-
Charese Fruge’ (@MCMediaonline) Talks To Falen Bonsett
May 24, 2022
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. -
Falen Bonsett is the co-host of “The Dave Ryan Morning Show” on KDWB/Minneapolis. Since she got started early in life with her radio career, we’ll dive right in. “I’m from a small town in southern Indiana. My first experience with radio was during my senior year of high school,” she says. “I went to 99.7 WDJX/Louisville to do their nightly countdown with other seniors, and it was amazing. When I needed a job my freshman year of college. I applied at all the stores in the mall and didn’t get any calls. My cousin Jimmy had worked for local stations in Evansville, IN. He reached out to friends, and they gave me a job! I knew within one week that that was what I wanted to do with my life, and I quickly changed my college classes and major (I didn’t change it to radio. I changed it to communications).”
“I started as a promotions assistant/remote tech. After a year, I asked to run the board for remotes. That led to a weekend shift on 106.1 KISS FM in Evansville, IN. After a year, I got the night show and did that for 3 years,” says Falen.
“I did go across the street to WSTO (Hot 96) and began to produce the Booker and Sarah Morning Show. I did that for a bit then took over as promotions director for WSTO and WABX. I was never great at promotions,” Falen explains. “That’s when I got my first break. Jay Love in Reno, NV, offered me my first morning show job at Wild 102.9 with Ron. After 2 years there, I flew myself to Minnesota to interview for Dave Ryan’s show on KDWB. I paid for my own plane ticket twice to get that interview, and it was beyond worth it in the end.”
Some of Falen’s career highlights: “I think getting the job on Dave’s show is my biggest highlight and accomplishment so far,” says Falen. “Also, my podcast ‘Heartbroken,’ which ended last year, had two million listens in 2 years, and I was incredibly proud of that. I got to be on an episode of ‘Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives,’ and I met Buzz Aldrin…Taylor Swift is cool, but Buzz? He’s been to the Moon! That was amazing.”
One of Falen’s favorite things about working on “The Dave Ryan Morning Show” show: “I love how self-deprecating and open our show and members are. I love that we all share embarrassing stories and give each other crap, but also truly support each other. It's truly the chemistry I dreamed of having with a show,” she says. Just exactly how self-deprecating and open are they? “I sucked my thumb for a SUPER long time,” she admits. “Like…I should stop telling people that. But one of the other things I should probably stop talking about is hemorrhoids. But it’s my personal mission to normalize them. Neither women nor men should suffer with them, and I’m not kidding. They are SO common, especially with women who have babies. I am VERY open about it on and off air.”
According to Falen, one of the biggest challenges she faced in her career came in the very beginning. “It was so hard to find a way to break through the small market existence. I didn’t ‘know’ anyone,” she explains. “I would reach out to PDs in bigger markets, and one even gave me feedback. I’ll never forget Chris Edge for doing that. Throughout the rest of my career, I’ve looked around for strong female leaders, especially on-air, to look up to, almost as a sign that it can be done. As we know, there aren’t a ton, BUT they are out there. I highly respect so many of them and have been able to chat with a few like THE Angi Taylor for starters,” she says. “The fact that our field is so male dominated makes me question if I could lead a show. Will it ever truly change, and how can I help that change? What’s my part in it?” she asks.
For starters, you can listen to Falen’s advice for women interested in following in her footsteps. “First of all, you can do it,” she says. “Find other women to talk to. Find other successful people in general. They say you are who you surround yourself with, right? Find people you consider successful and talk to them. If you want to lead a show, start a podcast, or YouTube channel or even a video series on TikTok, and lead it, and do it consistently. Ask people who host successful shows to watch/listen to yours and give you feedback. That is obvious, but a lot of people don’t do it.” “Find women in similar positions to you that are comfortable truly sharing things with you and vice versa,” Falen adds. “Things that might make others uncomfortable. I know people don’t like talking about salaries etc. I asked one person in our industry, and she told me. We don’t work together, but she told me. It didn’t hurt her, and it truly helped me. I think we sometimes wonder ‘Am I asking for too much,’ ‘Am I being difficult?’…well, I had a woman who isn’t in radio tell me something quite valuable when it came to discussing what she charges for social posts. She said if everyone you’re pitching is saying yes, you aren’t charging enough.”
Throughout the years, Falen has had the opportunity to work with some amazing people who have had a definite impact on her career. “I must start with Booker and Sarah (both in Texas now). That was the first morning show I was a part of, and they truly had a great show,” she says. “I remember many things, but one was Booker going to a woman’s house who had just been in the news. She was in the news because her boyfriend got stuck in her chimney. He drove to her house, knocked on the door and played “Are you smarter than a 5th grader” with her. It was hilarious!” she says. “The next show I worked with was Atom and Shawnda,” Falen adds. “They had a very different show, but that was good for me. It taught me so many other things about morning radio which I am so thankful for.”
“Next is J Love. I love him and am so thankful he was the PD to give me my first shot on a morning show,” says Falen. “He and his wife, Erin, are amazing. They let me stay in their guest house when I first moved to Reno, and I’ll never let him forget I could hear him playing video games late at night, screaming into his headset “THIS GAME BE CHEATIN’”!
“Moving to the Twin Cities brought me to Dave. I couldn’t begin to explain the things I’ve learned from Dave,” says Falen. “His mind never rests, and he’s taught me to think of different ways to approach bits that make them SO much better. He’s been a great mentor. And I haven’t worked with Mojo and Shannon in Detroit, but I do want to mention them because I’ve always loved Mojo, and he’s been kind enough to chat with me about my career. I’ve also reached out to Shannon a ton, and I am so, so thankful for her advice.”
According to Falen, finding work/life balance means making sure her entire identity isn’t solely tied into her career. “My side hustles have been quick creative ventures. I paint and sell art and have created totes and hats that I also sell!” She says. “I paint, spend time with my 2-year-old, and yell at my dog (Dolly Parton) to stop barking at the Amazon person/eating food off the counters. We just got a boat, so I’m excited to spend the summer on one of our 10,000 lakes. And currently, I’m binging the new season of Working Moms, Conversations with Friends, and Hacks Season 2. Another show you should watch if you haven’t: ‘The Other Two!”
As for what we have to look forward to from Falen, “I’m actually working on a few things,” she says. “I entered to be in my first art fair, I have new hats coming out that I’m very excited about. I am honored to be on the women’s panel at Morning Show Bootcamp in August and I have a few other secrets I’m working on. Follow Falen on all socials @falenkdwb.
-
-