Since the day I arrived at Salisbury Universitys campus, I have been presented

with opportunities not offered anywhere else. During my four years here, I have tried to
participate in anything that could benefit me as a student, as a professional, or simply as
an individual. When I was offered the chance to intern at Clear Channel Communications
in Salisbury, I felt unsure at first. Although I had taken audio classes at SU, I never saw
myself pursuing a radio career; I believed that my true interests and talents were
exclusive to video production. My opinion quickly changed after listening to Whiskey
and Randys morning show on Froggy 99.9 FM. Even before I entered the studio, it was
apparent that they are funny, intelligent guys who have a real passion for their work.
After interviewing with Randy and discussing what my duties would be, I knew this was
a good fit for me. Over the course of my internship, I learned some of the ins and outs of
working for the largest radio outlet in America. I participated in Whiskey and Randys
morning show, attended meetings and events, worked on the station websites and
completed various projects around the studio. I learned the communication, as well as
business aspects of running a radio station, the importance of networking and interacting
with fellow employees and listeners, and I was able to apply much of what I learned as a
media production major to my duties as an intern.
When I first visited the studio, I felt both excited and intimidated. As I sat down
to talk to Randy and Whiskey, my anxiousness quickly subsided. They made me feel
comfortable right away and introduced me to everyone in the office, each of whom
greeted me with a smile. I was given a schedule and a limited breakdown of what I would
be doing, and was told to report back the first week of class. I returned in January on a
cold morning for my first day of work. Although I was familiar with the morning show, I
had never experienced it first hand. Within the first few minutes, I was thrilled with my
choice of internship. Whiskey and Randy boast fantastic chemistry on and off-air, and
have a way of making everyone feel important. Within minutes of being in the studio,
Whiskey told me to pull a chair up to the microphone and jump into their discussion. My
experience as a media production major benefitted me greatly during these morning
shows. When I took Dr. Andrew Sharmas Advanced Audio class, I learned to get close
to the microphone, speak loudly and clearly, and stay relaxed. Many guests who came
into the studio for interviews had issues with this. They either sat too far away from the
microphone or spoke too softly. This always made things difficult for Whiskey, as he
would have to adjust the levels accordingly. If he had to turn up the levels too high, the
microphone would pick up background noise and static, creating an unpleasant
experience for the listener. I was proud that I was able to put forth the skills I learned at
Salisbury University to my advantage, while also making things easier for Whiskey as he
worked the soundboard.
During my first few days, I also learned about the demographics of each radio
station. Froggy 99.9s demographic is a 34 year-old Caucasian woman who is married
with two children and makes about $40,000 per year. Kiss 95.9 is geared towards a 24
year-old Caucasian woman who is single and makes about $20,000 per year. Q105 is
aimed toward a 45 year-old Caucasian woman married with three children who makes
$28,000-$38,000 per year. Magic 98.9 is based on a 36 year-old African American
woman who is married with two children and who makes about $25,000 or more each
year. It was important to keep this information in mind when posting to social media and
the station websites. Each station required a different style of posting in order to spark the
target audiences interest.
An important part of my duties at Clear Channel included driving traffic to the
station websites through the use of social media. Posting to Facebook is typically handled
by the on-air personalities, but Interns were given full access to Twitter, Pinterest, and
Instagram. Before I started interning at Clear Channel, I had never used Pinterest and had
very little knowledge about how it worked. During my first week, Victoria Kent gave me
an in-depth lesson on how to use it to its full potential. Victoria works as Promotions and
Digital Content Director, and understands how to use social media in a business context.
