10 Questions with ... Taylor Morgan

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

• WCCG/Fayetteville (Urban AC) Mornings/Gospel announcer
• WZFX/Fayetteville (Urban) MD/Middays
• WUKS/Fayetteville (Urban AC) Middays/Promotions Dir.
• WUKS/Fayetteville (Urban AC) PD/Middays

1) Weren't you involved in the music industry prior to radio?

Yes! I worked as a songwriter/producer (Shelley Morgan/Morgan & Morgan) "back in the day," as they say! I was signed to MCA Publishing through late great music producer Kashif and his "New Music Group." I worked with Kashif, Meli'sa Morgan, Melba Moore, Johnny Kemp, Stacy Lattisaw, Gwen Guthrie, Brenda K. Starr, Jennifer Holiday and others.

Most fun Moments in Music:

Singing the demo for a song recorded by Whitney Houston ("Where You Are)" and being at the studio for her recording. She complimented me on my demo and of course ripped the song to shreds!

Co-writing a song that received a Grammy nomination - "The Movie Song" (Kashif)

2) Do you still write music?

Funny you should ask that ... I hadn't been writing for some time, but I've been getting quite a few song ideas lately... faith focused-songs! I've been getting up in the middle of the night and recording song ideas, so I don't forget them!. Praying for direction on my next move with that!

3) How long were you an air-personality before programming?

I was an on-air approximately the first 10 years of my 20 years in radio. I started as a Gospel announcer at an indie station (WCCG) - hired by owner, Dr. James Carson to do a 10-hour shift (6a-4p) every Sunday. It was long, but I loved it! I had a blast pulling CDs from the wall and learning to 'hit the post;' I played everything from Mississippi Mass Choir and Dottie Peoples to BeBe and CeCe Winans! I got two breaks during the shift as I played two 45-minute messages from local pastors on cassette! Several months later I was asked to join Garrett Davis as morning show co-host. I am so thankful for those days! I was there about a year-and-a-half, then joined the Beasley Media Group. I was hired at Beasley to take over middays on WZFX ('Foxy 99') when the awesome Renee Vaughn moved on to Greensboro. It was a Friday and I needed to start on Monday. I was terrified! I had to learn all the new systems over the weekend and be ready to roll; did I mention WZFX was the #1 station in the market? No pressure, right? It was an incredible opportunity to grow! I was asked to serve as MD for WZFX for the next four years. I later requested to move next door to WUKS (KISS 107/Old School 1077JAMZ). Honestly, that was 'my' music ... I did middays there and served as Promotions Dir. for another four-and-half- years.

4) What's your approach to radio?

We have two customers/clients ... The community listening to our programming and the advertisers who foot the bills and must get results! Take care of them both!

5) Are there ways a personality can learn to be more effective on-air?

Remember we are 'blessed to impact thousands' on any given day. As people listen on a regular basis and get to know who you are; you become a 'trusted voice' in their world. Never take that for granted and work hard to maintain their trust. Be sure what you share is accurate as well as engaging.

Keep your finger on the pulse of the community you serve. 'Serve' is the operative word here. In other words, find out what is important in and to your community. Weave those elements into your show. For example: If you live near a military installation, include ways to acknowledge or honor local military families during your show.

Learn everything you can about the format - music, artists etc. -- This is the first thing that you and your listeners will have in common.

Let listeners know you are just like them. Talk about real life stuff, funny family stories, like sharing 'what my daughter got in trouble for,' or pranking my husband live on air for April Fool's Day! Bring listeners into your world as you campaign to be a part of theirs!

Finally, relax and have fun!

6) Who were your mentors?

Mom and Dad my family and Bishop Larry O. Wright Sr.! 'Love God, love people and live a life of integrity'!

Dr. James Carson, who gave me my first opportunity in radio ... Thank you!

