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10 Questions with ... Ron Chavis
September 22, 2020
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BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
I’m a freelance Radio and TV Commercial Producer, Director, Writer, and talent. I have been fortunate to have received both the Silver Microphone and Telly Awards.
My radio history spans 3-decades and includes #1 ratings as show host at major market FMs...including: WKLS (Atlanta), KZOK (Seattle), WAMO (Pittsburgh) and KRNB (Dallas).
In 1997, I founded the advertising/multi-media production group, Chavis Sterling Media Partners, before returning to Radio in Dallas, in 2006 at Service Broadcasting.
Three years into show hosting at Service Broadcasting, I started double duty, when I began simultaneously working for Cumulus Media Network as a show host there and also voice-imaging for over 100 stations in the USA on their Westwood One Radio Network.
My radio career began at ABC's WDVE FM in Pittsburgh, which is also the city where I also held my first job in TV, on the set of PBS's Mister Rogers.
1. What’s it like working that many different formats?
It’s all about the listener. Human beings share common feelings, interests, and desires, no matter the music. As a show host, I’ve tried to get to the heart of people as best I can and take it to a level that’s just a little “bigger than life.” I think this should be every air personality’s goal.
2. What does the future look like for Internet radio?
It's the wild wild west; vast, with pitfalls and possibilities. I know of a few people actually operating their stations at a profit now. Internet Radio is evolving quickly and will present a huge challenge to terrestrial radio in direct proportion to its availability and ease of use in cars. Cost of bandwidth and music royalties are serious challenges, but those costs will come down with increasing participation and development. And it's a matter of time until rating services come up with ways to accurately assess how many and what kinds of listeners are tuned into internet stations.
3. Is there anything that surprises you about radio these days?
Too much creative control in the hands of too few.
4. Do you have a solution for what you just said?
Yes, a return at local broadcast outlets to use of research methodologies as tools, rather than strict, applicative dogma. If I ruled the world, local radio would be very locally insightful and creative in every respect..especially radio host performance.
5. Are you interested in working in radio again?
That depends. The idea of picking up and moving to another city is very precarious now, compared to just 10 years ago. I'm out on that one. I love my life in Dallas. I can't thank Service Broadcasting's Hyman Childs enough for inviting me here back in 2006. On another note, let me express my gratitude to Mike Love and Hollywood Hernandez for introducing me to the world of voice-tracking, and nationally syndicated radio at (then) Citadel Broadcasting starting in 2009. I miss performing radio on a daily basis as a craft, and I'd jump at the chance to voice-track any format within my expertise. For a fair price.
6. What frustrates you the most about radio and the music industry?
Form before function. One keen observation: On one hand we hear, "People only wanna hear what they already know." These same "geniuses" marvel at the success of Pandora for turning listeners on to music they don't know. Music Services are robots, doing what radio should be (used to do). With that said, I find the Apple's decision to begin using air personalities as part of the musical experience interesting, and very telling! This didn't happen without a great deal of research, revealing what everyone with common sense already knew.
7. What does it take to be a successful air personality?
- Talent (It used to be a prerequisite.)
- Repeated Exposure behind the mic.
- Positive relationships inside the industry.
8. Any advice for those recently downsized, fired, and furloughed?
That sounds like a blues song title! But my advice would be to lean on the talents that brought you to radio to create outside money-making possibilities. Look into voice-acting, marketing, and finding clients who you can help with their advertising. Above all, value family over fleeting radio fame, and your plans will come along naturally.
9. What do you tell those who want to still go into radio?
I'll quote a famous phrase from Dante's "Inferno" ... "Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate," or "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here." In other words, ... if you're thinking it's anything like you see on TV or in the movies, you're in for a surprise. Making it to the top (fame and money, as a talent) is akin to making it as a professional athlete. And as I write, this is a period of massive layoffs in the industry.
10. Do you have a favorite radio memory?
Seattle 1978; a fellow jock left an album side of Hendrix playing, while he took the elevator down 6 flights to get a burger. He forgot his keys. A photo of him turned up on the front page of the paper next day, because he called the fire department, who sent a truck, so he could climb the ladder to the studio window.
Bonus Questions
Could you share the names of some of the people that have influenced your career?
The great William "Roscoe" Mercer, Terry Lee, Sam Weaver, Frank Greenlee, Batt "Batman" Johnson, Jerry King, Ken Dowe, Hyman Childs, Mike Love, and Dwight Douglas.
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