The traditional idea behind Pinterest is that users from all over the world can share new
ideas for hobbies and projects. As it continues to become more popular among teens and
adults, many corporations are beginning to take advantage of it, and Clear Channel is no
exception. Victoria explained what articles and videos are appropriate to pin, and how to
choose the proper category for each pin in order to attract users. Categories like Weird
News, Delmarva Love and Funnyz! have the largest audience, so it was imperative
that we posted in those categories as much as possible. After interning at Clear Channel
for about two months, Pinterest made some changes to their social network. We soon
found that when posting certain videos, it would create a link to YouTube instead of
directing the user to our stations website. Fans of Pinterest may have praised this new
feature, but it created a problem for us from a business perspective. Every page view we
would have received went to YouTube and other viral video sites. Our initial thought was
that we would have to stop posting videos altogether, but after some research we were
able to come up with a solution. When we knew that a video was going to link our
followers elsewhere, we chose a different thumbnail photo, usually the respective station
logo. When clicking the image to watch the video, users were linked directly to our
website once again. However, since there is no way for a user to preview the video, we
had to become particularly clever when writing captions in order to attract attention to
each post. Another strategy I tried with the Froggy Pinterest was posting articles and
videos from the Kiss 95.9, Q105, and Magic 98.9 websites. This was also encouraged by
Victoria, who explained it is good to expose Froggy listeners to our sister stations that
they may have otherwise not known about. Toward the end of the semester, Victoria sent
us an email report of how the website was doing. She noted that the Fab Photos gallery
on Magic, produced by national and pushed out by the interns through Pinterest saw 9.5K
hits this month, our top content for the month even beating out the home pages. This
was extremely encouraging to hear.
One of my favorite aspects of interning for Clear Channel was meeting and
speaking with the fans that listen to our stations every day. When Whiskey and Randy
first started putting me on air, I did not think much about who was listening on the other
end. People often called in to request songs or try and win contests, but I had no personal
interaction with them. My first experience dealing with fans was calling contest winners.
I was assigned to select winners from a list of submitted names and then call to notify
them. Since Salisbury is considered a small market, many people enter every contest
offered. Although this is not against the rules, it is important that everyone gets a chance
to win. After I pulled the winners names, I would pass them along to Randy or Victoria
so they could check to see if anyone on the list had already won something in recent
months. If so, we would usually choose a new name in order to make things fair for our
listeners. Interns took turns calling contest winners, but I volunteered to do it whenever I
could. I loved hearing how ecstatic they became after I congratulated them. My first face-
to-face encounter with listeners was at the Mardela Springs Volunteer Fire Companys
Annual Sportsman Bash in March. I went early to help Whiskey and Randy set
everything up, including a tent, table, prize wheel, and prizes. We also had Froggy 99.9
FM playing live through the speakers on the Froggy Van. Before the event even became
busy, there was a constant stream of people coming to talk to Whiskey and Randy. Some
they were meeting for the first time, some it seemed like they had known for years. At
first I was shy, not being used to dealing with so many people at once, but I soon warmed
up. I started encouraging everyone who walked by to step up and try the prize wheel, as
well as submit their names for a chance to win a Wawa gift card. When Randy or
Whiskey introduced me as Intern Matt, I was surprised at how many people knew
exactly who I was from listening to the morning show. They talked and joked with me
about some of the on-air conversations I had with Whiskey and Randy. By the end of the
event, I felt extremely comfortable around our listeners, and eager for the next event.
Since the Froggy Fan Fest at the Shorebirds Stadium on April 29
th
was rained out, the
next event I participated in was the Salisbury Kennel Clubs 4
th
Annual SMKC
Charitable Trust Dog Walk on April 5
th
. Victoria Kent and I were able to bring our dogs
and participate in the walk with other dog owners. We played music from the Q105 van,
which everyone participating in the event seemed to enjoy whether they were familiar
with the station or not. Unlike the Sportsman bash, we had to work a little harder to
connect with people. Q105 does not have a morning show like Froggy does, so there are
not as many die-hard listeners. Still, they seemed to be enthusiastic about our
participation in the event, and we may have gained some new listeners in the process.
Most recently, we participated in the Salisbury Festival on April 26
th
. Unlike the previous
events I attended, the Festival featured our four biggest stations; Froggy, Magic, Kiss,
and Q105. The vans were parked in all different areas, ensuring that everyone would have
to walk past at least one. The Kiss van played music at the end of one street, while the
Froggy van was set up on another street, complete with a prize table and tent. Unlike the
previous two events I attended, the Festival was attended by a large variety of people.
Some were familiar with the stations and some were not, but by the end of the day,
almost everyone knew Whiskey and Randy. Seeing how they are able to mingle
comfortably with anyone who walks by inspires me to be more outgoing and less
inhibited by timidity.
