WOMEN OF HARRISBURG RADIO These Six Loquacious Ladies are Broadcasting Outliers

History hasn’t always been kind to female radio personalities. In fact, like many industries, radio broadcasting has long been dominated by men. Sure, in the formative years, there were brief moments in the sun for female DJ’s. For instance, Mary Margaret McBride, who hosted an NBC interview program in the 1940’s, commanded an audience of millions and a reported salary of $52,000. And then there was WHER, a station that was launched in 1955 by Sam Phillips (of Sun Records fame) – with an all-female staff! But it wasn’t until the 1970’s that barriers to hearing women on the air gradually began to fade.

Even so, the ratio of male to female DJ’s continues to skew predominantly male: 65 percent to 35 percent nationally. So, it was refreshing to discover that a local cluster of radio stations – those owned by Cumulus Media Harrisburg – has been bucking that trend, employing a total of six women in on-air positions. With a wealth of experience in the radio biz, and an intoxicating amount of verve and panache, these most excellent Women of Harrisburg Radio sat down with us for an interview recently, to discuss the allure of radio, life behind the mic, and why they are outliers in their industry:

Sue Campbell (WINK 104 FM), co-host of the WINK Wake-Up Show for the past 34 years (and winner of Simply the Best radio personality on numerous occasions); Jen Shade (105.7 The X), co-host of The People’s Morning Show (and also a Simply the Best radio personality honoree);

Venetia (HOT 106.7), afternoon drive DJ who has been at HOT since its inception in 2002; Jenna Clay (WINK 104 FM & WTPA 93.5 FM), News Director of Cumulus Media Harrisburg and Co-host of the WTPA Morning Show; Diane Grey (96.1 WSOX-FM), co-host of the SOX WakeUp Show whose past on-air adventures have taken her from Bucks County to Michigan to Harrisburg; and Christine Ricci (WINK 104 & HOT 106.7), part-time on-air personality, news anchor, and host of “People & Perspectives.”

RG: Since this is an article about the women of local radio … we can’t hide the fact that, nationally, radio is still overwhelmingly male. Though, here at Cumulus Harrisburg, it’s better: roughly 53 percent men to 46 percent women. Why do you think that is?

Jen Shade: There’s always been a situation in radio that’s existed probably since, I don’t know, back with newspapers and what-not, that men are dominant, more interesting, they tend to “deliver” a certain product to people; that women, category-wise, were often considered laugh tracks, and sidepieces to a morning show, so they weren’t taken seriously.

Diane: You would never have a female-driven morning show in that the host and co-host would be women, and maybe have a boy as a “giggle piece.”

Jen Shade: Still very few like that. It’s still a battle we fight.

RG: Why do you think it’s better here locally?

Diane: I think it’s the luck of the draw.

Jenna: Because we’re awesome and funny!

Sue: Well, we’ve just been around forever.

(laughter)

Jen Shade: And some of us just don’t give up! We don’t quit.

Sue: We just stay! (laughs)

Jen Shade: It’s interesting, because you still have that old perception that a couple of women together are a “hen house.” You know, a couple of women together, all they want to talk about is—

Jenna: Cupcakes and cleaning!

Jen Shade: And that’s not the case.

Venetia: But even if you do talk about something with substance, nobody’s listening to it like that. In perception.

Jen Shade: You know, it’s a battle that I’ve fought for 30 years, because I was told in the rock format that people don’t care about news, they’re a bunch of leather jackets, and I never talk to people that way. When I first got my job, I remember saying to the guys that hired me, “two things I don’t do: I don’t play dumb blonde, and I don’t get coffee.” And I was 21 years old thinking I had some clue what the hell I was doing. I just knew what I didn’t want because I knew what I heard.

Jenna: It’s funny you say that about coffee. I purposely never learned to make it, so that people couldn’t ask me to get them coffee.

