WOMEN MAKING
RADIO
WAVES ...
IN DENVER
They share your ride to work,
your home, your taste in music
By MICHELLE ONODA
Photography KIT WILLIAMS
Don’t turn that dial ... please!
We know these women
by their voices. They travel
with us to work and then
back again. Sometimes they come into
our homes. We share a bond because
they speak to us about family, relationships,
frustrations, the everyday
things of life, and they play our
favorite music. Yes, in fact, we may
consider them our friends.
Just who are these women who
come into our lives via the airwaves?
They are a few of a growing number
of female radio personalities.
Though radio was once known as a
male domain, more and more
women are now entering the field.
DENVER WOMAN visited four such
women to whom we love to listen.
We wanted to know how they got
into radio. Was it something they
always wanted to do, or did the
career choose them? How has radio
changed, and what advice would
they give other women? Do they like
the fact that they are celebrities?
How do they balance life and career?
What makes them unique, and how
would they define success?
Mountain 99.5 FM
As you travel the musical airwaves
and settle at 99.5 FM, The
Mountain, from 7 p.m. to midnight
you will hear the unmistakable
voice of Robbie Knight.
It was a call from a former
Mountain program director that
brought Robbie to The Mountain. A
Denver resident since 1982, she
shares with us why The Mountain is
such a good fit for her: "It’s all about
the music. The Mountain respects the
art and community. Its airwaves span
five decades of music." She says that
on a given night you can hear Jimi
Hendrix, the Beatles and a diversity
of homegrown music. For Robbie,
music is magical.
This great love of music had its
beginnings in childhood with her
mother’s record collection of Blue
Bird Jazz records and Mozart. Robbie
explains, "Before radio, music was
passed down from family to family.
Music was a kind of connective glue.
With the advent of radio, music
became available to everyone."
For Robbie, her profession seemed to find her rather than vice versa. She
explains, "Having done theater, club
work and voice-overs, my work became
known, and offers came my way." It was
one such offer where she found her
home in radio. "We as female disc jockeys
have an appreciation for the power
of our air shows," she says.
Robbie confides that as she
approaches the mike, "there is a realization
that there are no filters between you
and your listeners. It is like a friend sitting
next to you, no division. You want to use
words impeccably and expand each sentence
and say what you really mean." As
a true professional, she lives her art by
preparing for every show by keeping current
on events, music, the weather,
sports and community happenings.
Not only has Robbie achieved success
on the airwaves, but she is now turning
her attention to writing. She is currently
working on a novel that she hopes to
have published. Interesting to note,
Robbie wrote her first book at age 7.
For Robbie, "Denver is my home.
When I first arrived, I realized this is where I wanted to be. The mountains
recharge me, and I feel that in this special
environment my art has chosen me."
And as listeners, we too are happy that
Robbie has chosen Denver as her home.
KOSI 101 FM
Turning that dial to the adult contemporary
musical sounds of KOSI 101 from
5 to 9 a.m., you will hear the friendly,
upbeat voice of Denise Plante.
A married mother of two sons, Denise
has a very active schedule. She shares the
early morning KOSI spot with her male
counterpart, Murphy, and after her
duties are finished, she rushes to host a
television show, Colorado and Company.
Denise began her career in 1991 in
Lake Havasu City, Ariz. Initially, she felt
that television was her calling. She had
no plans for radio. Since Lake Havasu
City did not present many television
opportunities, she sent a tape to a local
broadcasting company and landed her
first broadcasting job at age 19 as an
evening disc jockey playing the Top 40.
From Top 40 to Country, from mornings
to nights, she has done nearly everything. "I think radio is perfect for me
because I love to talk. I think my listeners
relate to me as a family friend, because I
talk about kids, family, fashion, even my
pregnancy," she says. "Radio has
changed since I first started. Everything is
computerized now."
Her advice for other women wanting
to go into radio: "Get a good education,
do an internship in this field, build a
good network, job-shadow to find out if
this is really what you want to do. Then
go for it!" She says that even though her
field may be considered male-dominated,
there is plenty of opportunity for talented
women.
When asked to what she would
attribute her success, Denise lists having
a strong work ethic, community involvement,
a love of people. "I feel very
blessed to do what I love and to have
such a supportive family," she says.
Community involvement is important
to her. Her "pay it forward" philosophy
can be seen in her involvement with charities such as Children’s Hospital, the
MS Society and her new endeavor, Camp
Fire USA.
Smooth Jazz 104.3 FM
From your Smooth Jazz 104.3 dial
you can hear the velvety sounds of Becky
Taylor, who takes the reins from noon to 7
p.m. Born and raised in Colorado, she
graduated from the University of Colorado
with a degree in broadcast communication.
