Best of 10 Questions... Top 40 Mainstream

As part of our year-end special coverage, we look back at 2021 with the best answers to some of our best questions.

Nikki Brown
(former) PD
WYOY (Y101.7)/Jackson 1/5/21

How has steering the ship during the pandemic made you a better programmer?

Any time that you have to think on your feet you become a better programmer. Reinventing how we deliver entertainment is how we stay relevant. Knowing that we were there to help keep people informed, entertained and getting them through days that were different and scary is what local radio is all about.

James Howard
Regional SVP/Programming
WKSC (Kiss 103.5)/Chicago 2/9/21

How would you describe your first radio gig?

I interned for the Buckethead Show at night on WJRR in Orlando, FL and then eventually got a weekend/swing shift in Orlando. I learned a ton from Jason Bailey. “Buckethead” and the whole team at WJRR were rad enough to show me how to create compelling content. Pat Lynch, Taco Bob, Crash, Sideshow Dan, Dickerman, Rick Everett, and so many others got the start of my radio race off the right way.

JoJo Wright
Afternoons
KIIS (102.7 Kiss FM)/Los Angles 3/2/21

You’ve had amazing interviews and been in some amazing situations, share a couple!

I must admit, I’ve had some wild artist moments. Probably the most talked about is my Michael Jackson cake fight story. Long story short, I hosted a fundraiser at Neverland in 2003, which ended with Michael Jackson smashing cake in my face! After thrashing Nick and Aaron Carter with cake, MJ spun around and there I was, face to face with the KING OF POP! He paused, I blurted “Hit Me Michael”, he responded “Are you sure”.. “YES”!!! I ended up showering in a guest house at Neverland, the entire story is just so surreal. 

One time Ariana Grande approached me the day before Halloween, “let’s take over the radio station and do a Halloween show!” So, the following day (Saturday), snuck into the building, jumped on air (only a few select people knew), surprised everyone! 

And perhaps the most embarrassing, I once accidentally hit Nick Jonas in the “junk.” I went to give him a hug before Wango Tango, unfortunately my laptop bag swung and hit him with such precision that he hit the ground! Absolutely terrible. And hilarious. And terrible. Oh, Demi Lovato was there too. Not my finest moment, but we’ve laughed about it for years now. 

Carlos Duran
PD/Mornings
KOBQ (93.3 The Q)/Albuquerque 3/31/21

What led you to a career in radio?

In my ‘gifted’ class in high school we had an opportunity to intern in careers we were interested in, I picked interning with a police officer (which was pretty insane, Albuquerque in the 90s) and interning at my favorite local radio station, and although I have tremendous respect for what police officers do daily, after the initial adrenaline shot, I felt when I heard my crackling pubescent voice on the radio, I never looked back. I caught the bug.

Gossip Greg (Gregory Hill)
Afternoons
KHFI (96.7 Kiss F)/Austin 5/4/21

Please talk about how an internship opened the door to your career

Back in 2012 when I was working at a Nissan Dealership as a service cashier I was on my lunch break and ran into my favorite morning show on 97.5 WABD in Mobile AL! Well-known heritage station! One thing lead to another and I had lunch with the crew. A week later I was an intern and spent 2 years with the morning show and found my calling in media!

Otis Day
APD/MD/Middays
WIXX (101.FM)/Green Bay 7/6/21

You’re on the air hosting middays every day. Why is it important for you to continue to crack the mic on a daily basis?

WIXX is live all day every day and the listeners know it. We’re a full-service station, and cracking the mic is important for so many reasons. Whether it’s to entertain them, make them the star, or pass along severe weather or traffic, we’re a part of their day. The one word we hear the most from listeners about us is ‘fun.’ That’s great. Anybody can play the same songs. It’s what’s between them that sets us apart. Radio has lost that in a lot of markets. I think it’s time to bring it back. You’ll never be first on new music. Play hits and entertain. Immerse yourself in the community. Local. Live. It’s what radio is supposed to be. I’m thankful we still get to do it that way.

Angie Good
PD
KHOP/Modesto 7/20/21

How would you describe your first radio gig?

My first gig was CHR KNVR/Paradise-Chico, CA, and I can’t tell you how incredibly thrilled I was to work in radio at a poverty level income. I was in love with everything about radio and would have paid them to do that job. Back then, jocks (at your station and within the market) would call you on the request lines when you had a stellar break, made an incredible segue, or we would call to bust each other’s chops over a flubbed break.

As my first PD, Tom Kelly was leaving his position, he left a note on the studio door that said “strive to be the very best you can be, every single day, especially when you don’t feel like it, that’s how legends are made.” Basically, if you’re sick or having a bad day, nobody cares, set it aside and dig in, don’t phone it in. I still have that memo.

Taylor Jukes
PD + CHR Brand Coordinator
WHYI (Y100)/Miami 8/10/21

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.

Christopher “Sweet Lenny” Barber
Brand Manager
WZOK/Rockford 10/5/21

What led you to a career in radio and where did the Sweet Lenny moniker come from?

It started very young for me. It was something I always knew I wanted to do. I remember the summer I was getting ready to enter high school being asked by my Great Grandmother what I wanted to do when I grow up and telling her that I wanted to “Be a DJ.” She told me to think of something else because that’s going be very hard to accomplish. To this day, I’ve used that as a reminder to never let anyone tell me what I can and cannot do.

The name? Oh, that’ll have to remain a secret. When you get Steve Shannon for the 10 Questions, be sure to ask him.

Kristen Havens
PD/Middays
WQLQ (Live 99.9)/South Bend 11/16/21

“Local local local” has always been radio’s mantra. How do you keep your station visible and involved in the community? Especially as we move forward in a post-pandemic fashion?

During the pandemic we adapted right away. We ran “shop local” campaigns to help community businesses, did virtual broadcasts and interviews, and created new entertainment content online and on air to stay visible and involved. We have still adopted much of those things, but we’re also back out there in the community face to face as much as possible, safely, at a distance. Notre Dame is big here especially during football so doing tailgates and being part of that crowd. Any other community events as much as possible, as well. Partnering to fundraise with local organizations is important, especially right now as there’s still a lot of recovery happening from the pandemic.