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clark van orden/ the times leader
Mike O’Donnell is the operations manager for radio stations at Entercom Pocono Northeast. He oversees KRZ-FM, Froggy 101 and The Mountain. O’Donnell, 43, a native of Whitman, Mass., is a graduate of Mount Wachusett Community College in Gardner, Mass., where he received a degree in broadcasting and telecommunications. He and his wife, Ivett, have five children: Maddie, 2; Michael, 4; Julia, 6; Becca, 13; and Jorge, 17. They live in Mountain Top.
Why radio? Was it a love for music, or a love for broadcasting? “It was probably a little of both. For me, the radio and DJs and music were totally non-existent in my life until I was about 12 years old. I didn’t even pay attention to them. And then all of a sudden, one day, I discovered the radio and I discovered music. And I turned into a huge music nut. I started buying the old vinyl 45s left and right at the local music store, and I started paying attention to all of the DJs that were on the air and the great personalities. And I wanted to be like them. I wanted to entertain people and make people smile, and what a better way to do it than playing great music on the radio? By the time I was 13, I knew it was what I wanted to do.”
Supervising three stations doesn’t leave you much time to be on the air these days. Do you miss it? “My entire career, I had been on. Even when I was an operations manager at another company, I did the afternoon drive. But here, I have so many big brands. Froggy 101 is a huge brand. KRZ is a huge brand. And The Mountain is an important brand and in itself is unique. So one of the things I’ve done is given up my air shift, though I have filled in on all three stations. That’s part of the business now — being versatile, being flexible and being a multi-tasker. That’s what cements your future. You have to be a jack-of-all-trades.”
You seem to really enjoy the programming side of the business. “I knew, even from the very beginning, that I didn’t want to be the star on the radio. I wanted to be behind the scenes figuring out the format and developing great promotions that make the station sound sexy on the air. That’s what interests me. I wanted to get involved in the whole package.”
What’s your favorite type of music? “My favorite has always been pop music. Pop/dance. Right now, my favorite artist that I absolutely love is Kesha. And that’s probably why I ended up programming a Top-40 format. For the most part, it’s more geared towards women, and I kind of think like a girl when it comes to music. I’ll admit it: I love pulling out some old CDs and listening to disco. It’s the beats. It’s the dance sound. It makes you want to move. But I can’t dance. (laughs) That’s why I turned out to be the DJ. I figured I could announce the song and feel just as good.”
Who are some of the more memorable artists that you’ve met? “Jennifer Lopez. She was gracious, she was sweet and generally was interested in what we were talking about. And Mariah Carey. I met her about 10 years ago. A really, really nice down-to-earth person.”
What do you do to relax? “In a perfect world, I’d like to sleep. But with a house-load of kids, there really isn’t a lot of sleeping or relaxing. Usually, because they’re small, most of my spare time is spent fixing things that they have broken. But I love to tinker around and do things. I love landscaping and working out in the yard, and I love being with my kids. My time with my family is important to me.”
Favorite city? “It’s a toss-up. San Francisco or San Diego. I love both.”
Ideal vacation spot? “Anywhere in the Caribbean where there can be a shack up on poles about 30 feet from the ocean and I can just sit there like on the Corona commercials. With no phone service.”
Favorite food? “Pepperoni pizza.”
Always in fridge? “Pepsi.”
First car? “A 1976 Plymouth Volare sedan. And I had the gall to actually put air shocks and mags on it.”
Favorite movie? “ ‘Field of Dreams.’ I enjoy movies that have a spiritual feel to them.”
Words to live by? “The distance to success is measured by your own drive.”
Defining professional moment? “It was in the first radio market I worked in. It was a brand new start-up station, which is an exciting thing to be involved with. You light it up for the first time, and you try to make ratings. I had done all of the shifts. I started out doing late nights, then middays and mornings, and then I became the PD. And while I was the PD, we had the highest rating, ever, in that market for a music station. That was a proud moment for me.”