Q&A with Jen & Frank – WXLO

• What’s the biggest change from when you started in media?

Frank: The technology. We used to get information from newspapers, but now it’s all computers, social media and digital. You can even record something days in advance and then go to air it on the radio, and it sounds like you’re actually live in the studio.

• Where do you see the media outlet you work for going in the next few years?

Frank: Hopefully I’m still here! We seem to be doing well! That can’t be said for everyone though. A lot of businesses in the media seem to be going out of business.

• What major changes have you seen lately in the media outlet you work for?

Frank: The audience and competing for listeners. Especially with podcasts now on the rise. We are a business after all. As much as we would like to be just entertainers, we do still have to focus on certain business aspects of our job.

• Where do you feel media is going now?

Jen: We’ve definitely been growing! We’re now able to broadcast in Boston and most major cities and towns in Massachusetts.

• How has technology changed what you do at work on a day-to-day basis?

Frank: It makes getting information much easier. You can go through the web and have access to anything in the world. There is a negative side to technology though, as it has taken a lot of jobs away from people.

• Is there something you used to do at work that you no longer do now?

Frank: Crazy stunts! We can’t do them anymore for legal reasons. People are “sue happy.” We went to the Auburn Mall once for a stunt of sorts. We got a canoe and put it in the middle of the mall, and got a bunch of people to participate in a competition we called “Fill Your Kidneys!” The participants had to sit down in the canoe and keep drinking lots of water bottles. The last person left who didn’t get up to go pee would win the canoe.

Jen: We also had a stuntman named Banana Boy. We dropped him off once in a random location in the middle of nowhere, and had him do a stunt there. He actually had to hitchhike to get back to our studio to help with the rest of the show! You can see how we couldn’t get away with something like that now. It’s too dangerous to send someone out on their own like that now!

• Is there something you’re doing now that you never imagined you’d be doing in your field or line of work?

Jen: We now have a text program with our listeners, and we’re able to read texts as they come in to us in real time.

• Did you major in communications, journalism, media or a related subject in college?  If not, what led you to this career path?

Jen: I was a Mass Communications major. I got my undergraduate degree at Gannon and my masters at Emerson.

Frank: I was Political Science major at Merrimack.

• Has what you learned in college been helpful in your career thus far?

Frank: No! Aside from political science, I studied baseball and beer! I had a job in real estate after college for quite a while, and I eventually got sick of it all. I wanted to go do something I felt would be more fun. I got involved with media when I was about 30 years old. I first started with news on tv channel 27, and then moved on to radio.

Jen: Yes, but only because I was a little more exposed to it throughout my years of college. I actually did the college radio station.

• What is one major change you expect to see in your job/field?

Frank: I think it’s all going to switch over to AI at some point. I think that’s going to be years from now, however. I don’t expect that to happen tomorrow or a year or two from now. Lots of AI is still being developed it seems.

Jen: Some of their voices sound so realistic too! It’s amazing, but kind of scary when you really start to think about it.

• What would you say is the most challenging aspect of your career?

Jen: The hours! Mornings and getting up early are a challenge. Not everyone is a morning person.

Frank: It’s game on the moment you wake up for the job! You have to be alert and functioning as soon as you walk in to the studio to start your day. It’s not like other jobs where you’re working in an office or a cubicle with a cup of coffee from the office coffee pot in front of you.

• Do you have any advice for anyone who isn’t sure if they want to pursue a career in media?

Frank: My advice would be if there is something that makes you happy, then you should just do it! Go for it! The worst thing that can happen is that it doesn’t work out. If it doesn’t work out, it’s really no big deal. You can always do something else.

Jen: My advice would be to get an internship first to see what they do in media. Allow yourself to really explore your options. Who knows where the internship could take you? You can work yourself up from there!