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Radio Interview

Jeremiah Kuhns

Programming Coordinator

KGBI

Omaha

To contact Jeremiah click here

Jeremiah's "Beautiful History"
KGBI Omaha (Christian AC) 2002-present
- 2002-2003 – Board Op Saturday Mornings
- 2003-2004 – Production Intern, on-air weekends
- 2004-2006 - Programming Assistant, VT Overnights
- 2007-2009 – Promotions Director, VT Overnights and Sunday Mornings
- 2009-2010 – Programming Coordinator, On-air afternoon Drive… VT Sunday mornings, February 2010 – started Friday and Saturday night Rock Block show

1. How has KGBI evolved over the last few years?

I’ve gotten to see the evolution from Non-comm owned by Grace University to a commercial station owned by Salem. From that stand point, I’ve seen it as a great learning experience to see how a Sharathon works, the inner workings of a listener supported station, to now watching our great sales staff work hard, developing proposals and hitting the streets. On-air KGBI has drifted from an Inspo/Soft AC to more of an AC sound that we’ve been having success with.

2. Has KGBI made any changes due to economic situation, been affected in any way?

Even though our section of the country hasn’t been affected as much by the economic downturn, we’ve had to reduce our staffing and bring on the Salem Music Network “Today’s Christian Music” for some of our hours. That being said, our team has been resilient, and the Network sounds great on the air. Our sellers definitely have been having some great success these past few months.

3. How does KGBI connect locally with markets?

With the station’s history being a part of the community for over 40 years, we’ve developed many connections throughout the years, and on an on-going basis do community outreaches like our Cards for Kids at Heart program each February collecting close to 10,000 cards for nursing home residents, being involved in the Omaha Public Library’s Summer Reading Program Kickoff, and getting the word out about Omaha’s “Step Out and Serve” day where churches call upon people to serve in the community.

4. What criteria do you require for a song to be played on KGBI?

#1, is it “Safe for the Whole Family,” not only is it “safe” but is it a song the family truly could get around… #2, Is it catchy, are our listeners going to get tired of hearing it… #3 Emotional Connectivity, but even more important than Emotional Connectivity itself, does it say something to us.

5. What kind of promotions work best for Christian radio?

Promotions that are simple, easy to understand, easy for our listeners to get involved with

6. How do you think Christian Record labels can better serve Christian radio?

I think they do a great job, the level of the quality of music has continued to dramatically increase and the average person, Christian or not, can find themselves liking the music that comes out of the radio right now. I believe this is evidenced by some great ratings numbers at Christian AC stations around the country lately.

7. In your opinion what are the biggest obstacles facing Christian radio today?

I think people can get into a rut of apathy, where it may just take an extra word on air to get a special call, or come across that special piece of show prep or special song. It makes me think of the story about KSBJ’s Jon Hull who heard JJ Heller’s “Your Hands” on “So you think you can dance” and tracked down the song and now listeners all over the country are being blessed by that song.

8. What do you believe is the primary role of the Christian radio air personality?

I believe the primary role of the Christian radio air personality is to convey God’s love on-air through positive energy, and delivering information and fun relevant to listeners, a light in the darkness.

9. What (if any) Christian radio stations do you consider as innovators today?

I keep tabs on KLTY, KSBJ, and KBIQ as well as I have a heart for young people and well, I’m still young myself at 24 and can enjoy the Christian Hit and Christian Rock Stations that are innovators… The RadioU Network, Air1, Way.FM Grand Rapids, and M88/Albuquerque.

10. Where do you see Christian radio in 5 years?

I see Christian Radio in 5 years as more entertaining, research driven content on-air, more people being blessed and ministered to, people of all walks of life than ever before.

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