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Charese Fruge’ (@MCMediaonline) Talks To Denise Plante
April 25, 2023
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Denise Plante is currently the Midday Host on KWBL 106.7 The Bull, Denver. She’s been with the station for about five years now. She’s also one of the original “Women to Watch” we featured in the beginning, when we began running this this feature on AllAccess.com. I wanted to come back and do a follow up on Denise, as she is the perfect example of moving to a community, raising a family and building a long standing brand that has allowed her to entrench herself in the Denver community for over 25 years.
She’s also celebrating this week, as she was part of a very success fundraising event for Make-A-Wish Colorado which raised over $700k for its 40th Anniversary, on Thursday 4/20 and she is the recipient of "Best Station Personality" and "Best Midday Show" from the COLORADO BROADCASTERS ASSOCIATION's awards which took place SATURDAY (4/22) at the RITZ CARLTON in downtown DENVER.
Denise is a big believer in giving back to her community. “I’m a big believer in helping where I can. I enjoy donating time to nonprofits and emceeing events. I helped raise $1.2 million in honor of my dad for the American Cancer Society, close to $1 million for Make-A -Wish and will emcee an upcoming 5K for Suicide Prevention with the Douglas County Police Dept.”
“I know this may sound funny,” says Plante, “But I taught my two boys to take pride in donating time to lift the community and help others. You don’t wait until you’re in an orange jumpsuit getting your hand slapped and are forced to do it. It’s very rewarding to pay our blessings forward in life, and makes living in that community, so much more rewarding.”
Plante also knows how important it is to build and maintain quality and profitable client relationships for her station, which gives her a major platform. “I endorse companies I truly believe in so I can talk from experience and the client can hear the faith and excitement I have for their business. Most of my clients have been with me for years and have become close friends.”
“I’m so lucky,” says Plante. “Denver is a great place to live and work. I have been blessed to work in radio for over 25 years and television for over 16 years. I’ve made incredible connections with others in the media, it’s been fun to watch each other grow and succeed. Being supported and feeling appreciated is important. I’ve been lucky to have the support of some really important decision makers here in Denver. They know I have worked hard at times juggling multiple jobs and taking care of my family, and I appreciate that support. Denver has definitely grown and the talent here is amazing, some of the absolute best in the industry. It’s always great to pick up the phone and ask questions…I never stop learning from my Denver colleagues.”
“Another reason I am so lucky is because ‘live and local’ is so important in a market like Denver, and I get to do that,” says Plante. “I’ve received so many letters from listeners/viewers that say they can relate to what I’m going through and share on air.
Many parents have laughed over the years of my crazy stories about raising my boys and they have sent notes of support during the difficult times.”
When I asked Plante about AI for radio, she had some compelling thoughts. “AI can’t get out in the community and meet the listeners that need help or share stories that are relevant and move the listener,” she says. “Maya Angelo’s quote, ‘I’ve learned people will forget what you’ve said, people will forget what you did, but they will never forget the way you made them feel.’ We can’t lose that in radio, it’s so important to be a friend to someone who is listening and may need you that day.”
When it comes to one of the biggest challenges radio faces as an industry, engaging and creating loyalty among a younger audience, Denise has a leg up on a lot of us. “First off, I live with two Gen Z’s,” she says. “Yes, they still listen to the radio, most of the time streaming. It’s important to be on social platforms and maybe include a direct link to your station. I’ve seen many artists share videos of their reaction of hearing their song on the radio for the first time, it’s exciting to the artist and proves the importance of radio to other Gen Z’s. Sharing those stories on air and reposting on social helps. It’s also cool for a song to pop up on air that’s not included in their playlist. And finally, it goes back to storytelling and talking about what Gen Z’s can relate to (My Boys). But you must be authentic and trustworthy. Otherwise, you’ll lose them right away.”
With the current state of radio and many stations sounding exactly alike, I asked Denise what separates her show and The Bull/Denver from the rest. “First, as I mentioned earlier, for my show, ‘live and local’ and ‘authentic and trustworthy.’ And as a station, we are on top of everything in the community, actually shaking hands with listeners, and bridging the gap between the national Country scene and artists with our Denver listeners. In addition, “I (as well as our target demo) started loving Country music in the 90’s and many of today’s most popular Country artists are fans of 90’s Country. We created a show called ‘90’s At Noon’ and play throwbacks. It’s a listener favorite as well as mine.”
I mentioned earlier Plante’s heavy commitment to charity work. Over the years she’s helped many organizations for reasons that are dear to her heart. “Working with American Cancer Society is now much more personal after losing my dad recently. Meeting listeners that have experienced the same loss or gone through the fight themselves makes all the hard work worth it. Make-A-Wish is incredible! I couldn’t imagine losing a child or the fight these young children go through. The smiles they have on their faces when they get their wish granted are amazing. This is one organization I hope to help more in the future. I know our industry can be stressful, but each day we should all be thankful we have our health.”
Denise is balancing a successful career, being a wife, mom, and caregiver for her mom. Finding a balance has got to be a challenge for her. “It takes a village, in my case an incredible family of four,” she says. “My husband and boys are extremely helpful and supportive. After my dad passed, my mom ended up having 3 strokes. My mom lives with us full-time and there must be at least one of us at home at all times since she’s not able to walk. My boys are learning that we all need help in life and family is the most important thing, including your faith. I’m lucky enough to have a GM that also has the same beliefs and supports the past struggles I’ve had with the changes in life while losing my dad and after.”
“Radio is still so fun to me too; I love having a live show each day. Interacting with live callers, doing local giveaways, and sharing my life with listeners that have listened over the past 25 years. It’s like therapy for me. I feel like it is ‘Denise’s time.’”
Follow Denise Plante on Facebook and on Instagram & Twitter @Deniseplantedenver
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