Jhas : Work Hard, Be Transparent, Exercise Humility

Written By: Maya Perry

Jhas is a transparent and authentic media personality who found her purpose in radio after several missteps that proved to be ordered by God in the first place. In fact, She explains after she left college, with only a part-time job offer, she still wasn’t sold that radio was the path. It wasn’t until Jhas took a leap of faith and moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting. This planfailed, she returned home, with the fret of starting over. This mishap lead her back into radio to discover that it was where she ultimately was meant to be all along. 

​Jhas wanted to be an actress but didn’t realize that radio was her true calling. Most of us find our love for radio almost instantaneously but Radio had to be revealed in the life of Jhas. Jhas states “Like most people, I got started in college radio. But UNLIKE most people, I didn’t stay in college long enough to get my degree. This is why any success I have, I attribute only to Jesus. I actually failed OUT of my radio course twice and would have been booted out of the program entirely had it not been for God’s favor and a programming director who just liked something about my on-air presence.” Jhas describes herself as being incredibly flighty in college. She chose to go to a casting call in New York instead of a mandatory college radio meeting and was fired from the station. She states that “If you are unsure of your path… don’t trip, it will all work out. I promise.”

​One thing she would tell her younger self is “it would be to trust the process. I’d stress the importance of not letting the internet or the timelines of others rush me. But I’d also encourage myself to continue to work hard. Because I wasn’t sure which direction I was going in, does not mean that I wasn’t running full-force in those directions. Being uncertain is never an excuse to not give things your BEST try. Passionate pursuit is a beautiful thing because even in your missteps, you stand the chance of landing exactly where you were meant to.” Sometimes we try to create plans for our own journey but destiny always wins. 

​Jhas is currently a morning show host and freelance writer for Essence Mag and Rantt Media. When ask what she would tell upcoming women in radio is that “While you are doing the hard work, be sure you are doing the heart work. If you let your talent take you places that your character can’t keep you, you will not remain there for long. Growth in your career and growth as a person must run concurrently. And please be gentle with yourself while you grow in both facets.”

Kathia Woods: Overcoming the Obstacles

Written By: Dymin Cannon

There are people who complain, and there are people who make a difference. When it comes down to overcoming obstacles, Kathia Woods is undefeated. 

Born in Germany with a Brazilian background. At the tender age of 11, Woods moved to the United States. While she had the ability to speak English, this transition proved to be a hard one for her. That life changing experience taught her that she could overcome anything. Today she is currently living on the outskirts of Philadelphia, Pennysalvania in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. 

Ambitious, caring, funny and passionate are just some of the qualities Woods possesses that molded her into the woman she is today.  

What led Woods to a career in radio is her love for speaking to people. She felt that there was a void in radio that allowed you to speak to interesting “folks” while playing non-mainstream music. For more than four years, Woods has been a Radio Host and Producer for PC Radio Live. PC Radio Live is an independent black owned station. The company has only been in existence less than 10 years. 

 “We are an independent brand on a black own independent outlet so folks think that's somehow inferior however we have interviewed some of the folks that bigger outlets have. At times it's an advantage because we don't place as many restrictions,” says Woods when asked about PC Radio. Her goals for the brand is to continue growing and connecting with more listeners

“I love discovering new artists or highlighting great creatives. Just because they aren't famous yet doesn’t mean that their journey isn't worth examining,” Woods says. 

 The advice she would give to anymore wanting to pursue a career in radio is to start small. By starting small, she means working at a community station whether it is on the internet, highschool or even college. Next, find someone to mentor you and help connect with as many people as possible. 

“Also, you are never too old to jump in the game. I'm 48 years old and I am having a blast.”

YaYa Love: Radio Is For the Community

Written by: Maya Perry

YaYa Love is social ambassador and radio influencer. As the promotions director over three different formats, Yaya Love is always on the go and coordinating different station promotional campaigns from street events to major concerts. 

YaYa Love adopted the radio nickname after a family friend began calling her “Yaya”.  “My real name, Yanira, is hard for some people to announce and remember, so I wanted something fun and catchy. When it was time for me to choose a name “Yaya Love” came to me naturally.” Yaya Love explains she was bit by the radio bug early. “When I was 17 years old, the owner of the only Spanish radio station in Jacksonville, saw me performing with my band. He loved my energy and charisma on stage and asked me if I wanted to have my own radio show. I was a senior in high school so he gave me my own morning weekend show called” El Show de los Hangovers” and I’ve been in radio since!” 

Yaya Love describes her brand as being the face and voice of the community. She states “I love connecting people of different backgrounds and industry to come together for a great cause. If we think back on the history of Radio Broadcasting, radio was the only way people would be connected with what’s going on in their city. It was their entertainment. I want to remind people that Radio Broadcasting is for the community!”

She is an active Promotions Director for 93.3 THE BEAT, V 101.5, and RUMBA 106.9 in Jacksonville, FL. While concluding the interview, I asked Yaya Love what she would like to express to the her younger self and upcoming women in radio and she states, “You’re going to hit many lows in this career but don’t give up because the struggle you’ll go through, will prepare you for your dream job as the Promotions Director for the Urban and Latin Stations! Don’t be afraid to learn every aspect of this industry! The more you learn about how to run a radio station, the better you’ll be at your job even if it’s a department you’ll never work in.”

Kristen Savik: Living in a Latina World

Written by: Deanna McClary 

Kristen Savik, whose better known as “La Gringa Mas Latina” is a passionate and versatile young woman. Her love for the Latin culture and music began at a young age, which lead her to spend time grasping the customs of the culture. She explains, “I discovered my love for radio after I had gone back to Minnesota after being in the Dominican Republic for 5 months. I looked up “bachata” concerts in Minnesota in google and went, which is where I met my first boss in radio.” Kristen Savik describes, “My daily goal when I go on-air is to show a difference in culture and to exemplify being a Caucasian living in a Latina world.”

