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10 Questions with ... Kathy Brown
February 13, 2007
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NAME:Kathy BrownTITLE:OMSTATION:WMMJ (Majic 102.3) & WKYS (93.9 Kiss FM)MARKET:Washington, DCCOMPANY:Radio OneBORN:ChicagoRAISED:Chicago
Please outline your radio career so far.
I started my career in Chicago at WLNR/WJPC radio. I grew up listening to Tom Joyner on WJPC and later worked for the station. I started as a jock/programming assistant for WLNR (an all-female station) doing fill in work and graduated to evenings. I worked for Dee Handley and later became Program Director and morning jock. After 4 1/2 years with Johnson Publishing, I moved to Milwaukee to work for WMVP (later to be named WMCS) as morning jock and later Program Director. (Milwaukee taught me how to program with no promotional budget.) I worked in Milwaukee for five years.
I left Milwaukee to work for Radio One in 1996 in Baltimore at WWIN-FM as PD. While in Baltimore, I elevated to Operations Manager and brought the station from #9 25-54 to #1.
In November of 1999 I was promoted to Regional PD over Baltimore, Washington, and Richmond for WWIN/WMMJ and WKJS.
I'm currently programming WMMJ (Majic 102.3) and am Operations Manager for WKYS (93.9 Kiss FM). Majic is #1 12+, #2 25-54 and #1 35-64. Kiss is #1 18-34.
1) What was your first job in radio? Early influences?
WLNR in Chicago. Dee Handley. Tom Joyner.
2) What led you to a career in radio? Was there a defining moment, which made you realize "this is it"?
I have always loved music, but I can't sing at all. I visited WJPC my senior year of high school and saw LaDonna Tittle on the air. I have always loved her voice and decided that I want to do radio. The question was, could I make money at it?
3) If you were just starting out in radio, knowing now what you didn't then, would you still do it?
Yes. Radio is a great opportunity for young people to enjoy the entertainment business. It's still fun for me even after 21 years of being in the business.
4) Where do you see yourself and the industry five years from now? How do you feel about the PPM eventually replacing the diary?
My goal is to be VP of programming, so in five years I hope to be there, if not sooner.
PPM will be an adjustment for everyone. It will affect Urban and Urban AC stations dramatically. Urban/Urban AC stations focus on TSL, and the PPM is not based on TSL. I see large-cume stations doing well with the PPM.
5) How you feel about being made to wait on a record you hear until the research validates it?
You want to make sure that your station is focused and on point. But if a great record is released you have to trust your gut and go. But trusting your gut is an exception to the rule, not the norm.
6) What is going to happen to the training of tomorrow's talent and programmers if the current trend continues? How do you feel about syndication and voicetracking?
We are to blame. We saw this trend coming at least 10 years ago, and now we have no talent pool. I try to groom talent from within. It is always easier to elevate from within. Syndication is great if you localize the station as much as possible. Voicetracking must be handled the same way, by localizing and being topical.
7) How do you account for the fact that for the past several years WMMJ has been at or near the top of the Arbitron-rated stations in Washington, DC? How have you programmed WWMJ differently than you programmed WWIN-FM in Baltimore?
The way that I program is the same. I use a common thread for the Urban ACs, but I curtail it for each market. I play the hits, but also add reactionary records that I know work. What works in DC doesn't work in Baltimore. You have to know the market.
8) Of all the skills you have gained through the years, is there an area you'd like to improve?
It's the same one I am working on personally as well as professionally. I have become better at it through the years, but still working on PATIENCE.
9) What kind of difference do you feel relying more and more on callout research is going to make in Urban AC radio? Is the fact that because of syndication and the very nature of how Urban AC stations are programmed going to affect the spin totals, which in turn will directly affect the passion scores, going to be a factor? And because of that, in the future are Urban AC programmers, such as yourself, going to be slower in adding and testing new music?
LOL. Yes.
10) As you look back over your career, any regrets? Missed opportunities?
No, every experience is a learning one.
Bonus Questions
1) What is something that even people who know you find interesting and surprising about Kathy Brown?
That I am very giving person. If I have it to give to you, I will. People think that I am very stern or mean, but I am serious about my craft. I play to win all the time. My nickname is shark.
2) What's been your biggest disappointment in radio today?
That we haven't mentored as much as we needed to in the African-American arena, and now how do the young people survive in this business?
3) How did you get your present job?
I was hired by Steve Hegwood. He taught me how to be a good programmer, not just an average one.
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