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Mike's
Career Capsule
1986-1987 Intern / PT with WCCC-FM (ROCK) in Hartford, CT,
1988-1990 Air Personality for WLVX-AM Hartford, CT, 1986-1992 Air
Personality for WTCC-FM Springfield, MA, 1992-1993 MD/Air
Personality for KHRT, Minot, ND, 1993-2001
MD/Production/Promotions/Air Personality for WNCB (Refuge Radio)
Duluth, MN , 2003-NOW APD/MD/Promotions/Production/Sales/On Air
Personality KAFC, Anchorage, AK
1.
Personally how do you keep the ministry in the “business”?
It’s a matter of remembering who is over all of this, and that is
Jesus. Without Him, I have no job, without Him, we have no Christian
Radio, without Him… nothing. The scriptures say “Seek first the
Kingdom and all of His righteousness, and everything else will be
added unto you.”
2. Overall, how is Christian radio different today, from 5 years
ago?
There seems to be no real clarity
between the formats of AC and CHR. It seems like everyone is still
trying to reach the same audience. Why have two different formats if
there is really no difference? The main audience seems to be 25+
these days, a typical AC demographic. There are however a few
successful ones out there doing traditional CHR targeting of 12-24,
and doing it VERY well.
3. What do you think are the main characteristics of today’s
Christian radio PD?
Seriously? One who is a major multi-tasker. It seems that a lot is
put into the hands of most PD’s in a typical 10 hour day. That
amount of time just doesn’t seem to be enough to get things done.
But one thing I think should be a major priority is training up
others to do what we do, in essence duplicating ourselves. We have a
serious lack of talent available in the pool, and if we could train
up and mentor those who would want to progress in this biz, we could
start a new generation of talent that would be ready to take over
when the rest of us retire. Voice trackers are cool, and they save
money, but local talent that can be a part of the community will set
us apart from the networks that continue to grow.
4. What criteria do you require for a song to be played on your
station?
For me, this is changing. I am growing tired of the same ol’ cookie
cutter formula being employed by most of the songs I hear. Same
guitar structure, same safe ‘it’s worked before, so it will continue
to work’ mentality. Place most of these songs together in a half
hour segment, and ask the listeners if they could tell that 5 – 6
different songs were played, and they will tell you “no”. So now I
am looking out for anything that is different and CREATIVE. Songs
that come to mind recently include ANYTHING by Newsboys (thanks for
keeping those creative juices flowing after all these years), Justin
Unger, Mikeschair, Grey Holiday, Rocket Summer, Eleventyseven, Kirk
Franklin, Toby Mac, Shawn McDonald, and others. Lyrics do play a
major factor, obviously, and how do the lyrics match with our target
demographic? I am looking for something that will encourage
Christians towards living a holy life for God, and encourage them
where they are at on a daily basis. It must speak to their heart,
and into their life as a Christian, and in the things they are
actively engaged in.
5. What kind of promotions work best for Christian radio?
Trips to far away places! Seriously, if that isn’t possible, I like
the creative ideas that come up to get our listeners connected with
the artists. CD giveaways are good, and we do those EVERY week on
KAFC, but to take that further into a specific theme by adding
unique prizes along with that is very beneficial as well.
6. How do you think Christian Record labels can better serve
Christian radio?
If
you are really behind a song, please let us know that. We have TONS
of songs coming our way, and the ones that we hear about a LOT will
help in our decision making process, especially if the song is a
HIT! The ones that get released on Play MPE are looked at once I get
notification in the e-mail box, but after that, I DO need reminding,
otherwise I tend to forget about it. If it’s a priority for you,
please let us know, otherwise it will fall off my radar.
7. In your opinion what are the biggest obstacles facing Christian
radio today?
The increase of networks coming into markets with already existing
LOCAL Christian Radio stations. We tend to knee jerk at this, but if
we keep our focus on the things that we can CONTINUE to do to bless
and influence our local communities, we will WIN! Stay local,
promote local, and stay locally involved and be VISIBLE. This will
keep you right there at the top of their minds.
8. What do you believe is the primary role of the Christian radio
air personality?
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