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10 Questions with ... Brooke Fox
December 12, 2006
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NAME:Brooke FoxTITLE:MD/Morning Co-HostSTATION:KKRZMARKET:Portland, OROWNER:Clear Channel
1 How would you describe your first radio gig?
I would describe it as bitchy... meaning my last radio station had an "all female" airstaff. Yes, the men reading now will think that was radio suicide, but we won big! I promise to refrain from my "girl power" moments throughout the rest of these questions.
2 What led you to a career in radio?
I graduated from the University of Montana with the plan to go into TV news. Until I got a "real" job, I was working part time at a Spokane TV station and living at home. I needed some more hours so I could escape the wrath of living with the parents. There happened to be an opening as a sidekick on a radio morning show in the same building as the TV station. I auditioned and told some horrifying story about how I wet myself in the JC Penney dressing room in 6th grade because I couldn't get out of a complicated bathing suit. I got the gig and have been publicly humiliating myself ever since.
3 What is your favorite part of the job?
The listeners. It may sound cheesy, but having someone tell you that you make them feel like they are hanging with their best friends every morning, is an amazing thing. Radio is one of the last medium that still has the ability to be truly part the community and really move people. I get a thrill out of that power.
4 What's one thing that would surprise many people to learn about you?
I teach hip hop. Yes, the white girl from Idaho can dance.
5 Could you give us a little insight into your on air staff?
They stink. No, I mean literally. I spend 5 hours a day in a small studio with 4 boys. Dover, the producer, is our non-committal producer who has no manners because he was raised with only males and hasn't had a true girlfriend since High School. He does however think he is the smartest man alive because he can give you the answer to any useless trivia question. Buck, the host, is a preacher's son from the south with lofty ambitions when it comes to career and love. He is extravagant in his material life and paranoid in his personal life as shown by his love for security cameras. He likes to play big brother to the other boys in the studio and teach them the "ways" of radio and, of course, women. Chase is our afternoon guy. He is sensitive and sweet. His tough act is pretty transparent, just ask his girlfriend (Yep ... he's the only one at the station that has been able to settle down ... a little). He works hard and is really coming into his own at the ripe old age of 24.
6 You're involved with your station's HD channel. Can you fill us in?
HD is terrestrial radio's way of battling Satellite radio. The concept is pretty simple (although I don't know if you can tell from the advertisements). Instead of paying for a monthly subscription, buy one receiver, at one cost, get your favorite local radio stations on a great signal plus double the music with twice as many channels. Our HD format is Independent Rock. (A little bit of an oxymoron, I realize, since we are Clear Channel). It's all music, no commercials, and imaging about every fourth song. I try to play at least 2 or 3 local bands an hour. The idea is to cater to the local music lovers in Portland. The more good local music I can play on "Undie100," the more they will tell their friends who love their band about buying an HD receiver. The one thing satellite doesn't have is definitely localism.
7 What was your favorite station to listen to when you were a kid?
KZZU (and in secret I loved Delilah). I once confessed that to a friend in 7th grade and quickly learned that AC wasn't considered "cool."
8 What music do you listen to when you're not working?
I'm the queen of the mix-tape. Right now in my CD player is Mindy Smith, Nikka Costa, Missy Higgins, Lily Allen and Ryan Adams on "Brooke's Car Jams #47." At the gym today, I cranked Kanye West "College Dropout" and in my stereo at home is My Chemical Romance.
9 What is it about our industry that keeps you wanting to do it for a living?
On-air, it's unpredictable and creative. It pushes me to constantly evaluate my life, my city, my country, my culture, causes me to question what common theme lies behind each story, what can relate to the listener, how do I communicate it in a way that entertains, is what I'm saying right now better than the music I could be playing.
Off-air, radio is evolving even faster. How do we compete in a world where people are given thousands of choices daily? Why would they listen to my radio station when they can get music on-line, from satellite, off CDs, MP3 players, cell phones, even just watching a TV commercial? Trying to answer those questions is really exhilarating. Plus, there are still those moments when you're backstage at a concert or raising food for a food bank or talking to a High School class on career day where you think to yourself... "I have a REALLY cool job!"
10 What advice you would give people new to the business?
Say yes to every opportunity to learn, ask smart questions and listen.
Bonus Questions
For someone vacationing in up your way, what would you tell them to check out?
The Northwest is amazing! You would have to hike Multnomah Falls, visit the Oregon beaches in September when the crabs are crawling along, get driven to the wineries in the valley (not driving is definitely the key =0), board Mt. Hood, actually see Mt. Hood and Mt. St Helen's on a clear day, buy a bumper sticker that reads "Keep Portland Weird," marvel at the lack of umbrellas in a city that is a rain forest, and go to a concert at the Crystal Ball Room.
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