Sharon Hogg interview

I am doing a job search in Colorado radio, and as part of that search, I am doing interviews with people who have been or who are in radio.I talked with Sharon Hogg last week. Sharon Hogg was my radio broadcasting teacher at Pikes Peak Community College. Sharon was in radio before she became a college teacher, and then an advisor at the college.  Sharon is currently an Associate Dean at Pikes Peak.Here is the interview:JL: How did you get your start in radio?Sharon H: I started at my College radio station. I went to college in Pennsylvania and all of my friends were communications majors. They all worked at the College radio station, and I thought that would be fun to do. Jl: That sounds very interesting. SH: The station was called WNFT radio that was short for Nittany radio. JL:What are some of your favorite memories of working in radio? SH: My favorite memories were introducing bands when they came to town. Also meeting listeners at remote broadcasts were really fun as well because you got to talk to the listeners live instead of just talking to a microphone. Also giving prizes away was really fun also: In radio you need to be a people person. Jl: I am a people person as well and that is one of the reasons I want to be on the radio is so I can interact with people.JL: What would be your advice for someone who wants to get in to Colorado radio? SH: I would advise them to get as much experience as possible which is difficult to get if you can’t get a job. And to be very flexible, and versatile. You would need to know not just how to be on the air, but you need to know about sails, and how to write news and weather, and about websites and other formats that are in radio as well. Have the passion for the industry, talent can be taught, but you can’t teach passion. If you go in to work for a radio station then the program directors can train you exactly how they want you but, they can’t teach you passion. Jl: That is great advice Sharon. Jl: What would you say are some strengths of Colorado radio, and what are some weaknesses in Colorado radio? SH:They will change. You can hear radio change from regular radio to satellite radio. Some people are going away from radio. In the past radio has changed. Radio stations are changing with keeping talent, and getting great talent. One weakness is they don’t get payed enough and I think they work the people too hard. Another weakness is that big corporations are owning so many stations that the smaller stations can’t make it any more. So it’s really hard to get in the door. JL: Yes, I understand that. I have noticed that a lot of the radio stations have been getting bigger and that they are owned by big corperations. How do you think Colorado radio will change within the next 1 to 2 years? SH: I don’t think they need to Jeremy. I think they will stay as they are. They already play a lot of music. They will not change a whole lot. Jl: If you had a magic wand, what would you change about Colorado radio? SH: Sometimes I think I do have a magic wand. What I would change is play more music and the people on the radio getting paid more.  Jl. I am interested in working in Colorado radio as a career what advice do you have for me? Also do you have any connections for me in Colorado Springs in radio?  SH: Somehow you need to get your foot in the door. They might have to create a position for you . I know that you enjoyed your work at KVOR. I do have some connections for you in Colorado Springs. Sharon gave me the name of Bobby Erwin, and I plan to write about that next week. Thanks for tuning in, Jeremy Levy