Famous Firsts with Chris Jackson
Chris Jackson
Program Director / Afternoons
KZIA-F4 (X1075)/Cedar Rapids, IA
I was a DJ at a local nightclub that began running radio commercials. After hearing the spot a local station had produced, I went to the owner of the nightclub to inform him I could produce a better commercial in my sleep! So, they put me in charge of voicing and producing their weekly radio spots. After a few weeks it dawned on me that I could do this for a living!
Soul Asylum & Matthew Sweet.
Michael Jackson's "Thriller." (Wasn't that everyone's first record?)
Papa Roach. Like most young jocks doing their first interview, I was so incredibly nervous, and I forgot how to say (lead singer) Jacoby Shaddix's name. Luckily he was used to it and laughed it off.
It was my first night ever doing a live radio shift. It was a Saturday night, and the Top 40 station was airing a mix show that ran until midnight. As I waited for the show to end, I went to make the board live—and everything went silent. The best part? I didn’t know anyone at this radio station except for the PD who had just hired me. He didn’t answer any of my late-night, frantic phone calls, so I sat calmly, staring at the board, trying to figure out what I had screwed up. After about seven minutes of dead air, I finally noticed that the Program Send was not on above the automation channel. Just one button! The beauty of that moment was that I was no longer nervous about cracking the mic for the first time. It made my first live break feel like a breeze!
