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Gene Baxter co-hosted the Kevin and Bean morning show on KROQ in Los Angeles for thirty years. He retired at the end of 2019 and moved back to the UK, where he was born. Baxter has been hired as the second of Podcast Radio’s ‘podjocks’ – a cross between a DJ and announcer. We caught up with Gene and asked him about radio in the U.S. and his new job in the U.K.
PBJ: How much do you miss being on KROQ? Baxter: I miss the frequent interaction with the listeners and my co-workers but I was ready to leave that particular job after thirty years for a new challenge, for sure.
PBJ: What are your thoughts about corporate radio and how the industry evolved over the man years you spent on American radio? Baxter: I was on American radio for 42 years and I think I feel about the same as most of us on the creative side. Very little of what’s happened since deregulation has been good for the heart and soul of most radio stations. And as remarkable as the technological advancements have been, they’ve hurt our industry more than helped it for sure.
PBJ: I listened to your interview on Podcast Radio. You know a lot about podcasting. A lot more than most radio people. What got you interested in that space? Baxter: I just love podcasts. Started listening pretty early on and am blown away by the quality content of so many shows. Only on NPR or the BBC can you find anything comparable on radio. The variety of programming speaks to their “narrowcasting” nature in stark contrast to the “broadcasting” on commercial stations. Please note, both NPR and BBC are non-commercial.
PBJ: What do you think about this Podcast Radio idea? Baxter: It’s an idea whose time has come. The more people we can introduce to podcasts the more room for growth. And PodcastRadio is a win-win-win for the podcasters whose shows we play, our station and the audience.
PBJ: What will be the content of your podjock show? Baxter: Too early to tell because the station is growing and evolving daily. Right now I’m hosting about 25 hours a week and creating my own content in between the scheduled podcasts I play. But there’s lots of room for me to do additional content, my own podcast(s), interviews and more. Paul and Gerry, the owners, are incredibly talent-friendly. They’re of the old-school, “hire good people and let them do their thing” mindset.
PBJ: How and when can people listen? Baxter: We’ll start updating the website with the host hours along with the podcast episodes that are scheduled. I think we need a grid or something. We’ll also be carving up special or locally produced content to live on the website on-demand too.
PBJ: How’s the pay? Baxter: Did I mention it’s a start-up?