10 Questions with ... Steve Wall

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

KEZE/Spokane; TalentFarm.net, Talk Radio Network; Jones Radio Network; NBG Network; XHTZ/San Diego; KMXV/Kansas City, KDON/Salinas, CA; KKXX/Bakersfield, CA; KWIN/Lodi, CA; KBOS/Tulare, CA; KSKG/Salina, KS

1. How did you become interested in radio?

I dreamed of it when I was a kid on my grandparents' farm in Nebraska. I wanted to be on the air, and used to practice along with the DJs.

2. Who are your mentors?

Allan Hammerel, Radio Ray Pollard, Dene Hallam, Scott Shannon, Rick Dees

3. Besides your own, what is your favorite radio format?

Dance/Top 40

4. How would you describe the music on the KEZE (Spokane's River)?

Wide and deep, a true variety

5. What type of records are you a sucker for?

That's tough, I love music. I liked One Eskimo's "Kandi" at first listen, same with Bob Schneider's "40 Dogs." I guess I could say songs that are "hooky." But I also liked Diane Birch on first listen: it's got an old Carole King/Carly Simon vibe and has been huge for us.

6. How many songs do you have active in your library?

About 750

7. Describe the relationship you have with your MD Marie McCallister?

Marie does have a great ear. She has discovered some cool new tracks and we also play a great mix of older songs that set us apart from every station in town -- and many around the country. She has been schooling me on the Triple A format, while I bring to the table my experience and success with winning the upper demo females from the Hot AC and Top 40 formats. We rarely disagree on what to play -- usually it's just when to stop playing them. They are nowhere near burned out by the time either the labels are over with them or when she's ready to slow them down. That's a challenge for many though...

8. How do you interact with your sales staff? How do you position the station to prospective clients?

We meet weekly and discuss ideas on how to maximize exposure for the station and our clients. We target a higher-educated and higher-income audience, which separates us from many other stations in our market. When you look at our audience composition, there is a little more flexibility with their disposable income. Our sales team works closely with advertisers to maximize their products and services with this specific audience, giving them different types of on-air, cross-promotion, online and event opportunities to choose from.

9. How are you marketing the radio station with the recent change of call letters and dial position?

We started with revealing our new logo via a variety of TV commercials around the first of December, and increased the rotation of on-air promos with each passing week as we got closer to the move on January 1st. We made announcements about the change to our fans on Facebook and other social networking sites. We have billboards that went up the first of the year. We will continue to promote heavily on TV, billboards and on the air at least 60-90 days into the transition. We are VERY fortunate to have the ABC television affiliate KXLY TV 4HD in our building. so the TV campaign is likely heavier than it would be otherwise.

10. If you wanted to completely change careers today, what would you do?

A professional photographer, but for now, that remains just a hobby.

What would surprise people most about you?

That I find one of the most fulfilling parts of this job to be the ability to partner with local charitable organizations and use radio to raise money and help give back to people in our community.

Last Non-Industry Job:

...um, Fox Theatre ~ McCook, NE (1979)

First Record Ever Purchased:

"Kodachrome" by Paul Simon on 45 rpm

First Concert:

Van Halen

Favorite Artist Of All-Time:

Lenny Kravitz