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Charese Fruge’ (@MCMediaonline) Talks To Shelly Brown
March 21, 2023
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Shelly Brown started as an intern for KHTS Channel 933, in her hometown of San Diego. She was later hired as an Assistant Producer for Dave, Shelly, and Chainsaw on 101.5 KGB. Six years later she left the nest to be morning show co-host on 93.7 KCLB in Palm Springs as well as APD/MD. She spent two years in the desert before heading to the PNW where she worked for KINK-FM as Executive Producer of the morning show for four years before getting the call from Jesse Lozano and Delana Bennett to go home to San Diego. She’s been back almost nine years and now works with Jesse and Tati on KMYI Star 94.1 as Executive Producer.
“Eric Rowe (EP of The Rula & Ryan Show on KRBE/Houston) and I had a laugh once when we were on the Producers Panel together at Morning Show Boot Camp about what our job really is. It's ‘all the other stuff’ off mic,” explains Brown. “It's curating the content, answering the phones, talking in love languages to manage those around us… In addition to the show, I am heavily involved in 3 local charities. 1 More Win, co-founded by Jesse Lozano, helps underserved High School Athletic programs in San Diego County. To date, 1 More Win has donated over $100k in equipment for programs in need. I also have a hand in Tati's program, Better to Give, which helps homeless people on multiple levels, even teaming up with an organization that places those emerging out of homelessness into apartments.”
“My latest addition is being invited to be on the committee for Cancer for College, a charity started to help with scholarship money for kids who had cancer in high school and are able to continue with their college dreams, they receive word of their scholarship from Will Farrell. His frat brother started the charity and he's heavily involved.”
Brown’s professional path wasn’t always about radio. “I loved listening to morning radio on the way to school but being in studio/on air wasn't my first goal. I wanted to do event management,” she says. “When I was a teenager, I did a ton of volunteer work for big events around San Diego. I liked being behind the scenes, seeing the final product, and knowing that I had a hand in it. That segued into my internship in the promotions department for Channel 933. I ultimately got trained on everything behind the scenes, mostly in the studio thanks to interning for the morning show. Here I am five morning shows later, still loving that I get to look back at a GREAT show daily knowing I had a hand in it.”
That’s not the only thing Brown is grateful for when it comes to her career. “While working in Portland I worked at KINK-FM, a Triple A station run by Chris Mays. Her ear for new music was like no other, watching her get excited about new music was one of my favorite things to experience,” she says. “I was so proud of her and the entire KINK team when in 2012 we won a Marconi award for best Rock Station. We popped the biggest bottle of Veuve I've ever seen.”
“While at Star 94.1 I've also been a part of some legendary events,” adds Brown. “I even got to help organize (with some new twists) a few ‘Breaking and Entering Christmas'’ with Little Tommy. But one of my favorite things we put together was during Covid, we connected with Computers2Kids and helped get laptops in the hands of kiddos while they adjusted to doing school from home. We only had a few weeks to do it, but still raised enough money to distribute over 100 laptops to families in San Diego County.”
Over the years, Brown has had her fair share of challenges. “When I was in my early 20s I had a sales manager call me in and SHE told me to remember to not react emotionally,” says Brown. “I had just become APD, my PD was on maternity leave, and I was trying to make things pop so when I heard ‘no’ to my idea I admittedly threw a minor fit. There are still times when I think of that and it's helped me to take a breath, step back and refrain from immediately reacting when things get frustrating.”
“Another thing that happened and made me more determined to be successful in my role was when I went to lunch with my host once and she told me, ‘You can't make a career out of being an Executive Producer, no one actually aspires to be an EP.’ In my head all could say was ‘The fuck I can't!’ explains Brown. “When I went through the roster of well-known EPs at the time I realized most were men which made me even more driven to make it in this role.”
Brown has great advice for other women who aspire to be Executive Producers or make it in the business in general. “Shine your light and find a way around the ‘blessing blockers.’ You are here in this industry for a reason,” she says. “Don't be afraid to ask questions and if you don't understand the answer ask until you do. That's how you learn and build a communicative relationship with those around you, which as we all know can be hard in this industry (oh, the irony).”
