Diana's
Career Capsule
My career has
evolved at KKJM from volunteer morning show producer, summer 2004,
to part-time program assistant, on to morning show co-host and now
PD...I am very fortunate to have some very intelligent mentors-
including Scott Michaels who took me through Radio 101-301 (401 is
now getting pushed out of the nest, a series of "ah ha" moments and
countless opportunities to humble myself) and who left the station
in great shape with a tremendous amount of forward momentum, as well
as Kurt Wallace, John Frost, and now, Doug Hannah- nothing that I
have done or will accomplish has occurred without their help.
1. Tell us about
your market and how it is unique?
St. Cloud is a pretty traditional
smaller market, we share airwaves with an Air One translator and
bump markets with KTIS, though otherwise are continuing to steal
cume from the mainstream AC and heritage country stations.
2. What is the most fulfilling aspect to you personally about
Christian radio?
Ministry can be fun- what?!? I
have a passion to serve, and had intended to pursue some sort of
social work profession when I caught the radio bug my junior year in
college, and discovered a forum that's goal is outreach and mode
is an awesome and diverse mixture of creativity, strategy and
continuous change that stretches me daily. And, my work at Spirit
has put me in touch with some incredible individuals both within the
industry and as business supporters of the station, and of course,
with the listeners who share stories of changed lives and call me
"part of their family"- what an honor!
3. How do you personally keep the ministry in the business?
By focusing on Becky's needs we
minister to her every day, not in the preachy
"you need to be a better Christian"
way, she feels guilty enough about that, but by providing practical
information, fun events and music that touches her heart.
4. What is the criteria that determines if a song receives airplay
on your station?
Wouldn't every record promoter love
to uncover the formula! Online testing is currently evolving here
at Spirit, and in the meantime there are some good tools in the
industry that allow me a sense of how Becky feels about any given
song...learning to separate my own taste for a more strategic
approach has been a challenge...but ultimately it's all about what
the target listener wants to hear, if she wants to hear the story of
"Letters From War" again, she's
going to get it!
5. What kind of promotions work best for your station?
In
listening to Becky, experiences
to be shared with her family have value and allow us to connect in
often times simple ways that don't require a large promotional
budget.
6. How do you think Christian Record labels can better serve
Christian radio?
I really appreciate efforts to
connect the artists with the station- and therefore the listeners,
finding the human side and hearing the hearts of the artists that
Becky sings along with every day seems to resonate with her...help
me tell her a story, especially about Jeremy Camp's baby and the one
on the way!
7. In your opinion what are the biggest obstacles facing Christian
radio today?
Misconception: on the part of potential listeners about what
"that religious station" really
is and in management about how big (not for the sake of being "big"
or raking in dollars, but in terms of lives touched for Him) we can
really be.
8. What do you believe is the primary role of the Christian radio
air personality today?
Give
Becky a reason not to let her daughter plug in her i-pod to the
mini-van speakers.
9. What (if any) other Christian radio stations do you consider as
innovators today?
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