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Jake's
Career Capsule
First of all. Thanks to Dan Baughman my GM for taking a chance on me
4 years ago. Thanks to Matt Hahn and Tate Luck for taking the River
to the next level. Tommy Kramer for showing no mercy, and My friend
John Frost for breathing life into this old, burned out, rock n roll
DJ (love you, John) Brief career capsule: KKRC Sioux Falls, SD under
Dan Keiley.. WZOK Rockford, Ill.. Y108 Denver, CO.. Q102 Cincinnati,
OH.. WXGT (92X) Columbus,OH.. B97 New Orleans, LA.. WGAR Cleveland,
OH.. K102 Minneapolis, MN.. KEGL (The Eagle) Dallas, TX.. KLUV
Dallas, TX.. and now at my favorite station 104.9 The River
WCVO Columbus, OH.
1.
In Addition to your
duties at WCVO you also have your own company "Quality
Voice Tracking", tell us how it came about?
It came about as a way to keep my
Princess Dana (my wife) home with our children. I think that if Dana
can be at home with the kids and not have them in day care that is
the way to go.
2. Regarding voice tracking, what are
the benefits to small market radio?
First of all I used to HATE the
whole concept of voice tracking. I think Randy Michaels (from Jacor
and Clear Channel) has KILLED the pool of up and coming talent. When
I got in the biz you started out as a board op for remotes, then on
the air on weekends, then overnights and worked your way up the
ladder...That is not the case anymore. Clear Channel has 1 guy doing
8 stations, so there is no way to groom new talent. Thanks Randy.
Oh, you asked me a question...Now it's the norm and I figure if it's
going to be VT's anyway, I would like to be the one doing it.
Benefits? The SOUND. Being able to have phone bits and listener
interaction on YOUR station.
3. How do you get a "feel" for a station
or market you're voice tracking a shift for?
I like to listen to the station on
line and hear the other jocks and see what they are doing. I send a
few lines to the PD in a different read to see which one is best.
4. Some say voice tracking defeats local
radio, what's your response to that?
I agree. Nothing is better than
calling a request line and talking to the guy on the air, hanging
up, and hearing yourself on the air 5 minutes later. But sometimes
the quality of talent is just not there (Thanks again, Randy). A lot
of smaller market PD's have so much on their plates that grooming
talent falls by the wayside. That's where VT'ing comes in, if it's
done right, it's hard to tell the difference. If the VT jock does
homework it sounds as good (or better) than local radio.
5. What kind of show prep do you do on a
daily basis?
I LOOK and LISTEN. Tommy Kramer is my prep
teacher. One thing that you heard, one thing that you saw, one thing
that you read and I pass it through the Jen prism and then I make it
Jake. So you think you can Dance, American Idol are great things to
talk about. Talk about your kids! My son Stephen is a constant
source of real life prep.. He pooped on the potty for the 1st time a
few days ago and it was a potty! I mean, party.
6. What do you think are the main
characteristics of today's Christian radio PD?
Underpaid
7. In your opinion what are the biggest
obstacles facing Christian radio today?
Who we are. I believe that we
should be radio people that are Christians not Christians that just
happen to do radio. Good radio is good radio no matter what format
it is. If we do good radio they will come and THEN hear WHY we do
what we do. This is a most incredible format...We get to make a
difference EVERYDAY.
8. What do you believe is the primary
role of the Christian radio air personality?
Be REAL Be REAL Be REAL Be REAL Be
REAL Be REAL Be REAL Be REAL. I am 4 1/2 years cocaine and alcohol
free (praise God) and I talk about my recovery and so do other
believers....on the air. People call to tell me that they have a
week clean. It gives hope to those that are still battling porn
addictions or over eating (or whatever the demon is) There is HOPE
in in Jesus and we are there to share it.
9. What (if any) Christian radio
stations do you consider as innovators today?
Any station that John Frost has
his hand in. I like 104.9 The River. We are pretty edgy. Spirit in
Seattle is rockin' too.
10. Where do you see Christian radio in
5 years?
We have the greatest potential
growth of ANY format. Why? Because people need a safe place to hide.
This world is evil and getting worse every day. We are the house on
the block with the "safe place" sign in the window. We are the
crossing guard at the intersection to make sure you get across
safely. Lets do good radio and they will come.
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