Pam Lundell 2-28-16
Pam Lundell
Mornings w Pam and Andy/Content Creator
KTIS/Minneapolis
Career Capsule: My entire radio career has been right here in the Twin Cities! After graduating from the University of MN where I also worked at WCCO-AM doing everything from answering the phones to taking school closings. My career expanded from there including several formats: Smooth Jazz, News Talk, Classic Country, Modern Rock, Big Band/Rat Pack and being a traffic reporter. After the death of my first husband in 2005 God brought me to KTIS where I’ve had a ringside seat to miracles every day!
I’m a voiceover talent for many accounts locally and nationally so I spend a lot of time in my home studio in the afternoon (after my nap!).
1. Pam tell us what’s new at KTIS… news, changes, expansion, with you… etc?
I just celebrated TEN YEARS at 98.5 KTIS, 8 of them on the Morning Show and have seen so many amazing things happen, the biggest of which is the explosion of social media alongside the on-air product. We now have four apps at KTIS; Our streaming app, Prayer Works, Joyful Noise and the Hands and Feet App which has daily suggestions of kind acts. People click when they’ve done one and recently the number was well over 100,000 in the Twin Cities! We have an incredible engagement and social media department which handles the really technical stuff and makes us look fantastic. It’s exciting but a lot more challenging to incorporate while you’re doing a live show.
We are in our eighth year of bringing the two day outdoor “KTIS Joyful Noise Family Fest” to the Twin Cities in early June and last year the 18,000 seat venue SOLD OUT before opening and we’re on track for that again this year which shows how important it is to fill the need for strong Christian family values in the Twin Cities and beyond.
2. What is the best morning show advice you’ve been given? The worst?
It was a few years ago but during an air-check, John Frost said to my cohost and me, “Would you talk to your friends like that at a party?” That’s when I learned I wasn’t an announcer but a friend on the radio to the listener and it’s made all the difference! It’s hard to find the “worst advice” because I hope I’d be smart enough not to take it! If I had to come up with something I think it was, “You’ll have to move several times if you want to make it in radio.” I haven’t!
3. Some say more Christian stations in a market the better, do you agree with that, why or why not?
I think it comes down to good radio. If it’s a well-run, professional, Christ lead organization, more than one may make it but like any market, the listeners decide and you’re only as good as you sound no matter what your message.
4. What is the ONE thing you must have every day to do your job?
A cohost as motivated and invested as me, (Andy is doing a great job!) and you guessed it…COFFEE!
5. Where will future Christian radio air talent come from?
Where it always has come from; talented, dedicated, faith filled goof balls that will do anything to be on the air and that includes overnights, answering phones and dressing up like a turkey for events. I’ve done them all!
6. Do you feel syndication is good or bad for Christian radio?
Love it! I think you need syndication as well as local, live radio and both can coexist because people listen differently. With syndication you can have experts go deep into a subject and we need that leadership and expertise. With technology you don’t have to listen live, you can always catch up with most syndication on social media leaving lots of time to listen to your favorite local station.
7. Generally speaking to the industry what are the biggest obstacles facing Christian radio?
Obviously, the changing moral landscape in our culture is the biggest obstacle but we all know persecution is nothing new. I haven’t personally seen it in our market but it’s imperative to remain vigilant to what’s happening and raise Christ’s banner high! We need t balance relevancy with our beliefs. In fact we’ve been brainstorming ideas in how KTIS can be counter-cultural in the Twin Cities in a peaceful way while sharing the love of Christ.
8. Who are your radio heroes and influences? and why?
I love social media because it’s easier than ever to connect with my peers to share and bounce ideas off of, so hats off to my other morning show cohorts and also the talented Lisa Barry. More specifically it’s gotta be the early coaching at KTIS from John Frost. Thank you sir! KTIS PD Keith Stevens is really encouraging and hilarious as he puts up with the air staff and he has also very patiently passed on the art of storytelling of which he is a master! I also love and appreciate all the nuggets from Valerie Geller in her books and social media, and every once in a while she even retweets me!! My final hero is the man I heard on the radio while visiting my grandma and grandpa and making me want to get into radio in the first place; Paul Harvey. Good Day!