My next interview- Bobby Irwin

Bobby Irwin has been in radio for many years in Colorado Springs. He hasn’t always worked in Colorado Springs. He worked in Seattle as well. Bobby is currently the Station Manager of 6 different radio stations, and he is also the program director for 3 of them. I recently interviewed him.Today, I am going to share some of his answers with you.Jeremy Levy: How did you get started in the radio industry, and was Colorado Springs your first radio job? Bobby Irwin: No, Colorado Springs wasn’t my first radio job. My radio career first began when I was eleven years old. As far as balancing my time thank heavens for technology because a lot of the things that I used to be here for in past years can now be done electronically using computers.I was walking home from a movie theater and there was a radio station in the mall in a Denver suburb called Arvada . I got to watch the DJ for a little while, and quickly fell in love with the business. They gave me a weekend job filing records. I just worked my way up from there. I have been with Cumulus here in Colorado Springs for eighteen years. Before Colorado Springs, I worked in such cities like Seattle Washington, Milwaukee Wisconsin, Tampa Florida, Omaha Nebraska, Des Moines Iowa, and Las Vegas NevadaSo, I have traveled a lot quite a bit before I ended up here in Colorado Springs. Jl: Wow, that’s a lot of traveling!BI: Yes it is. JL: I know that you are the program director of 4 or 5 different radio stations, but how do you balance your time between the stations and your family?BI: Actually, I am the station manager for 6 different radio stations.I am directly responsible for the programming of 3 of them. I am directly responsible for the Peak 92.9 FM, KVOR radio 740 AM and 98.1 KKFMI am only here at the radio station from 9 in the morning to 5 in the afternoon. When I wake up in the morning, I check in with my e-mails .  But, I work from home from 5:30 to 7:30 in the morning.JL: What are 1 or 2 strengths of and what are 1 or 2 weaknesses of Colorado Springs radio today? BI: One of the strengths of Colorado Springs radio is that there the stations don’t really change a lot. There are some morning shows that have been around for a while that are local. For example the Goose and Woody Show on the peak they have been around since 2010. Another one is Cutter and Alisha on NASH 95.1 FM in Colorado Springs. On I Heart Media you have Captain Dan and Tammy on Sunny 106.3 radio in Colorado Springs. Colorado Springs has some good local talent which is a good thing. Another strength is that is easier to go out and be a part of the community easier than in a Seattle or a Tampa. For a weakness, smaller markets tend to play more commercials than in bigger radio stations. Another weakness is the remotes they are a little bit harder to listen to.JL: I do remember Tammy when she was on the Peak, and I try to follow her on sunny as well. Are there any special memories that you have in working in radio?BI: I do have quite a few. A special memory I have is right after 9/11 our group of stations asked people to raise money for the Red Cross. Our goal was to make $10,000 that day, but we ended up making $500,000 that day. We were very fortunate to have so many generous listeners that donated that money that particular day.JL: What advice would you have for someone wanting to get into the radio industry?BI: Be very flexible, and be prepared to do everything from on air work to loading up vehicles for promotional broadcasts, to working on social media (websites and Facebook)JL: Thank you Bobby.This interview was informative for me and it confirmed some of the things that Sharon Hogg told me in my previous interview. Bobby Irwin said that he would bring my resume to his next Colorado radio board meeting. Thanks for tuning in. Jeremy Levy