|
Julie's
Career Capsule
I began working for the WBSN/ LifeSongs organization
when I was 20 years old in the Fall of 1998. I started out working
as Office Manager at a small AM Southern Gospel station our
organization owned in Atlanta. That position lead to a morning show
position. After 18 months in Atlanta, I was asked to transfer back
to our primary station in New Orleans, where I hosted our afternoon
show for a while. After a couple of years, I took the position of
Operations Coordinator, or as my business card says Operations
Cood-i-nator. I have been in this position for several years, except
for the year following Hurricane Katrina. In this position, I am
responsible for coordinating our station events, promotions,
community service projects, interviews, etc. I also currently
co-host the afternoon show.
1.
Personally how do you keep the ministry in the “business”?
As co-host of the afternoon show, I am
very fortunate to be able to connect to listeners through email,
myspace, facebook, and phone calls. We are able to pray with
listeners, rejoice with them, laugh with them. Having this
connection is a constant reminder to me that this is a ministry, not
just a business.
2. Overall, how is Christian radio different today, from 5 years
ago?
I can only speak of what I know, which is
Christian radio in New Orleans. New Orleans drastically changed
through Hurricane Katrina and our station changed as well. Our focus
is now upon helping our listeners rebuild their lives. In a city
where so much can be depressing, we try to offer the encouragement
that God is still good. Much of what I have noticed as a change in
our station is directly due to Hurricane Katrina, and I can't really
speak for other stations.
3. What do you think are the main characteristics of a Christian
radio Promotion Director?
I believe a Christian radio promotions
director has to be creative and organized but also has to have a
heart for the listeners. I don't consider myself very creative, but
I am fortunate that we have a very creative programming team that
consists of our music director, production director, program
director, and myself. We brainstorm ideas weekly and I try to pull
the details together. And it's not too hard to have a heart for the
people of New Orleans. They have been through so much yet they
are still so full of life and love.
4. What criteria do you require for a promotion to air on your
station?
We don't have a set criteria that we run
our promotions through. We probably should. With every promotion we
do, we try to make sure it is something that relates to our
listeners. If it's a contest, the prize has to be something valuable
to the listener and something they are willing to invest time in. We
also want to have fun promotions, a promotion that will make
listeners laugh or at least lighten their mood in a city that often
has a heavy heart.
5. What kind of promotions work best for Christian radio?
The promotions that work best for our
listeners in New Orleans seem to be promotions that have heart. The
people of New Orleans know what it is like to need help from others,
so they are willing to give back when they are able. In the past we
have had contests with great prizes for Valentine's Day, Father's
Day, and Mother's Day. This past year we turned those promotions
into community projects. For Valentine's Day, we collected used cell
phones that were recycled for phone cards and given to military
separated from their families. For Father's Day, we had a Strike Out
Hunger event at Rock N' Bowl, a locally famous bowling alley. In
exchange for free bowling with Dad and a Jadon Lavik concert, our
listeners brought non-perishable food items for our local chapter of
Second Harvest Food Bank. For Mother's Day we collected diapers for
the Baptist Friendship House, a local shelter for mothers and
children. We had a better response to these community projects than
we normally have for contests for these holidays.
6. How do you think Christian Record labels can better serve
Christian radio?
I feel we have really good relationships
with the Christian Record labels. I can't remember a promotion,
interview, or appearance that we have requested that has not been
granted.
7. In your opinion what are the biggest obstacles facing Christian
radio today?
I think the biggest obstacle facing
Christian radio is technology. Today with ipods and websites, people
can listen to exactly what they want exactly when they want to hear
it. I believe there is a way to work this to our advantage. We just
have to figure out how.
8. What do you believe is the primary role of the Christian radio
air personality?
I think the primary role of a Christian
on-air personality is to relate to the listeners. Be that through
talking about the latest news that is on everyone's mind or
informing them of events that are of interest to them. I also think,
we should uplift and encourage them. If the listeners are having a
bad day, they should be able to turn on their radio and re-focus on
the things that matter.
9. What (if any) Christian radio stations do you consider as
innovators today?
I think Z 88.3 out
of Orlando has everything so well pulled together. I respect that. I
also think the guys at M88 in Albuquerque are pretty cool. I met
Joey and Steveo at GMA this past year and they are real people that
seem to be innovative in their ideas.
10. Where do you see Christian radio in 5 years?
I would love to see
Christian radio super local. For stations to really represent their
listening audience. I also hope to see changes in Christian radio
that will allow it to progress with technology. That we will give
people a reason to listen to radio instead of listening to their
ipod or online.
Previous Interviews
|