(laughter)

Christine: It’s still many years ago but, I remember when I did news at a station, I co-anchored with a man, they had one girl, one guy, and we did top and bottom of the hour. I wrote the bottom, he wrote the top, and we alternated pieces, so we were both producers and both anchors. And somebody actually wrote in, “that Christine just doesn’t sound credible, but I love listening to John. He’s credible.”

Jen Shade: It’s kind of a primal thing. People tend to gravitate towards men as protection. And women, they don’t want to be motherly, necessarily. And that’s still a thing, like somebody doesn’t want a woman telling them because it’s more motherly.

Jenna: Even though they need it?

Jen Shade: Yes, exactly.

(laughter)

Jen Shade: It’s just an old thing that still exists.

RG: If you could single out one mentor early in your career, who would it be?

Venetia: Sue!

Sue: Oh, really?

Venetia: Yeah, I was 17 when I worked with you!

RG: I figured that the two of you would say [retired WINK 104 legend] Tim Burns.

Sue: Without a doubt, Tim Burns. He taught me everything.

Venetia: Oh my gosh, I have never had anyone believe in me like Tim did.

Sue: He was so patient, and he would just help you.

Venetia: He gave you advice, but it didn’t sound like he was lecturing.

Sue: And he never got angry. Never belittled you. But he taught you a lot. Like even silly things. Like … “the weather outside.” Well, no kidding, we have the weather inside. It’s like little crutches, you know, that you might pick up along the way.

Venetia: My favorite was “don’t talk about bodily fluids in the morning.”

(laughter)

Jenna: I was mentored by Kim Garris. She was an anchor at ABC 27, and I was a production assistant at the time.

Christine: I worked at a TV station in Albany. Jim Brennan was a mentor in the TV field, trying to help me with my on-air presence there and such.

Venetia: Sue was a huge influence on me.

Sue: We shared an office, remember? We had our office, and Venetia was like our intern.

Venetia: I looked up to you, and you didn’t even know, I don’t think. But with just how to be there, and well, how to spot a prank, too. I mean, which I obviously didn’t learn until it was too late. But like, when you were on maternity leave, and Frank [Schofield] pulled a prank. He put on the birthday list, “today is Phil McCracken Day,” and I fell for it! I said it all morning, too!

Christine: I would give credit to Venetia. Because that was kind of my transition from news to being the on-air personality. You did help me. Going into HOT, it was like “okay, you can do WINK, too.”

Jen Shade: Ed Coffey, from Coffey and Jammer. He was mine. Like was said earlier, there weren’t a lot of women in it, so it was hard to find someone. So, I kind of had to do my own thing. But he let me in every meeting to listen, invited me where I didn’t belong probably sometimes, to hear how things were operating, and coached me all the way through. You know, what to do, what not to do. There’s no doubt in my mind I wouldn’t be anywhere if it wouldn’t have been for him.

RG: How many of you went to school for broadcasting or communications?

Jenna: I did, but for behind-the-scenes TV production.

Diane: I have an Associate’s Degree in Communications, if that means anything.

Christine: I have a B.A. in Communications, but I actually started off as a Computer Science major. So, then I switched.

Diane: Boy, your parents must have been pissed!

(laughter)

Christine: But then I actually ended up going to a certificate program. I wanted to do news, but I thought I was also a shy person, so it was training both in front and behind. So, I’m like “okay, I can do this.” I have my degree, but maybe I didn’t need my degree. But I think my degree helps me with a lot of the other stuff I get asked to do.

RG: Those of you who didn’t go to school for it, what was your career path before you went into radio?

Venetia: I always wanted to get into radio. I used to record people on WINK and mimic them. I know, it makes me a loser, but I was a radio nerd. I started as an intern, worked my way up. So, that was my path.

