June-FINAL

Loving Life Outside My Comfort Zone
I’ve always admired
radio personalities.
Imagine the challenge
of talking your way
through a four-hour
show – sometimes
without a co-host – with
your audience only able
to listen.
It’s hard enough to do live TV
with all of the visual distractions
available, but, to me, radio has
always seemed like one of the
ultimate media challenges, and one
that I’d yet to conquer.
After finishing college with a
degree in journalism, I went on to
work as a newspaper reporter the
next seven years and I’m currently
in my sixth season hosting Tribe
games for the Cleveland Indians.
Additionally, I’ve emceed countless
live events … but there’s just
something about radio.
You have to entertain thousands
on a daily basis, and do it in a
way that creates a dynamic visual
for the audience. You have to be
comfortable telling jokes to an
invisible audience. You have to be
up on the latest and prepared for
constant changes – all the while
trying to play music, edit content,
record voiceovers and field callers.
You have to talk and laugh in a tone
that doesn’t annoy everyone.
It’s a lot tougher than I think
most imagine.
About a year ago, I was lucky
enough to begin working on the
promotions team for CBS Radio in
Cleveland, home of Q104, 92.3 The
Fan, WNCX and WDOK.
The job involved facilitating fun
events on behalf of the station.
Our goal is to bring the feel of
each individual station to life
and allow people to connect on a
more personal platform. We play
games with
guests, distribute
information and prizes,
play music and make
sure that they leave with
a positive memory.
Occasionally, we work
with the radio personalities
who are on site to either
execute a live broadcast or
greet fans.
I’ve always enjoyed promotional
events. I love meeting new people and
actually look forward to the challenge
of making personal connections with
guests in mere minutes.
But recently, I was offered the most
amazing opportunity.
A few months ago, I began working
with Q104 Afternoon Host and
Producer Kelly McMann to become
the new female accent voice for the
Top 40 station.
At first I had no idea what this meant.
I quickly learned I would be helping
to provide a voice for a lot of our
station taglines: “Streaming live
now on Q104.com;” “Today’s best
music… on Q104!”
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THE JAMI KINTON DIARIES
THE JAMI KINTON DIARIES 33