10 Questions with ... Mia Amini

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

From street teaming to programming to movies to starting my own branding and digital media company to winning the Georgia Broadcasters Best On-Air Personality award in 2016 -- I do it all. Radio stops have included my hometown Atlanta; Ft. Wayne, IN; Fargo, ND; Minneapolis; Bismarck, ND and I got out of the cold when I came to Savannah, GA! The key to a radio career is knowing how to do everything.

1) Why do you like radio?

I love radio; it’s a relationship with the ups, downs, drama, time you put into it, the sacrifices you make to do it! Radio is fun, it’s always forward momentum so you can’t get stuck in looking back a lot. Radio is constantly reinventing itself; as the world has changed, so has radio. I love that radio is a safe place for geeks, for comedians, for the weird, different and if you are brave enough, you can be yourself. In radio if you do it right, your station becomes something bigger than you -- from the music, imaging to promotions that blow people’s minds. In radio, you become part of people’s lives. You go to work with them, you graduate with them, when they get married you get invited, when they have a baby they send you pictures on the text line, or when they go through loss they call you. Radio provides a true personal connection that is missing in a lot of other areas of life. 

2) Did you find radio or did radio find you?

Radio found me twice. The first time in college I interviewed to work for Fox Sports, I got hired on to provide production support for  two TV shows and a radio show. Shout out to Sean Mooney for the gig that led to me helping with live-game day coverage with ABC and ESPN! I enjoyed the craziness of running around to get the perfect segment, shot, audio, mic placement. I knew I would be a sports and entertainment attorney after that gig and that’s what I set out to do after I graduated from the University of Arizona. I went home to Atlanta to relax for a few months before planning to start law school. Lo and behold, I ran into the great Atlanta station 95.5 The Beat one Saturday while going to pay my Sprint bill and I asked if they were hiring. By the following Friday I was a street teamer for WBTS. I turned down two full scholarships to law school and dove head first into music.

3) Why didn’t you stick with something in the sports radio & TV area?

I realized that sports chairs did not open a lot. If you wanted to get a gig you were usually waiting for someone to retire or pass away. Plus, I wanted to be the woman that negotiated the deals and the contracts. I wanted to be the female Jerry McGuire. I knew with my people skills and fondness to business anyone I represented would have had a life plan long after sports.

4) You really love music, don’t you?

Music will always be my first love, best friend and companion. I get lost in music and it is such a universal language. You can go anywhere on the planet and people are singing “Bad and Boujee” or “Shape of You.” People think the world is falling apart and I think music is the thing bringing everyone together! Watch a crowd sing “This Is How We Do It” or “24K,” there is a connective magic only music can provide. I am planning my wedding and the biggest part of the day is who is performing and what Atlanta DJ was going to rock the reception.

5) Who are or has been your greatest radio influence?

I have tried to learn from everyone I have ever worked with. Lee Cagle, my first PD, built a station that sounded like Atlanta and celebrated Atlanta artist. The lesson-your station should always sound like and be wrapped up in your local environment.

Phil Becker -- he is a RADIO GOD, Phil’s ear and ability to build hit stations and identify talent are Radio gold. Phil thinks big and his swagger is not manufactured, the guy is always on what is next. The lesson -- keep your ears and eyes open, hire smart, talented, forward thinking people who are unafraid to be different and stand out.

Janice Whittemore -- she was the first female OM I ever met in the business of radio! A woman leading things excited and inspired me. Janice took me from a talent to a programmer. With Janice, I learned how to win as a woman in radio to fight for getting paid, for doing good business deals, how to make your station connect 360 from client to listener. Plus, she always reminded me not to be “plastic” -- if I was going to win be real and be honest in every pursuit.

Gabe Reynolds and Gigi South -- Gabe gave me the green light to come home to Georgia and Gabe has supported every endeavor I took on. Gabe gets the performer part of me and that’s nice that you have a boss that believes in and supports creativity. Gigi is my constant reminder that women can be anything they want to in the business of Radio. Many times, a woman’s ambition or desire to be more than a co-host or midday girl is seen as against the grain. Gigi lives in major transactional business brain all the time. I like business, I like doing deals and I like making money.

6) What is your definition of talent when it comes to air personalities and how do you grow that?

Do you hear their smile when they talk? Do they make you laugh? Do they stand out when they walk in a room? Are they relatable, do they evoke emotion? Do you walk away from that person going I can’t wait to hang around you or see what you are going to do next? If you answered yes to those questions you have found talent!

The only way to grow talent is to build them up to be the best versions of themselves. In radio, too often people pride themselves or shutting down personality or finding fault but when a personality feels like they can be themselves and won’t have someone blowing up their hotline you get the magic. You aircheck to give feedback but always start with what they are getting right. Treat talent like the stars they are and a little bit of ego/swag/confidence should be embraced they have to believe in themselves first before expecting the listeners to.

7) Do you think an air talent can make a difference in ratings?

Yes, my afternoon guy Shark is the man of afternoons in Savannah. Shark gets people on the phone they crack up, we have a crazy popular baseball team the Savannah Bananas and Shark is the voice of the Bananas. Shark brings in local celebrities including Anthony Lanier a Washington Redskins NFL player and it adds to the texture of the station.

8) What are your career plans?

I am in a great spot literally in Savannah, GA. My next big goal is to make Savannah radio history with G100 The Throwback Station while starting a family. I want to be a great programmer, a great wife and mother. You won’t find me looking to hop to another market. I’ve done big markets and small markets. I feel lucky to be a programmer in the same state where I was born and started my radio career.

9) How important can social media be to terrestrial radio?

Everyone is now a content creator 24 hours a day! From videos to listener snaps people love being connected and want to feel like they know you. Social media strips down a lot of walls sometimes too much and you have to figure out where your place is in a world of Tweets, Instagram pics and Facebook LIVE videos. If you follow G100/Savannah you are going to see us showing off our listeners, our city, our events, what we are giving away, highlighting local DJs and artists. We are still working every day to grow more on social media.

10) What do you know now that you wish you had known in the past?

That women in leadership are valuable in radio. I know this because I have worked my butt off but during the journey people will take hits, make you question yourself, may not include you, may put you down and you have to be okay with that. You have to sit in your skill set and trust that being different is good. With so many stations targeted to women it is baffling why there aren't more female programmers who know firsthand what they are looking for when it comes to promotions, music programming, how busy a woman is and how to create, quick, fun content for her. I would tell any woman entering the business she deserves to be where she is at and to strive to management in radio.

Would you share with us somethings about you that might surprise people?

I once did mornings because Phil Becker asked me to. It is God awful getting up at 4a to go to work.

I left the radio business for a while and I’ve learned it’s normal. There is no one golden path to success.

Rick Dees encouraged me to pursue my radio career. I was a waitress at an Atlanta restaurant and I walked up to the table and there was Rick Dees, he said, “You have a great instrument keep doing what you are doing” plus he left me a $250 tip. To meet the guy you listened to your entire childhood was pretty amazing!