Sue: I was gonna go to Central Penn Business School. I was in the Business Program my senior year, and a job came open over at WCMB and WSFM 99, so I started there as a receptionist, and secretary to the sales department. I did AM traffic, and I was only there a year, and then at 18 I came over and I was the receptionist at FM 104. But I used to tell jokes all the time, in the hallway, and he [Tim Burns] was like “you ought to come on the show … we’ll just record it, and we’ll call you the Joke Lady. This will be your persona.” And I wore a bath robe and my hair in curlers, and I worked for the fire company, and sold funnel cakes. And he played this goofy music and I’d waddle in, and we got away with telling some really raunchy jokes back then. And then, it was Friday the 13th and the whole joke was “I’m superstitious and I’m not gonna get out of bed today.” So, we did this remote at Lemoyne Sleeper, with me dressed as the Joke Lady, in bed with Tim Burns. And they said, “we think you and Tim have a chemistry together.” This was back in the days of the WINK Morning Zoo, where it was the more people, the better! I mean, we had Traffic, we had Sports, we had News, we had a weather guy, Storm Kennedy … and then, they were adding a girl to it – me –and it was like the more, the better. The zanier, the better. And that’s how I started.

Jen Shade: I went to Tyler School of Art, for Graphic Design and Animation. And I was doing band schedules, to put out in bars and things. And that’s where I ran into Ed Coffey, and he said, “did you ever think about doing radio?” And I said “no.” He said, “you should do a demo tape.” And I said, “what’s that?” And they hooked me up with the night guy, and I did a demo tape on a Monday night. Tuesday it was submitted into Jeff Kauffman from programming, and Tuesday afternoon the night guy called me and said, “you better get your a— in here, because you’re on this weekend for your first two hours.” And I had to run blind. I had no idea, and they put me with a guy named Jim Cook, who was doing the nights. And I remember the first break, you know, I wrote a lot of it out, because I was afraid, I didn’t know what to say, and I don’t remember anything I said, and I forgot to turn the mic button off. And as soon as I did it, I went “oh my God, holy sh---,” and he [Jim] jumps over and slams the mic off, because I didn’t even know how to turn it off. I was just happy that I could actually hit enough buttons to keep us going. Because at the time you had CD’s and records, and carts you had to drag around. And I was just happy I got through break one.”

Diane: What did I want to do other than radio? I wanted to be a truck driver, or a court stenographer, or a physical therapist … (laughter) or work in a horse barn or be a travel agent. It just kind of happened that I walked into the Bucks County Community radio station with a friend, and I was like, who doesn’t love music when you’re a teenager? And I was really into rock and punk, and it was like you could play whatever you want, and it was a glorified PA system that went to the cafeteria, but it still sounded kind of like fun. And they always needed somebody to do stuff, so I was like “yeah, all right.” And then, the idea of using your voice in different ways always was intriguing to me … I thought it was really cool. But like Sue, I started off being a receptionist at a radio station, but I let them know I wanted to be on the air. And eventually something happened, and boom, they threw me on the air.

RG: Having been employed before in the broadcasting business myself, I know that, for the most part, it’s not a huge money-making venture. So, if not the money, what is the number one thing about radio that gets you out of bed in the morning and eager to stand behind that microphone?

Sue: It’s different every day. Every day it’s something new, and something different to talk about, a different challenge … and it’s always fun.

Venetia: You connect with all different kinds of people and the different charities that we work for, that I always volunteered for before I got into radio. And I just felt like if I got into radio I could help on a larger scale. That’s a huge part.

Jenna: Plus, it’s like you come in, and you’re just joking around with your friends.

Venetia: It doesn’t feel like a job. But you’re getting paid for it!

Sue: But then when people come up to you and say, “you make my morning.” And you think, “if I can just put a smile on someone’s face, if I can be that little bright light … then, I like that.”

Jen Shade: I work for the listener. I told them that when we first got acquired here [by Cumulus]. I sat with John [O’Dea] and Chris [James] and I said, “no offense, but I don’t See Women of Harrisburg Radio, on Page10 work for you. I work for the listener. And if I forget that, then I don’t belong here anymore.” So, I enjoy working for people, helping connect them, I consider myself more of a connector. We’ve got a charity, we’ve got news, we’ve got this, we’ve got that, and we help our community that way. Plus, I enjoy the competition of it. There’s always somebody waiting to take your seat. That makes you get up in the morning!

