10 Questions with ... David 'Tazz Daddy' Anderson

NAME:David 'Tazz Daddy' Anderson, MBA TITLE:Executive Producer, Rickey Smiley Morning Show STATION:KBFB, WEDR, WFXE, WRSV, KRVV, WHHL, KBCE, WJZE, WMSU, WOWE, WJXM, WJJN, KVSP, WRBJ, KBTT & WSEA MARKET:Dallas, Miami, Augusta, Rockey Mount, Monroe, St. Louis, Alexandria, Toledo, Columbus, Flint, DeKalb, Dothan, OKC, OK, Jackson, MS, Shreveport, LA, Myrtle Beach COMPANY:Syndication One BORN:Middletown PA ... better Known as 3 Mile Island. RAISED:Philadelphia, PA

Please outline your career path.

WXPN/Philadelphia (Co-host Assoc. Producer, Kids Corner) 1988-95
WRTI/Philadelphia (on-air) 1995-98
WPHI/Philadelphia (on-air, Assoc. Morning Show Producer) 1998-99
WUSL/Philadelphia (Assoc. Producer, Dee & Wendy Show) 99-2000
WZFX/Fayetteville, NC, (afternoons/ Prod. Director) 2000
WQSL-WQZL/Jacksonville, NC (APD/nights/ Imaging) 2000-03
WNPL/Nashville (APD/nights) 2003-05
KXBT/Austin (APD/MD/middays) 2005-2006
FM2 Radio (Executive Producer - Desert Storm Radio w/ DJ Clue)
KKDA/Dallas (nights 10p-2a) 2006-07
KBFB/Syndication One/Dallas (Executive Producer, RSMS) 2007 - Present

1) What was your first job in radio? Early influences?

My first job came about at age 9 at WXPN's Kids' Corner as a co-host and later as an Associate Producer. My early influences weare Frankie Crocker, Rick Dees, Casey Kasem, Hurricane Dave Smith, Rick Party, Smokin' Tony Richards, Derrick Brown, Skip Dillard and the one and only Dr. Jerry Boulding

2) What led you to a career in radio? Was there a defining moment that made you realize "this is it"?

I was frustrated with school because it wasn't challenging me, so I went "on strike" and didn't do my homework. This pissed my mom off and she grounded me and stripped my room of every piece of technology. My brother had mercy on me and smuggled a radio and phone into my room, and that's when I called into Kids' Corner. I had a job by the end of the week!

3) If you were just starting out in radio, knowing now what you didn't then, would you still do it?

Absolutely! Our business is far from perfect, but you can't change the way things are done from the sidelines.

4) Where do you see yourself and the industry five years from now?

I see myself with Rickey Smiley at the top of the syndicated morning show heap. I also plan on enjoying even more success with my company, Code-Blu Media, which specializes in imaging and Urban radio talent coaching and development. Check it out at http://www.code-blu.com

5) What is your present involvement with the Core DJs? How do you feel they impact and influence radio airplay on new music?

I've been in the Core since it started. It's something that I'm extremely proud of! To grow from such humble beginnings, as six members to grow to a global organization, is amazing in this day and age. When I was a child, the DJ was the one who set the tone and picked the hits. Thanks to the Core DJs, our voices are once again relevant in a landscape of consultants and research. We make it our business to impact the music that we hear on the air by breaking great music! We also take care of our DJs by being the only international DJ coalition that offers its members health insurance if they so choose! It's a family ... and our fundamental mission is HARD WORK!

6) What's the toughest part of your present job? The most rewarding?

It's hard having so much responsibility on my shoulders. I have to find a way to harness Rickey's amazing talent and make his vision palatable to 16 markets and millions of people. It's hard finding a way to have a baby on the air, and making something as serious as child abduction funny, but when it's executed correctly, it's like Christmas every day! Being able to say that we're winning against our competition in the majority of our markets is well worth it.

7) How do you feel future syndicated shows are going to be affected by Arbitron's PPM?

I don't think that syndication has anything to do with it. Content is king. (I know that people throw that phrase around a lot, but it's true!) Whoever has the most entertaining and compelling content will win. There will be no more room for phoning it in. This is survival of the fittest, and the RSMS is working towards being the King of the content jungle.

