10 Questions with ... Ryan Sampson

NAME:Ryan Sampson TITLE:Sirius Hits 1 APD/ Mornings / Sirius Super Shuffle PD STATION:Sirius Hits 1 / Sirius Super Shuffle MARKET:The World OWNER:Sirius Satellite Radio

Please outline your radio career so far:

WTIV-A/Titusville PA (weekends)
WJPZ/Syracuse, NY (On Air)
WAER/Syracuse, NY (Reporter)
WTSL/Hanover, NH (intern)
WQSR/Baltimore, MD (intern)
WWHT/Syracuse, NY (overnights)
WXYV/Baltimore (nights/music coordinator)
WWMX/Baltimore (nights/MD)
KFRX/Lincoln, NE (PD/afternoons)
Sirius Hits 1 (APD/Mornings)
Sirius Super Shuffle (PD)

1) What's the biggest difference between satellite and terrestrial radio?

In old-fashioned terrestrial radio I spent the majority of my day planning promotions and calculating the sales values of these promotions. Now I spend all day programming the parts of the station people actually want to hear.

2) Some people work in a cluster with five or six or seven stations. You work in one with, like, 120 stations. Is it like the United Nations of Radio up there or what?

It's crazy! There are so many brilliant radio people who all work on one floor, like Kid Kelly, Steve Blatter, Walter Sabo, Gregg Steele and Steve Leeds. But on top of that there are all of these celebrity jocks just wandering around as well. One trip to the bathroom and you can literally bump into Howard Stern, Jim Breuer, Marky Ramone, Martha Stewart, Fred Schneider, Bill Bradley, Judith Regan, or so many others.

3) I'm sure that you miss Arbitron books and trends.

Most of us have spent our entire career chasing share points and revenue. And I can't convey how really freakin' cool it is to come in and spend as many hours as I can putting together the best station possible. When you've been in a job for two years and 5 million new people have shown up since then to put down their money because they enjoy what you are doing, who needs a fall book?

4) Run down your "Morning Mash-up" co-hosts, and provide a brief profile of each.

Rich Davis: He and I went to college together at Syracuse and started out together at WJPZ and WWHT. He's been one of my best friends since we met. When we both worked in Syracuse we joked one day we'd do a morning show together. But to have it actually happen, in the environment its happening, is really amazing.

Stanley T: He has the most impressive resume among us. He did nights at Z100, then K-104 in Dallas, and he had an amazing run at Power 99/Philly in the '90s. He's the senior member of the team, and we point that out to him as often as possible. He's also the most genuine person you will ever meet. Legend has it that he was the first guy to play Boyz II Men on the radio, and they rewarded him by putting him in the video. You can see him as the guy hangin' on the steps in the Motown Philly video.

Nicole (a.k.a. Coley Biggins): When we were putting the show together, Nicole was the receptionist and willing to work for free. Lucky for us she's awesome on the air (and really, really hot). Now she's a fulltime member of the show and the next big female talent out there.

5) You work closely with Kid Kelly. What would we be most surprised to learn about him?

There really isn't enough space on the Internet to tell you every surprising thing about Kid. But before I met him I'd never met anybody who worked so hard and pushed themselves so much. And at the same time he recognizes better than anybody that it is the people around him who keep taking the station to the next level. So he makes it his mission to educate and motivate people, and they keep accomplishing things they never thought they were capable of.

6) How would you describe your first radio gig?

Amazing! I was 17 and I worked for WTIV-A in my hometown of Titusville, PA. It was my job to come in at 6a on Sunday morning and turn on the transmitter. Then I'd play services from the United Methodist Church and Presbyterian Church, and while they were playing I wrote the noon newscast. I talked on the radio four times in a six-hour shift, and I loved every second of it. I also have some great airchecks of those days around somewhere. There wasn't a skimmer in the studio, and my grandparents volunteered to tape me. I told them the times I was supposed to talk, and they ran tape for me. When I would go back and listen I always thought the quality was pretty bad, but it was better than nothing, so I didn't say anything. Then after a few weeks, in the middle of one of my breaks, I heard my grandmother on the tape scream "Oh Dick, watch out!" I found out their tape deck didn't have a radio, but it had an external mic, so they would get in their car, drive around, and hold it up to the speaker when I was on the air.

7) Who is your favorite air personality not on your staff, and why do you like them?

Lynn Samuels on Sirius Left. You need to listen to understand what I'm talking about, but she's amazingly compelling. Plus it's fun to hear a 60-year-old woman with a thick Queens accent repeatedly drop F bombs. Reno at Kiss/Cincy, St. John at Wild 949/San Francisco, Adam Michaels at Y100 in San Antonio, Jessie Jordon at Q102 in Philly, and Dave O at WAPE in Jacksonville are all doing some great stuff as well.

8) Do you have a favorite hobby outside of radio?

I watch a lot of movies -- most of them made prior to 1980.

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

The pay. I took a vow of poverty when I was younger, and I fear I'd burst into flames if I walked into a church, so priest is out. Radio is all that was left.

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

Just do good work, and always keep learning.

What ringtone do you have on your cell?

It's a free built-in tone called Letterbox. You pay 99 cents for an entire high-quality sound file of a song -- but $1.99 for a five-second crappy ringtone version. WTF? Somebody's gotta call bullshit on that one.