RG: Can you name the biggest thing that has changed about broadcasting, good or bad, since you’ve been in the business, that has affected your job the most?

Christine: Yes, it’s carts!

Jen Shade: Carts!

Diane: Carts! (laughter)

Christine: Picking your commercials out before you started your shift, and putting them on the table—

Sue: Stacks and stacks of them!

Jen Shade: And explain that they’re like big 8-tracks to walk around with.

Sue: And then you pull your music and pull your commercials.

Jen Shade: I used to come in two hours in advance of a three-hour show to pull all my music at a time on CD. Had everything ready, all the carts, so that you could concentrate on what you’re doing. But yeah, the technology has expanded.

RG: Everything’s digital now, right?

Diane: Oh, it’s nothing now! You sit in front of a computer and go ‘bip’!

Venetia: On the downside, it has replaced jobs.

Jen Shade: It has. And that’s the other part: it’s harder than ever to get in. Male or female, at this point. AI and all these things, it’s a big concern, just automation in general. It’s eliminated the over-nights, where people started.

Diane: There’s no training ground anymore.

Jen Shade: There’s nothing that replicates being “live.” Performing live, you don’t have a second chance. And once you get over screwing up in public, you become your “real person.” So, you have to get over that hump, and unfortunately, there’s nowhere to do that anymore. And you don’t even see that in the podcasts. A lot of them are, fair enough, very weak.

Diane: They’re pre-recorded and edited!

Jen Shade: When you’re live, you gotta be all on, or nothing. Furthermore, managing art as a business, and managing entertainment as a business, is really complicated. As females in the business, there’s no rule book for us at all. Not anymore, especially. So, we don’t have – I didn’t anyway – have anything to go by. I don’t know much has changed, other than we’ve been able to kind of take control. Some things have gotten a lot better. Some things haven’t changed at all.

RG: So, one final question … and you were probably expecting something like this: If you could give advice or encouragement to any young girl thinking about entering the broadcasting business, what would you say?

Diane: Don’t do it. (laughter)

Sue: Try TV. (laughter)

Diane: Yeah, try TV, or something. But honestly, radio is still going to be viable for a while. I can’t remember the stats, but we’re still the most listened to outlet of such sorts--

Jenna: Because we’re still funny!

Jen Shade: I’d say, if it’s your passion, if it’s what you love, do it well, but expand. Constantly be looking on the horizon. There’s always new technology, or whatever, but you work on you, you work on your voices, you work on your deliveries …

Diane: You have to market yourself.

Jen Shade: And learn business first. You can’t run the “business of you” without knowing something about the business, or you’ll get run the hell over. This is not a game for people who can’t play. And make sure that you’re throwing a wide net out there. You can do voicework now from home!

Christine: I guess my advice would be, be humble, learn to take criticism, but also learn to be your own advocator and boss.

Jenna: I tell people to get your foot in the door and learn everything you can. Because the only reason I’m still here is because I can do several different things. Learn everything and make yourself irreplaceable. Sue: The problem is the opportunities. It’s hard, with the limited number of job opportunities, and everybody’s downsized.

Jen Shade: If you come in here thinking that everything is going to stay the same, you’re in the wrong place.

We’re selling our house. I’m gonna have an auction in a bar during happy hour. I hear you can really make a killing then.

I hit the wrong buttons on my remote. And now my TV has close captioning in Amish, everything translated to Flemish, picture within picture within picture, the screen the size a small box of raisins and it doesn’t work on Sundays.

“Customer who bought 2 coffees at Starbucks hit with an erroneous $4K tip, forcing family to postpone trip to Thailand” … Now they can only afford a trip to Starbucks to try to cancel the tip.

By the Book/Stefan Hawkins