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10 Questions with ... Tom Calococci
May 26, 2009
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NAME:Tom CalococciPOSITION:OM/PDSTATION:WPOW Power 96MARKET:Miami, FLCOMPANY:Beasley Broadcast GroupBORN:Boston, MARAISED:Boston, MA
BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
Programmed: KKBT/Los Angeles, KBXX/Houston, WERQ/Baltimore, WBOT/Boston, and KJMZ/Dallas. Also West Coast Regional Promotion Manager for Jive Records in Los Angeles.
1. What was your last non-Industry job?
I worked for a bank as a teller a long, long time ago (in a place far, far away!).
2. Why Radio?
I like the creative opportunities that come with radio. I love music and I love that no two days are the same. Plus, while radio gets very little to no respect these days - especially from the labels as they lobby congress for a performance fee for starving artists (Lol, I guess they forgot our "partnership" that I used to hear about at all the conventions) - radio STILL has the power to break music, transform communities, and create media stars. I used to love the fact that radio was live and spur of the moment, but of course over the years things have changed a bit and that spontaneity is harder to come by. Another reason for radio, it was easier to break into than television and movies!
3. What's the first thing you do when you walk into your office in the morning?
Check my e-mails (which I actually start checking from home in the morning), read all of my daily trades and blogs and prepare for the day. I'm one of the lucky ones who has a local morning show and I meet with them every morning for close to an hour when they get off the air. I really enjoy the challenge of getting the best from my team and from the show and watching them grow. For me, it's the one thing I love most about my job!
4. What animal would best describe you as a person and why?
Who are you, Barbara Walters!? I'm a dog. I work hard, I'm loyal and I love having my leg scratched...
5. You spent a number of years in the music industry at Jive. How did your experience on the "record side" influence you when you returned to radio?
It gave me a better perspective of how radio is used. When you begin to eat, sleep and drink radio it's easy to lose sight of the realities of life and radio consumption. While it's important to be passionate, I've seen programmers get crazy over things that, at the end of the day really didn't have an impact one way or another. This was pre-consolidation when radio battles were heated and stations watched their competitors like a hawk - to a fault in some cases. When I returned to radio I promised myself I wouldn't get caught up in some of these ego-driven frustrations. It really comes down to a matter of being focused on the right things.
6. What was your biggest surprise upon going to work in record promotion?
That most promotion reps are good people trying to make a living! Before that, I thought most people who worked on the label side were self-absorbed, sleazy hype machines.
7. We tend to talk a lot about the biggest influences in our early careers. Who's made a big impact on your career in recent years?
In recent years, unfortunately no one, which is sort of sad. I think a big reason for this is that there is less opportunity for programmers to stand out and influence the industry. Although, Bill Tanner is someone I've wanted to work with my entire career and he's the reason I'm at Power 96, so I would have to say I guess you could say he has. Early in my career it was the late Sunny Joe White. Also, Mary Catherine Sneed and Jerry Clifton have had a big impact on my career and shaping me as a programmer.
8. If you could add 30 minutes of solitude in your office everyday...how do you think you would spend it?
Sleeping. Just kidding... Reading. I love to read about current events, politics and issues affecting our industries.
9. You're given a mulligan on your senior prom...who would you take this time?
Denise George. We would have had a freakin' blast!
10. If you were to leave Radio today and you could choose any other occupation, what would it be?
That's a tough one. I really love radio and worry every day about where we're going as an industry. Most companies are so focused right now on survival and not breaching loan covenants that we're not paying attention to what we should be doing, especially for formats that target a young, active listener. We need to continue to evolve what we do, how we do it and embrace new technologies to maintain the interactivity that has always been radio's strength. Radio is the original "social network" but we've been caught up by a perfect storm - new technology, too much debt, and a tanking economy. I've seen less and less emphasis on programming and as that has diminished so has radio's fortunes. Of course, this is not solely due to less programming influence, but can you imagine if Sony all of a sudden decided to eliminate or put less emphasis on research and development? If they had just stuck with the original Playstation, which was extremely successful, then where would they be today? Take a look at Apple. Why has that company been able to thrive when everyone else is struggling? The product, plain and simple. And the iPod that you buy today is not the same as the original iPod that came out in 2002, just 7 years ago. How much has radio evolved or changed in the last 7 or even 10 years?
Bonus Questions
You are driving across country. Each night in your hotel room you have to watch the same 2 TV shows (different episodes each night). What 2 shows would they be?
Fox's new drama "Lie to Me" which stars Joe Roth. It's a smartly written, very well acted, intelligent and entertaining television. We need more of that and less reality crap. And the other show would be the Sopranos! I miss Tony and his clan. By the way, the Fox Television network totally gets it! They are cutting edge, original and take very well calculated risks with some of their programming. Meanwhile, the other networks are sort of like the radio industry - doing much of the same thing that they did 20 years ago and wondering why they're losing relevance.
Miami has been the setting for many TV shows. Which do you think best characterizes the Miami you know?
Cops.
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