 |
Morning Show Hosts Visitors From Sweden |
WRAL-FM’s Morning Crew studio doubled its occupancy for a few days. Three DJ’s from the radio station MIX Megapol in Sweden joined Bill, Schatzie and Angela for some early morning antics during the week after Labor Day.
| Swede DJ’s Jesse Wallin and Loogna Martin are both new to MIX in Sweden. Martina Thun has worked for the station for two years. The three, along with Program Director Ulf Tjerneld arrived in Raleigh on Sunday, Sept 3, and stayed in Raleigh until noon on the following Wednesday when they left to visit WPLG in New York City. They returned to Sweden the following Monday. |
 (L-R) Schatzie, Angela Flynn, Loogna Martin, Jesse Wallin, Martina Thun, Bill Jordan |
The tour was a get-to-know-you endeavor for the three DJ’s. MIX Megapol will be launching a new morning show on October 9th, featuring Wallin, Martin and Thun, and thought the information-gathering trip to the U. S. would also be a team building experience.
The group found MIX 101.5 here in America through a mutual business associate. Both MIX Megapol and WRAL-FM use the radio programming consultant Alan Burns & Associates (ABA). Burns has offices in the U.S. and Europe. When MIX Megapol decided to come to America, they asked the consulting firm for suggestions. Burns immediately recommended their American client with the same name.
The music MIX Megapol plays is mostly straight pop with a mix of current music, much like the set-up of WRAL-FM. Tjernelo said that most of the music they play is, in fact, in English. They play native Swede groups like Ace of Bass as well as groups who sing in the native language of the country. Even if listeners don’t understand English, “good songs are always good songs,” according to Tjerneld.
Commercial radio has only been in place in Sweden for seven years; until 1993 all radio broadcasting was government controlled. MIX Megapol has a market similar to the size of the Triangle. Based in Stockholm, MIX in Sweden is, however, a national network and has a potential audience of 4 million.
Because commercial radio is so new to the country, the broadcasters are traveling abroad to garner ideas and find out about the experiences of those in older markets. MIX Megapol decided to visit a medium market (WRAL-FM) and a large market (WPLG) to learn a variety of things. They want to exchange ideas with other stations and research what might work in their own area.
The group is also taping everything they do on air over here for use back home. Some of their antics included serving the Early Morning Show crew Swedish punch, and Loogna treated listeners to “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” in Swedish. Could this be the beginning of a solo career?
Their General Manager and Sales Manager got to listen to the crew live from Raleigh after Tjerneld emailed them the web link for WRAL-FM. They tuned into our live feed via the Internet. Ironically they were listening to their own Swedish crew in America from Sweden.
Martina Thun said that the trip seemed to be a success. She said they are getting to know each other and that at MIX in Raleigh that, “Everyone has been so friendly.” She thought their visit to Raleigh was a positive experience and had a good time.
