JoJo, DJ for "The Big Show", talks about his life and involvement in the radio business, and the diversification of his career.
FORT COLLINS, Colo.— It is an unusually warm November day at 87.7 The Ticket. JoJo walks into his office, flips on the coffee maker, and settles into his plush chair. He tosses down the morning newspaper next to his computer, opening it to the sports section. Logging on to the Internet, he browses ESPN and Sports Illustrated for the top headlines, his eyes lighting up like a true sports fan.
87.7 The Ticket, is a sports radio station based out of Denver and is a part of Front Range Sports Network. It is a relatively new station, and its sole purpose is to broadcast sports news.
“JoJo,” also known as David Turneaugh, always starts his day with the newspaper, checking for the latest news in the sports world.
“A lot of folks do not really read the newspaper anymore since you can find all that is in it on the Web, but that is something that’s a bit old school about me,” said Turneaugh. “I take a ton of notes from reading the paper, then I move on to what the latest news is on ESPN.”
With a quick look at his watch, he turns to a yellow folder behind him and pulls out a sheet of paper with the names of each person he will be interviewing. He walks briskly down the hall to his producer to double check that all the phone numbers and time slots are correct.
“Once that is all done I always reach out to my co-hosts and my producer to see where we want to go on the show that day,” said Turneaugh. “It’s about putting the pieces of the puzzle together to hit the hot topics of the day, get the interviews and give us the time needed to react to what has been said.”
Turneaugh helps run “The Big Show” with the help of his co-workers, “GMan” and “Les”. JoJo is the lead host, making him in charge of the business end of the show; commercial breaks, updates on station information and making sure the show starts and ends on time.
“I play the role of the driver. The “lead-dog” as I refer to it as,” said a smiling Turneaugh. “I have to be the business end of the show, update you on station info. Make sure to stop on time for the required commercial breaks.”
Turneaugh has not always been in sports radio. He has traveled all over the country working in all types of radio. In Colorado alone, he has held many jobs from all over the spectrum. From working in Top 40 type music to working in country music; it seems as though he has done it all.
“I knew when I hired JoJo, he would be a great asset to the station,” said Operations Manager Tim Spence. “He had no experience in sports talk radio, but he’s had over 30 years experience in radio. You know a good personality when you hear one.”
Getting Started In Radio
From Sacremento to Grand Rapids, Kansas City to Milwaukee, Turneaugh has taken the radio broadcasting industry by storm.
“I started at age 11 in Yakima, Washington helping my dad put on music and cleaning the studio,” said Turneaugh with a smirk. “I DJed Top 40 music all over the Mid-West and when I moved to Colorado, I first worked at the country station KYGO, then went to KISS FM and worked as the music director.”
After years of being a DJ, Turneaugh has immersed himself in satellite radio, a major leap from traditional broadcasting.
“Most recently I worked at a satellite radio station and did my own show. I recorded myself for 45 minutes and then that aired for five hours,” said Turneaugh. “It really is strange how satellite radio works, not too much work goes into it as a DJ.”
On the Air
Turneaugh’s job does not always involve being cooped up in the studio. Most weeks, his show is on remote, which consists of broadcasting the show from other locations besides the radio station, such as restaurants and bars in the Denver area.
There is a lot of work that goes into a remote, but the majority of it does not fall on Turneaugh’s shoulders. The broadcasters go on a remote to broadcast and hopefully draw in more listeners as a way of promoting the show. Its an advantage to the radio station to have the ability to hang banners where they can be seen outside the location by traffic and as many passersby as possible.
“For the show I do, the majority of our broadcasts are on remote,” said Turneaugh. “We tend to interview a lot of players from all the sports teams and also sometimes we discuss a certain event that has happened in their sport field. We like to do these because it helps bring in listeners”
When on air, Turneaugh and his partners focus on the current events of the sports world. When discussing topics, it is a normal thing to hear from callers. These people are the ones that keep the conversation interesting, and allure listeners.
“I love angry callers! It is such a normal thing for these people to call in everyday,” said Turneaugh. “If one of us has found a way to make them call in, then that has made my day. You know, 1% of listeners are actually active listeners. Just because they are angry doesn’t necessarily mean they are angry at us.”
As Turneaugh reminisces of past experiences with opinionated callers, he explains his drive for keeping the talk show rolling on air.
“I am a huge sports fan,” Turneaugh said. “I have been in the radio business doing something that I love to talk about. If you don’t love what you are doing and talking about, you won’t be good at your job.”
His fellow broadcasters, “GMan” and “Les” are a major part of making the show run smoothly as listeners call in.
“I have two strong personalities on the show playing referee,” Turneaugh laughs. “We all have a turn at that. Both guys I work with have a sports background.”
From Madonna to Sports Radio
For someone who has been in the radio industry for 30 years, Turneaugh has had transition himself constantly, whether it was playing music or interviewing athletes.
“You have to be a fan of a team or different sports,” Turneaugh explained. “If you DJ country, you have to be a fan of country.”
Transforming from a DJ to a talk show host came with perks, as Turneaugh has had the opportunity to interview many famous people.
“I’ve interviewed people from all over different kinds of entertainment,” Turneaugh said. “When I was in Top 40 music, I interviewed Madonna and George Strait. On the political and entertainment spectrum, I’ve talked to Bill Clinton, Larry King, and Dick Clark.”
During his stint at being a DJ, Turneaugh combined tunes from records in the actual music business to songs that were hitting the charts. Back then, he was used to working with 8 track players and CD’s, technology that is arguably obsolete in contemporary radio broadcasting. The growth in technology ultimately forced Turneaugh to once again transform and adapt to a new broadcasting environment.
The Future of Radio
There is no doubt that the radio industry has suffered in the 21st century with the media focusing more on Internet content and the invention of the IPod to distribute music. However, Turneaugh has high hopes for the continuance of modern radio.
“You can’t get current events on the iPod or the friendly voice you get on the radio,” Turneaugh explains. “You get zero entertainment value from that. On the local radio, you get somebody telling you local stories, like warning you about a current winter storm watch. You just can’t get that from an iPod.”
When Turneaugh got his start in radio, the industry looked a lot different than it does now, especially when it comes to entering the industry as a young adult.
“I don’t have a college degree. I thought about going to college, but I knew I had been doing radio for seven years and I knew I had some experience,” said Turneaugh. “Nowadays, I would suggest for students to get a college degree or go to broadcasting school.”
On his 11th birthday, his father gave him a job working the weekend air shift, which consisted of waking up at the crack of dawn and turning on the transmitter. This small job paved the way to Turneaugh’s success.
“It’s all about knowing that you have to start in that entry level position,” Turneaugh said, laughing and shuffling the newspaper in front of him. “I had to start at really low levels.”
With the evolution of the broadcasting industry and the decreasing number of entry level positions, Turneaugh believes that breaking into the industry is all about strategy.
“Students need to get their start in a large market. It’s the people who are willing to travel to go wherever they have to go—they will succeed,” Turneaugh explained. “You have to be willing to put your foot in the door because this business can be a discouraging one. If you can get passed getting discouraged, then the opportunity is there to succeed.”
Media contributions via Lauren Heil
Photos via Kathleen Spence
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHell yeah.
ReplyDelete