It was a lifelong love of music that led
her to a career in radio that started right
here in Denver. Becky says that she has
been in radio over 20 years, and of those,
15 have been with Smooth Jazz.
Speaking from the new offices in
Greenwood Village, Becky speaks of the
early days in radio: "We would bring in
albums to play. Since that time radio has
changed; technology has made the
product better and our job easier."
During much of her radio career
Becky was a single mom raising a daughter. "My daughter is my greatest accomplishment.
It also set my priorities for my
career,” she says. “For me, I wanted to
keep our home life as stable as possible,
so I turned down some radio opportunities
that would have meant uprooting
ourselves to travel to different states."
With the help of her very supportive
family Becky was able to stay right here
in Denver and pursue her career. She
says, "I feel very blessed to do what I
love." Becky loves the challenge that
radio provides; she says every day is
something different. Her philosophy: "Success is living where you want, loving
what you do and working in an environment
with people you enjoy."
As she finishes her sentence, her program
director walks in, and they begin a
humorous banter. She remarks, "See
why I enjoy working here so much? It is
a great place to work."
When I ask her what advice she might
give other women seeking to enter
radio, she replies, "Make sure it is your
passion. Take the work seriously, and be
consistent with what you do. I started by
volunteering at first; radio was my
hobby, then my career. There is a real
responsibility that goes with the job. You
set the mood for people; you want them
to relax."
That responsibility is something that
Becky takes very seriously as she prepares
daily by reading trade magazines,
keeping up on new music and being, as
she puts it, "a news junkie."
Becky lives the lifestyle of her listeners.
She is very much aware of community
and enjoys being able to raise
money for charities. Her visibility has
allowed her to meet her listeners at concerts
and events and to become friends
with a number of musical artists whose
careers she has followed.
Becky, who loves to travel, enjoyed a
special highlight this past year by being
asked to emcee a cruise by musical artist
Warren Hill. She says it was a thrill for
her: "I feel very blessed in my career and
in my life."
Sassy 107.1 FM
As we navigate the morning traffic
headed to work, on radios tuned to
Sassy 107.1 we will hear the warm and
confident sounds of Gloria Neal. Gloria
brings you everything from news
updates called hot flashes to events that
leave your mouth hanging open. These
are called honey hushes.
She was born in South Carolina and
calls San Antonio, Texas, home. Because
her father was in the military, their family
traveled extensively. Much of Gloria’s
childhood was spent in Germany.
Gloria, who broadcasts from Sassy’s
studio mornings from 6 to 10 a.m., talks
to us about her entrance into radio. "It
happened quite by accident. Working as
a secretary and then going to college, I
was often told that I had a great voice. It
wasn’t until I happened to go into a mall
where tryouts were being held for a
radio contest that I really thought about
radio," she says.
The contest was for radio station
Magic FM. There were 61 people in line,
well dressed in suits and with resumes,
each hoping for that special opportunity.
Gloria recalls, “I was in sweat pants and
clutching my purse, wondering ‘What
am I doing here?’" As the contestant
numbers narrowed to 20, then 10, she
was still in the running. "Imagine my surprise
when I won," she says.
After manning the early morning
radio show, she headed straight for her
secretarial job and then to college. Even
though the radio bug bit her, Gloria had
to resign from her Magic FM duties
because of a schedule conflict. From that
early taste of radio she was determined
that one day she would pursue radio as
a full-time career.
Time passed, and once again an
opportunity presented itself. Gloria went
to work for radio station 850 KOA. As
she was enjoying time on the air, fate
was to step in again. While at an event,
she happened upon a broadcast executive,
and from that encounter she ended
up working for Jamin 92.5. A change in
musical format at Jamin 92.5 led Gloria
to her Sassy 107 home. "It’s a good fit
for me and I am enjoying the Sassy format,"
she says.
Gloria has been successful in her
career, though she admits there have been
challenges along the way. What does she
think contributes to her success? Gloria
answers, ”My mother, a strong woman,
did not coddle me but raised me to be
independent. I was taught the value of
hard work and about being a strong person.
I think I have a good gut instinct
about people. I was taught to go for my
dreams and not to make excuses. And it
doesn’t hurt to have a good sense of
humor." Gloria is grateful for the constant
support of her husband, who is also in the
business. She says that if she ever has a
moment of hesitation, he is the one who
will tell her to go for it.
I ask her if she has a philosophy that
she lives by, and her response is a definite "Yes!" Then she proceeds, "People
will forget what you say, forget what you
do, but they will never forget how you
make them feel. I feel a real sense of
responsibility behind the mike. People
trust me in their homes and cars. As a
true journalist," she says, ”it is very
important to get the facts, making your
show enjoyable."
And we, her listeners, never forget
how she makes us feel.
