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10 Questions with ... Cat Collins
September 15, 2009
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NAME:Cat CollinsPOSITION:PDSTATION:KYLD WiLD 94.9MARKET:San Francisco, CACOMPANY:Clear ChannelBORN:San Rafael, CARAISED:San Rafael, CA
BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
I started as a jock at KSLY/San Luis Obispo, a jock at KATD/San Jose, jock and APD/MD at WPXY/Rochester, NY, APD/MD WJMN/Boston 94-98, PD at KQKS/Denver 98-2008, PD KYLD 2008 - present.
1. Looking back on your start in Radio, what about Radio from those early days still fires you up today?
Air talent!
2. What stands out the most about your first few days at KYLD?
Growing up in Marin (just across the Golden Gate Bridge from SF), I always thought San Francisco was the coolest city on Earth. I just always looked at the city with total reverence. What stands out the most is my first day, I got to walk through the city to go to work, and it was really cool walking the streets knowing I was going to program WiLD, in my home town.
3. It's been awhile since you've programmed in a small market station. What advice would you give to a small market programmer looking to move up in radio?
Be versatile, do everything! Do air shifts, promotions, music, learn how to program your Web site. Network with other PDs across alot of different companies. Be open minded to new ideas.
4. What did you see as your biggest challenge when you accepted the job as PD at KYLD?
Not to try and do too much, too soon! Take a deep breath, get to know everyone, get to know the competitive landscape of SF radio.
5. How excited are you to be back home near your beloved San Francisco Giants?
Now, they will break my heart from two blocks away, instead of a few states away.
6. You've brought JV from THE DOGHOUSE back to KYLD to do mornings. How did all that go down?
Pete, that is some top secret ish! WiLD was looking for a morning talent when I started, and Michael Erickson (CCSF ops manager) and Dave Pugh (CCSF VP) and I started talking about candidates-JV was the first guy we all brought up!
7. Travis Loughran was APD/MD at KYLD when you came in. Not every member of a programming staff remains on staff after a new PD comes to town. What was key to keeping Travis on board at KYLD?
First, I wanted to give all staffers a shot at staying. I wanted to extend the same courtesy to them I would hope for if I had a new boss come in! As far as Travis, I tried to hire him in Denver about ten years ago, so I was (and am) very well acquainted with his talents. He is smart, loves WiLD , knows the pulse of the market, and has great relationships in and out of the building. In fact, with Travis in place, I was able to focus on the big picture of KYLD from day one, which really helped me get the right staff in place, and helped me get to know my new company quicker.
8. You also brought Chino in from Phoenix for afternoons. How did you get him relocated to the Bay as opposed to voice-tracked in?
Giants tickets...Niners tickets (no raider tix for Chino)...Warriors tickets. Chino is another guy I thought about hiring in Denver! He tracked against KQKS (with now defunct kiss fm) and sounded phenomenal! Chino was telling me the other day, "that is a great lesson for a jock, no matter what the circumstance, put your best out, every day. You never know who might be listening"! So I ended up hiring him 5 years later in SF. I love It!
9. Do you still peek in to see what your old station, KQKS/Denver is up to?
Of course! I was there for ten years-I love the staff over there. Although it's a little weird with us being competitors now. I still talk to Kage (KQKS/Denver PD John E. Kage) about football and life though.
10. What has been the biggest surprise you've found about the move to KQKS to KYLD?
No surprises really. Two things that stand out for me are Clear Channel's digital effort, which is spectacular, and the people I've met at CC. Our digital platform makes it really easy for brand manager's to have great sites, and really easy for the talent to promote and plug in exceptional web content. As far as the people, I've got a tremendously gifted staff, love every one of them! Plus, getting to work with Gene Romano, Dave Pugh, and Michael Erickson has been fantastic, and a great learning experience.
Bonus Questions
It's not easy to talk about PPM in short bursts. Can you give me a quick sentence about any aspect of PPM and how it relates to you?
How it relates to me personally is when we have a good week I love PPM, when we are down, the sample sucks , lol !
Arbitron needs to triple or quadruple their sample, and they need to look at weighting, and in specific capping out the value of a single meter. At this point you simply can't slice a demo and a daypart and get much out of it. For the month of August in SF, the Classical music station was #2 18-34 adults in morning drive. Last week a Vietnamese formatted am station finished #2... just ahead of Classical. They are staging one hell of a fight...Vietnamese and Classical....
What song, in rotation now, always seems to make you want to smile when you hear it on the station?
Hearing Taylor Swift on WiLD. It's amazing how pop culture can turn so quickly.
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