The Infinite Dial

Name:
James Kurdziel

Current Title/Position/Company:
Program Director/WEDG-FM

How did you get your start in radio?
I started as in intern on The Shredd & Ragan Show. Then like pretty much everyone else, I did anything I could to stay in the building. The nice thing is that I’m where I always wanted to be, and I didn’t have to move all over the place. That would’ve been terrible.

What are your career goals?
I don’t really think that far ahead. What can I say? The Empire Strikes Back had a huge affect on me. Where you are is more important than where you’re going. My ratings are great, but I want them better. My station is topical and relevant to my market, but I can improve that on a daily basis. My goals are to keep getting better each day. When you work on what’s in front of you, the rest will come together. I never liked those 5-year plan folks. What’s the point of that? It will never happen the way you planned, so it’s a waste of time.

What do you enjoy most about your work?
Writing. Whether I’m writing bits with my afternoon show, clever promos or even sweeps. I love that I can just sit down and be a writer sometimes. Can you entertain, get a message out and keep interest? It’s challenging and by far the most under rated part of radio. I don’t really like dealing with people, so anything that I can do by myself is great.

What are the biggest challenges ahead for radio, from your perspective?
Two things. First, I’d like to see the companies catch up with our ideas. Many companies have made great strides and that’s great but there’s more to do. We all want better web content, but we can’t always have it. That’s tough sometimes. The only other challenge that I see a lot is the lack of pride in this industry. We’re the most consumed mass medium in the world. But sometimes it feels like we let everyone kick us around. Maybe it’s because that’s what high school was like for most of us. Here’s the thing…if free radio (terrestrial is a stupid word for it) were going away, it would’ve been gone the first time an 8-track player when in a car. People still use us. They want to love us. But we’re too afraid now. We’re afraid for our jobs, afraid of the FCC, and afraid of our own listeners. But it can be better. We’re integrating our brands now. Our stations, websites, and other content can be offered as one experience. That’s so great. Can newspapers, magazines and even local TV do that? Nope. We’re going to get it and thrive in the future. Simply because we have to.

What have you learned that you would most like to pass on to your fellow under-thirty-somethings?
You can totally dip French fries in the foam of a Guinness. Seriously. I learned that and it’s awesome.