8) Of all the skills you have gained through the years, is there an area you'd like to improve?

I am so driven that sometimes I have to teach myself to relax. I have a beautiful young wife that I was neglecting for the sake of trying to be the best. Those days are over. I've learned to compartmentalize and be a great husband first, and a great executive producer second. I have a mentor who sat me down and told me after his second divorce to adjust my focus in order to save me from the mistakes he made by making radio his main (if not only) priority. It is for this conversation that I'm incredibly grateful to him.

9) What advice would you give someone who is considering entering broadcasting as a career choice?

I would tell them to learn all they can about the business, and not just the glamorous parts. Learn production; learn the inner workings of the sales department. I'd tell them to take Business and Marketing courses. Finally, I'd tell them to apply that knowledge to promotions as well. More people start off in that department and only learn how to hang a banner and stack some T-shirts.

10) As you look back over your career ... any regrets? Missed opportunities?

None at all! I have jumped at almost every good opportunity that has come my way. Some people like being married to a market, and I don't begrudge them that. Before I left Philadelphia, I had a conversation with Wendy Williams. I told her that I was going to head to smaller market in order to make a name for myself. She told me about her time on the air in the U.S. Virgin Islands, making a whopping $25 a week. She told me that she knew I had a love for radio, and that love was going to drive me back to the top on my own steam. I had her on our show two weeks ago, and she told me that she couldn't be prouder of me.

What would people who think they know Tazz be surprised to learn about you?

Most people don't know that I'm a published author. I wrote my first book, "The Great Sexpectations of Atlas Riley," which was a best-selling novella. You can pick it up at amazon.com. Also, my new book isn't a work of fiction; it's called "The Handbook." It's basically a guide for young air personalities about the pitfalls of the Urban radio business, using my experiences as an example. It's the first product from my new Urban Radio Coach division of Code-Blu Media. You can check it out at http://www.code-blu.com/coach

What's been your biggest disappointment in radio today?

I am disappointed in lazy programmers who don't take the time to develop and coach the next generation of stars. I talk to PDs all the time who tell me that the talent pool isn't what it used to be. While that may be true on some levels, I contend that a lot of PDs don't take the time to hunt for new talent. PD's used to drive through markets and listen for talent. That's such a rarity nowadays. I know phenomenal talent that just happens to be in a small market or unemployed. People like DJ Supreme at WIKS in New Bern; NC; Raven Rush who is on the beach in St Louis; and Kenya Cabine at WEAS in Savannah, who could be the future of the format if given that one big break. But it requires effort on the PD's part.

What do you read? What's your favorite reading material?

I have to read everything. I read a lot of women's and men's magazines in order to come up with material for the show. I read books on radio on a regular basis. I'm reading a book right now on minorities in business called "Good is Not Enough." It discusses the challenges that most people with MBAs face in the corporate world, and how to navigate in today's corporate culture. My mother is a teacher and reading was a requirement. I guess it was something that never left me.

What are the most important skills that future broadcasters must have?

The ability to convey who they are on the air and finding a way to make it relevant to an audience is of the utmost importance! Future broadcasters must have a work ethic that is second to none, without compromising themselves in the process. They also MUST understand the PPM and how it will affect them. Media Monitors is a program that is blowing me away right now with how it reads and dissects the PPM data. The times are changing and the more that they learn, the better off they will be.

APD/PDs need to learn how to trust the people they hired to assist them in putting the best possible product on the air and on the web. Programmers are usually type-A personalities who don't know how to let go of a task. Being a responsible leader means trusting your staff as well as being willing to do any and everything that he/she asks of his team. Leading by example and leading through trust will find today's PDs with more time on their hands and less stress in their lives.

Do you feel that urban stations should be more careful not to blindly copy formats but tailor them specifically to the age and racial make-up of their own markets?

I can't stand people who constantly look at what this market does or that market. That kind of thinking doesn't do anything but create another cookie-cutter market. There was a time when you got the flavor of a given market. Nowadays that's a rarity. I know that research has its place, but what ever happened to the gut? What happened to the guerrilla PDs who went to the club to hear and see for him/herself what is moving their P1s? We need to take back our market individuality back before the iPod winds up whipping our behinds!