Music writer spends summer interning at top radio station
Novak lived out her dream at Z100 in New York City
Posted on August 27, 2007
I fell in love with radio instantly. It was love at first sound. From the moment I hit the airwaves on WXJM, JMU’s own student-run station, I knew it was what I wanted to pursue. There was something initially daunting, but later incredibly appealing, about knowing there was someone, or hopefully many people, hearing my voice on the other side of the microphone.
It was an easy decision to apply for various internships at several local stations back at home in N.J. and a simple suggestion from a professor led me to dream a little bigger and apply to one of the biggest and well-known stations in the country, WHTZ, Z100, in New York City. Strange as it may seem, I never heard a word from the local stations, but was asked to intern with two separate departments at the station I had listened to religiously growing up— Z100.
When I say being hired at Z100 was an absolute dream turned into a reality, it’s an understatement. I remember when I was younger and I would fall asleep with my hand on the radio because that allowed better reception in the hilly, forested area I grew up in. I remember rehearsing what I would say when I won on $25,000 Thursday —“This money will help my parents send me to college!” — though I never did win. I remember when it was still Elvis and Elliot and the Z Morning Zoo, before Elliot moved to DC and Carolina came. I remember calling the station every day, just to request a song, though I never once got through.
Z100 was like my untouchable childhood fantasy. I never knew what any of the DJs looked like and was in love with them anyway. I could only imagine them sitting triumphantly atop the Empire State building, with the best view in all of N.Y.
I interned this summer with the promotions department, though I also had the opportunity to work with the Morning Show. I started my first day by meeting at a run-down garage in East Rutherford, N.J. with several other interns and a part-time employee. The garage symbolized my first wake-up call to the reality of the radio world: everything did not come packaged and perfect. The garage was filled with tablecloths, banners, stickers, jock cards, t-shirts and couches, while the Z100 vehicles were packed in like sardines. All the same, I was thrilled.
Promotions interns worked both at the station and at various events throughout N.Y. and N.J. I was at the station every Monday, and sometimes on Wednesday and Friday, entering contest winners, packaging prizes, labeling tickets and making phone calls. I also helped with in-station events like “Z-lounges” where bands would do private shows for a select audience and preparing for whichever artist might be arriving that day for an interview.
Though the office was always freezing and the work could be tedious, it was also unpredictable. There was more than one occasion I arrived either at the garage or the station and was told, “By the way, Boys like Girls and the Backstreet Boys are coming today. Be ready.” Or, “We’re going to have to stay late, Rihanna is on her way.” It was this constant excitement and unpredictability that made even the longest days so much fun.
Events were equally unpredictable. I worked everywhere from one of the biggest concerts of the year, Zootopia at Nassau Coliseum, to a Stop n’ Shop in Ridgewood, N.J.. I gave out free coffee at a Quick Check and thought the two hours would never end and worked a 7-11 grand opening for three hours and wished it would never end, despite the fact that it was over 90 degrees.
I met more bands and people than I can count and saw more concerts in one summer than the rest of my life combined. I learned my way around New York City and traveled throughout it by myself for the first time. I baked every week for the entire station and even made it on air with the Morning Show I had grown up worshipping as a kid. After accomplishing so much in one summer, trying to recall it all now is nearly impossible.
I did well as an intern and was even hired once my hours ran out. I was told an indefinite number of times to drop out of school and continue with my new, very loved Z100 family, and was very tempted to do so, much to the dismay of my mother. The entire experience opened my eyes so I could see beyond the magic of what I heard on my end of the radio to the reality of all the work it takes to run such a smooth, but gigantic machine.
I was privileged enough to work with some of the very best in the business at the model station of success among Clear Channel’s many well-known stations. I learned specifically what I love and what I hate about the business and am better prepared now for decisions in the future concerning the career path for the rest of my life.