“You are creative, funny, charismatic, organized (chaos?), and got yourself this far in a time when things are evolving for women faster than I have seen in the last 20 years of this industry. Take advantage of it. That being said, I tip my hat to the women who have been in this mix longer than I have and are still willing to step in and learn the latest mediums and understand how it will enhance their BRAND. Cheers, Ladies!”
Every week in “Women To Watch,” we tackle the topic of trying to engage and create loyalty with younger demographics for radio. It’s the biggest challenge we face (besides decreasing revenue) in the industry. As a self-proclaimed “Elder Millennial" (shout out to all the 1983 babies!)” Brown has the perfect strategy: “Respect them!” She says. “I wasn't ready to be compared to a younger generation. The last generation I heard chatter about was Baby Boomers. Imagine my surprise when I was being put toe-to-toe with someone 10 years younger than me in my mid-thirties. Was I intimidated? Yes. Was I threatened at first? Yes. But hey, they are the ones pushing us out of our comfort zones because they are growing up with new ideas not just when it comes to social media and techhnology, but society in general. Gen Z grew up with technology in their hands, and we had dial up. Embrace them and LEARN from them. They bring a ton of opportunity for growth to the table.”
Brown’s thoughts on the progress of diversity, equity and inclusion in the industry? “How many times a day do we check our levels in NexGen? We have yet the hit the yellow bars, I think, when it comes to diversity. Are we in the green? Yes, but we still have a long way to go,” says Brown. “I think a good example of where we are happened at Morning Show Boot Camp last year. During the diversity panel with DeeDee Palmer, Dana Cortez, and Tino Cochino, if you looked around the room you would have noticed a vast drop of occupancy from the panel before. I was sitting next to one of my cluster mates and we were asking each other ‘where'd everyone go?’ For myself it was an obvious example of where we are. Let's start putting into play the actions we talk about.”
It's not lost on Brown that she’s living and working in her hometown and what a blessing that is. “San Diego is an absolute gem and we (all San Diegans) like to talk about it. All of it!” she says. “Whenever I am out and about in different parts of the city I try to visit a random coffee shop or lunch place just for the sake of being able to mention it on air. You know someone in their car knows that spot and a connection is made right there. That is our focus, those moments of grassroots marketing to get a neighborhood to talk about us. Jesse and I both grew up here and Tati moved here in '08 which says another thing about our city, with the military being here, we are a transplant town, so our goal is to give a warm welcome to those who just moved here and be a guide to the city.”
What keeps Brown up at night? “Usually one of two things, my cat or thinking of the memes about sleep paralysis and what's going to show up in my room next,” she says. “Honestly, if it isn't one of those, it's imposter syndrome. I know and love who I am as a person but when it comes to this job I am constantly checking to make sure I'm doing the best I can in an industry where all you seem to hear is, ‘You know who does it right?...’. I definitely put a lot of pressure on myself, some of which is unnecessary.”
But Brown does make it a point to find balance in her life. “Of course I do all the go-to's; gym, therapy, friends, but recently I picked up a side gig that sparks so much damn joy,” she explains. “I'm bartending at a private community in my hometown of Coronado. It's a pretty unique spot, so much so that they hired someone with zero experience. I guess it doesn't take much to pour Gin & Tonic or a glass of Chardonnay for all the retirees and snowbirds that come through. I was bantering with one of my customers and he told me, ‘Hey you're pretty funny, you should get behind a mic and tell jokes.’ Obviously, he had no idea what I do for a living so imagine his surprise when he found out. Plus we close at 8p so I'm home in time for bed. Yes, a part time job brings balance, guess I'm just built differently.”
As far as what we have to look forward to from Brown, “I am my current passion project,” she says. “I love my role on my morning show right now. I get to be the Executive Producer for two amazing hosts, and I get to play along with them on air every day. I've never wanted to focus on my brand more than I do right now.” Follow Shelly Brown on her journey on Facebook: shellyb1, and Instagram @producershellybrown.
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