An important part of interning at Clear Channel was attending weekly promotion
and sales meetings, every Tuesday morning at ten oclock. This is where I began to learn
the business aspects of running a radio station. These meetings were attended by the
Program Director, Market Manager, Promotions Director, Sales Manager, and other
important employees. Every week there were different issues to talk about, including
upcoming events, contests, promotions, clients, and more. There were often debates about
participating in certain events, depending who the client was, the date of the event, who
was available to work it, and how it could benefit us. Recently, we spoke about a
Seagrams giveaway going on this summer. First there was a discussion about how the
contest would work; we could either do trivia on Whiskey and Randys morning show, an
online photo contest, or online name submission. Once that was figured out, Chris Walus,
the Market Manager, brought up the issue of giving away alcohol as a prize. If someone
under 21 were to win the contest and use a fake ID to pick up the Seagrams wine coolers
at the Froggy studio, the station could be held liable if that person drove drunk or injured
him or herself in some way. He suggested that giving away a gift card was a safer and
smarter option. This way, the responsibility would fall into the hands of the storeowners
instead of Clear Channel. During another meeting, Victoria talked about that past
weekends event, saying that one of the station vans was missing scissors and tape. She
advised that employees should be diligent about putting tools back after using them.
Chris interjected that although he agreed this was a problem, there is no point in getting
frustrated. People make mistakes, and sometimes you just have to roll with the punches.
He suggested that we create a checklist of all necessary supplies, and post a copy in each
van. That way, employees could go over the list the day before an event to make sure
everything was accounted for. Although I understood Victorias point of view, I
respected how Chris responded. Watching the employees interact like this with one
another was a learning experience within itself. I liked everyones attitude of I respect
you and your opinions, but heres how I think it should go. All the employees truly get
along, but these meetings are no nonsense. If someone disagrees with someone else or
has a different idea, they are not afraid to speak up.
During the middle of the semester, Whiskey and Randy decided to create a
contest between the interns. He wanted us to find someone relevant to Froggys audience
to interview over the phone. I reached out to a few artists and received no response.
Looking back, I am disappointed that I did not take the challenge more seriously. One of
the other interns, Kaylee, was able to make contact with the label of the band Parmalee
and set up an interview. They are an up and coming country band and Whiskey and
Randy were definitely impressed. I reached out to a few more artists, labels, and
managers, and never heard back. On Whiskeys birthday, I saw a chance to redeem
myself. I am a member of Salisbury Universitys on-campus a capella group,
Squawkappella. I spoke with members of the group who agreed to come at 8:30AM to
surprise Whiskey and sing Happy Birthday. He definitely was not expecting it, and
everyone who came had a lot of fun. Afterwards, Randy agreed to promote our
appearance at the Salisbury Festival and our upcoming concert on May 10
th
.
Over the past four years, I have been told that networking is extremely important.
I understood the concept, but working at Clear Channel was the first time I really
witnessed it firsthand. Whiskey and Randy meet many people in their line of work, and
often create connections with those people. Whether they are talking to clients,
interviewees, or fans, they always try to connect with people on a personal level. Midway
through the semester, Whiskey and Randy used their connections to set up intern Kaylee
with a meet and greet with Austin Mahone, one of her favorite artists. This is just one
example of how networking works to their advantage. Since Froggy and the other stations
run ads for local restaurants and stores, Whiskey and Randy are sometimes offered meals,
massages, and other products and services free of charge. When Whiskey played in the
Harlem Globetrotters game this past semester, VP Shoes sponsored him and provided
free sneakers for the game. If Randy needed some work done on his house, a contractor
whos ad gets played on Froggy is more likely to give him a good price than someone he
randomly hired. This is not to say that Whiskey and Randy get everything for free, or
take advantage of their status as Delmarva celebrities. However, it is always good to have
connections, no matter how big or small they seem.
During my time at Froggy, I gained invaluable hands-on experience that I would
have missed out on if I chose to enroll in a seminar class. I made personal connections
with people that I hope to stay in touch with for years, and was thrilled to come into work
every day. Until now, I never saw myself going into radio, but I truly enjoyed the
atmosphere and the work I did. This internship has taught me to travel outside of my
comfort zone, and take more risks. I feel proud that I was able to make a difference at the
station, both in my contributions to the radio show and social media, as well as projects I
completed to take some weight off of other employees. I would not change this
experience for anything, and I now feel confident that I will be able to succeed in the
ever-evolving field of communications and media.