Kristen Savik started her radio journey in 2005 as an intern at a radio station. As she grew as an intern, she got the opportunity to learn everything from sales, music directing, to management. Kristen decided to expand and grow her career by making the big move to Miami. She began working for several radio stations, but she got her big break through at iheart Radio with her boss, Enrique Santos on his new station TU94.9. Kristen describes her favorite aspect of working in radio by stating, “I love the opportunities that I am able to receive while being in the radio industry, the music industry and getting to learn the different styles of music and getting to grow as a person.”

When asked what she would tell her younger self, she states “Don’t settle for less than you deserve and always counter an offer. I’ve got this far in my career from being strong and persevering. People criticized me for my accent and wondered why my boss would give me this job because I’m not Latina, but that didn’t stop me from doing the job that I love. They finally realized that they couldn’t break me, which led them to love me.”

Kristen is a mother and a wife who displays how important it is to be a family oriented individual while working in the radio industry. She concludes our conversation by stating, “Moving forward, I’m excited about connecting more with my audience, expressing myself more on social media and using iheart Radio as an extra boost to get myself out there.”

Annie Camp: Born into it, Its in her blood.

By: Maya Perry

Annie Camp is a multidimensional marketing guru and on air personality who LOVES radio.  I relate to Annie’s story because I too was raised in radio. We related in so many ways and had a basic understanding and desire at a young age to be in radio. Annie explains, “My dad was the Program Director for 104.1 WTQR, so my childhood consisted of meeting tons of people I didn’t know around the area, remotes at random places, and super early mornings with dad on-air as he hosted the morning show. Needless to say, I was bit by the “radio bug.”

She attended school at Forsyth Tech for Radio Broadcasting and Production, scored an internship with 98.7 Simon. After showing her ambition and hard work, she snagged the part time position with them doing production work and some promotional events. 93.1 The Wolf needed someone to fill in on their morning show and she was granted opportunity to fill in. Annie describes how she created her radio name. She states “When I helped out last year on The Wolf’s morning show I went by “Downtown Frankie Brown”. That was fun, but after I got done filling in, I moved to overnights and I wanted to just be me, and having grown up in this market, people know me by that, instead of trying to create someone new it’s easier to associate with a person you’ve always known. So Annie Camp it was!”

Annie defines her brand as just her, she’s not some “persona”. “I live where listeners live, eat where they eat, and drink beer in the same hole-in-the-wall places that they do. I’m not sure if I’ve found my purpose just yet, but I want to be a friend to everyone I meet. I want people to know that the folks from The Wolf aren’t “untouchable”, we are average Joes who luckily got a seat in front a mic. If I could hug or shake everyone’s hands that hang out with us every day through their radios, I would. I’m pretty determined to do so too, we are on the streets 5 to 6 days a week. If I’m the only person that these people get to see from the station I want them to walk away saying Wow, she made me feel right at home.”

Annie is currently the full time Promotions Director and covers overnights full time, Midnight-5am for 93.1 the Wolf . Annie concludes our conversation by leaving a gem for other aspiring women in radio to just “DO IT. Make moves, make yourself known to the big dogs, and make noise. Be you 100%, and never try to hide that to appease anyone else. People are going to love you for YOU. If they don’t, screw ‘em. Also, work on your handshake. Firm, assertive, and an excellent grip- it shows people you’re not afraid to take control.”

Brandy Wood: Curating Content and Pushing Through

Written by: Kristen Ayanah

Brandy Wood is the marketing manager of WBGO-FM in Newark, New Jersey and she is curating creative content every day.

WBGO-FM is a public Jazz radio station licensed to Newark, New Jersey founded in 1979. Wood has been with the company for ten years as the marketing manager.

Her main goal as marketing manager is to push content and create continuous buzz through promotion for the station and for audience members to be engaged with.

Wood studied Jazz at New York University and played bass. WBGO-FM is the first radio station Wood has been a part of and prior to this she has worked in festival production specifically for the Newport Jazz Festival working with artists and festival logistics. Wood has truly been enjoying working at WGBO-FM and its environment. She says, “There are great people here who are dedicated and believe that Jazz is a cultural gift to the world.”

If there would be one thing about radio that she would like to change, it would have to be how certain people view radio specifically focusing on the younger generation. Wood believes that radio sometimes is viewed as simply being a technology item created years ago as appose to radio now being quality curated content.

Looking back on her career, Wood wishes she would have been more involved in production or learned radio production. Wood believes that having experience in production would help a lot with her marketing at WBGO and that production often times plays a vital role in storytelling which is what radio and media is all about.

When asked how she feels about how women are treated in the radio industry she says she can only speak from her experience at WBGO-FM. At WBGO there is equal gender opportunity on and off air and the CEO of WBGO is even a woman.

Wood’s favorite part about radio is the personal connection people feel with the station and on-air personalities.

“People have a more intimate connection with radio verses newspapers or television, and we see that greatly through our audience.”

One of the hardest parts, of radio marketing for Wood is trying to get earned media and coverage for WBGO from other media outlets like newspapers and television. She is also trying to learn new ways to be creative with her marketing that way she’ll reach broader audiences but often times this can be difficult due to WBGO’s financial budget.  Never the less moving forward, Wood is excited about working in collaboration with NPR and Jazz in Lincoln Center for WBGO’s “Jazz Night in America” event portraying many different Jazz artist. Brandy Wood will continue to make her mark in radio and Jazz.

“Jazz and Radio is something really interesting that brings people together” she says, “It is the story of the best parts of America.”