Garrett Davis taught me the power of connecting with your audience. We did a local morning show together and he voiced a character named 'Otis Cleppwater.' Otis was an 'Old School Mack from way back' who reached in his 'Dust Bag' to find the 'records' listeners requested! Garrett is a playwright and super-skilled in portraying different characters. He brought Otis to life! Listeners fell in love with Otis and regularly requested to 'meet' him. They stopped by the station and dropped off gifts, pies and more to this character they really believed existed. 'Otis' connected to our audience through humor as well as the artists and music 'he' featured as he regularly took listeners down memory lane.

Bobby Jay (Jr.) is my radio Papa! He taught me radio basics along with music scheduling, setting up clocks, and the science of radio. He also emphasized the importance of connecting with your community!

Mac Edwards/Paul Johnson - My goodness, where do I start? These gentlemen were my faithful 'go to' guys for advice!

Jeff 'Uzi-D' Anderson is a brilliant programmer! He taught me the importance of station imaging, protecting the station brand and doing everything in excellence!

Tap Money - Tap continuously coached his team into the next level of greatness! When he made the move to Miami earlier this year, we were happy for him, but our entire team was a sobbing mess for days.

DJ Drocc - My brother in radio ... In his presence I learned invaluable lessons about selflessly going above and beyond what the job requires while maintaining a humble spirit!

Finally, I am picking up some awesome do's and don'ts from my newest mentor - the legendary Jeff Foxx (WBLS/KISS FM/Sirius Radio and his fun, new syndicated show 'Sweet Soul Weekend')!

I am so grateful to them all!

7) How do you see the future of radio?

Well, although radio has a lot of competition for listeners there is nothing like local radio done right! I believe it will remain intact; how we integrate it with digital and other outlets is where it gets interesting. For example: Our area recently suffered greatly when Hurricane Florence came through. Our team knew exactly what we had to do and worked hard to prepare our communities for the storm. Our announcers brought air beds, food and flashlights to work and hunkered down in the building for 2 two days. We encouraged everyone to download our apps ahead of time to maintain a way to stay informed in case they lose power. (If it's safe you can charge your phone in your car). The storm was brutal. We were using our generator for power the entire time; we even lost power at a couple of our station's towers and the police eventually evacuated our building for fear of potential flooding! That did not stop local radio ... oh no! Our teams of announcers went home and continued to give updates on the storm, shelters, community feedings and more using our smartphones to record and 'Dropbox' and 'Box' apps to share interviews, instructions from county and city government officials, etc. with our sister stations. We continued to upload audio to our live streams (apps) until power at the towers was fully restored. These things are only accomplished by a team of local radio professionals who are committed to the community they serve. In this case, the marriage of radio and digital assets was amazing.

8) You mentioned writing a book, what else do you see in your future?

Yes, I am writing a book. It is a faith-based book geared toward helping people overcome fear. So often I have dealt with fear in my own life (and I'm still learning how to prevail) I want to share what God has laid on my heart and how it has helped me. I believe I will venture back into songwriting/recording - once again, supporting my faith as well as voice overs.

9) How do you view office politics?

Dealing with office politics is interesting. Although some situations cannot be avoided, my golden rule is to treat each person with respect ... real true respect. Be courteous and take the high road. Many times, earning basic respect can help to diffuse things before they start.

10) What's the most important thing for a PD going into a new situation?

If you are going into a new situation talk to everyone -- teachers, truck drivers, folks at barber/beauty shops -- community leaders, mail carriers, co-workers. Take every opportunity to find out everything you can about what's been going on and how things are done ... move forward from there.

What is one of the funniest things you ever experienced in radio?

Oh boy! It's got to be the old classic mistake many years ago I left the mic open and I continued a call I was on before my break; co-workers were breaking their necks to get to the studio and let me know. I was so glad because I was telling my best friend all about the 'new' guy in my life ... and he was listening. I never did that again ...

Name one of your favorite show features/benchmarks.

"Noonday DJ." I came up with this to give our listeners a chance to introduce their own favorite songs and the memories attached to them (those they could share anyway). This was big fun for all listeners; we targeted community leaders, judges, county commissioners, local business owners and more. Everybody has favorite songs - plus it's sponsorable.