two Classic Hits stations. As a teenager I loved grunge, rock, dance and then the ‘90s Boy Band phase hit – and I knew this was the industry I wanted to work in. After getting a taste of radio at 15, I became fascinated with HOW a radio station was run, and all the departments within. As the years went on, I gravitated to new tech trends, became fascinated with how to grow radio into the Social Media Era, and continued to grow my education in business. I attended Harvard Business School from 2018-2019 for their CORe certificate program on the fundamentals of business, focusing on Business Analytics, Economics for Managers and Financial Accounting.

3. You arrived in Miami from Toronto. Was there any kind of culture shock? Weather shock?

Weather shock, yes. No one informs you that it rains most of the summer and hits 105 in the humidity often! But the winters here are fantastic. As for culture, Toronto is a very diverse city with people from all over the world and so is Miami. It’s a melting pot of amazing individuals – and I continue to learn something new from those different cultures every day. The food (and seafood especially!) is unreal in Miami... and who would have known I love deep sea fishing?!

4. Are things back to “normal” as far as staff being back in the building and studios these days?

In Florida, things re-opened pretty quickly and some of our on-air staff came back to the building after a few months. I love the passion the Y100 on-air team had, to get back into the studio and rock the phones ASAP - something we’ve spent the last two years working hard on, as a team. We’re all about customer service, connection, and being there for our listeners, especially in this tough time.

5. What did you learn about yourself as a programmer navigating the pandemic?

Change is always going to happen, and how you deal with that change (and grow with it), is how you become a stronger leader. We could have paused and waited for things to “return to normal” but instead, I wanted our team to adapt to the realities of TODAY. This could be the new reality (and it has been for 18 months now) so how can we still deliver the best entertainment value and connection to our listeners right now?

6. You’re still on the air—covering a couple of hours in middays on weekdays. Why is it important for you to continue to crack the mic on a daily basis?

I hadn’t been doing a regular air shift in almost 8 years when the pandemic hit. I felt it was important to jump in, to really understand the struggles our on-air team was going through working from home in the beginning, and also experience their content and prep struggles. As time progressed, it was important to answer phones and find out how our listeners were doing, what they wanted to talk about... how they were receiving our product. Not sure if it will be forever, but today, it’s the couple hours of my day, where I get to leave most of the PD responsibilities behind and just have fun entertaining and interacting with our listeners.

7. “Local local local” has always been radio’s mantra. How do you keep your station visible and involved in the community? Have you been getting back out there yet?

When the pandemic hit, our Miami cluster brainstormed how to help the community beyond just delivering the news of what was happening– through free advertising, “shop local” campaigns, virtual appearances by our personalities, virtual concerts, pre-recorded video appearances and remotes. We tried to offer as much of our on-air and online products as we could. When the Surfside Condo collapse happened, our leadership team was incredible at sourcing out donations internally and externally, to create over one thousand care packages for First Responders and Support Services teams on site, who just needed basics like sunscreen, lip balm, foot powder and snacks. It’s been slow to get back to the same levels of event/on-site appearances that we had pre-pandemic, but I’m hopeful we can do that in a safe way soon.

8. Have we heard The Song Of Summer 2021 yet? If so, what is it?

Olivia Rodrigo’s “Good 4 U” is such a great summer anthem, but the new song “Take My Breath” by The Weeknd is going to be huge!

9. What were your favorite stations growing up as a kid? Jock(s)?

Growing up in Vancouver, Canada, I loved listening to KUBE 93.3 in Seattle as it was always that station with a vibe that played a lot more Rhythmic than the Top 40’s in Canada did. Depending on the weather, the signal often came in nice and clear across the border. Later in the 2000’s I listened to MOViN 92.5 create a morning show like no other. Around the globe, Australian and UK radio can be fun, with big personalities that are often a lot more risqué that what we’re used to. Canadian Top 40 morning shows today are very heavily music-focused compared to the US, so I was always fascinated with Z100’s Elvis Duran And The Morning Show. It’s essentially a talk show on Top 40, but with a fun group of characters that offer versatile (and funny) perspectives. Today, I’m honored to work with them on a daily basis – and continue finding ways to keep their syndicated show at the top of Miami’s ratings! (June 2021: #2 A25-54, #4 A18-49)

10. Who were your mentors? Who would you say has influenced your career the most?

So many incredible leaders have inspired me, taught me through the years – and at different phases of my career. Once, as a young on-air talent doing evenings, a General Manager told me I didn’t sound good enough to do middays on our Top 40 station. I was provoked, and within three months, I landed a new gig doing middays in a much bigger market. When I saw him five years later, he recommended me for an incredible position, and told me that five years earlier, it was what I needed to hear at that time. And I always think back to how much I grew from that experience – even if it wasn’t what I wanted to hear at the time. I also have to give so much credit to all of the research and consulting companies I’ve had the pleasure of working with over the years, like Coleman Insights, Strategic Solutions Research, and recently our own Critical Mass Media – I am always so grateful to learn different perspectives, have incredible access to data and learn new ways to approach strategy.

With the FTX Arena at your disposal and an unlimited budget, which 3-5 acts would you pull together for a Y100 Welcome Back Bash?

Only 3-5?!?! Oh that’s so hard! Probably Harry Styles, Ariana Grande, The Weeknd, Bad Bunny and Justin Bieber.