10 Questions with ... Jeff Walker

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

Following college, I held a few radio jobs at small stations in New England. Then in 1980, I accepted the night shift at a new station in Wilkes Barre-Scranton: 98.5 KRZ. After five years of nights, I took over PM drive. I did morning drive for a year, hated the hours and shifted back to afternoons, where I have had the #1-rated afternoon show since 1989. I have had little need for moving vans. :)

1) 30 years at one station... that's 210 dog years, and probably even more "air personality" years, as most gigs don't last that long. What are the main factors attributing to your longevity?

I won't leave. Actually, probably the most important factor is that the show keeps evolving. I've always done a full-blown personality show in the afternoon, but in the '80s, like everyone else, I had all the pre-written character comedy bits and then changed with the times to more of a reality-type radio show, for lack of a better term.

2) Lots of jocks pay lip service to community service. You've been known to "walk the walk." Talk about some of the organizations and causes that you're involved with.

Well, in addition to all the station stuff we "volunteer" for, I've raised way in excess of $100,000 with parody CDs that I release periodically from my band, "The Wackjobs." I usually focus on anything local involving children and pets. (Ironically ... I have neither!)

3) Your market is very unique, featuring old coal towns, mountain resort areas and in the East, New York City bedroom communities. What are the significant changes that you've seen in NEPA since you've been there, and how have you adjusted what you do on the air?

The area has grown enormously with so many entertainment venues and big-city luxuries that we didn't have when I blew into town all those years ago. But it's still your basic blue collar, Democratic-leaning area that lives for beer, pizza and the WWE. So to be honest, I have adjusted my show for the times, rather than changes in the area. And it seems to have worked, since the afternoon ratings the last couple years are the highest of my career.

4) Talk about what your co-host Amanda brings to the show.

Well ... first of all, she's the best producer I've had in all my years here. She's funny, incredibly outgoing and full of ideas. And since we are far apart in age and obviously gender, it automatically sets up some fun friction. We love working together and listeners pick up on that right away. She brings lots of great ideas to the table and softens my edginess, which helps keep me out of trouble.

5) Tell us about the KRZ 30th Birthday Cruise.

Fun! But if you're planning to take your trip to some vacation destination, Amanda and I would both strongly suggest you go to a place with a studio designed for that, with engineers on hand. We had to record all breaks and mp3 it back. Tough and time consuming! Sandals is a great example of a place with a good set-up.

6) What makes your station unique? How would you compare it to other stations you've worked at?

We are HEAVY on personality. Yes ... even in afternoon drive! I have the luxury of total creative control in the afternoon and we get very edgy at times, but it works. Also ... for Top 40, we play a lot of Rock due to the make-up of the marketplace.

7) Are you wearing more "hats" than you have in the past?

No! Isn't that unusual to hear? I am only responsible for doing whatever is necessary to make sure 3-7p keeps winning. Honestly, when I read about jocks also acting as PD for one station, voicetracking on another or in charge of promotions, I can only wonder what their show must sound like. A person can only handle so many jobs and it's scary seeing the direction of radio these days with job consolidation.

8) What's the coolest promotion you've been involved with recently?

Well, it's called "Strip and Stick it To Win." And this is a great example of a bit that is perfect for web traffic. We had front row seats for a big show ... we invited three women into our studio. They were then sent into separate private rooms where they were given three minutes to strip TOTALLY NAKED and them emerge from their rooms wearing nothing but KRZ bumper stickers. Whoever uses the least amount of stickers wins. The tough part is you don't know how risqué your competitors are going to get. This year was insane! Two normal-sized girls and one really heavy woman. All three were virtually naked! Talk about website content!

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

I've always admired Dave Ryan in Minneapolis. His show is very edgy and he just seems to come up with topics that make you say, "why didn't I think of that?" A very funny, unique guy!

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

Yes, I love fitness and am a huge believer in P90X. I even made their most recent infomercial and have had the pleasure of featuring Tony Horton on my show for years now. I am also heavily into investing, primarily gold and silver. Not a good radio topic but it's always been a passion of mine.

Name the artist/act (living or dead) you'd love to meet and why?

I am fascinated with song lyrics and am even working on a book that will deal with that, so I would LOVE to interview Brandon Flowers from the Killers. His songs intrigue the hell out of me, but we've have no luck nailing down that interview so far. If Freddy Mercury were alive, that'd be fascinating, too.