#MediaMonday – Michael Mallace
Michael Mallace has a long and successful career in radio sales, research and management, dating back to the early ‘80s when he started at KNIX, then owned by the legendary Buck Owens. Crossing over all genres of music as well as talk radio and sports, his varied experiences make him the perfect person to helm the radio station at the East Valley Institute of Technology, KVIT-FM The Pulse.
KVIT-FM is one of the most powerful high school radio stations in America. The EVIT Radio/Audio Production program trains students on this fully functioning radio station that broadcasts at 88.7 FM.
Michael, tell us what attracted you to the position at the student radio station?
I have served on the Radio and Audio / Production Advisory Board at EVIT for the past 11 years. I have always had a passion for working with young people and getting them as excited about a career in broadcasting as I have.
Listening to music has changed dramatically over the years, what impact has that had on KVIT-FM?
That’s a great question. Just after I joined the team, we fielded a research study across the entire student population to determine their music preference and tastes along with getting some important lifestyle information as well. With the assistance of our student board and armed with that info we have been able to craft a format that we think will be very viable and fun for students aged 16 and up to be engaged with and listen to.
Tell us about a little more about the station and its format?
We run the radio station as if it were a commercial radio station. We want to engage our students. Our student leadership team is involved in every aspect of the radio station, including, programming, music selection, public affairs, sports, social media, podcasts, production, content creation and website development.
We are not necessarily pigeonholed into a traditional radio format which is genre specific. We are focused on playing The Hits. We will play the songs that our students grew up with and enjoyed listening to over the past few years. We will play Alternative, Rock, CHR, Top-40, Country, Dance, Hip-Hop, Rap Latin, R&B and more. More importantly we are not afraid to go out on a limb and break new songs that others might not play. We will play the songs that are trending on YouTube, TikTok and Spotify. The bottom line is we have a diverse audience and we want to be the audio outlet they can come to to discover new music and hear all of their favorites.
Beside music, we are also very community focused by conducting extensive interviews with local community leaders about issues and causes that are relevant to our students and listeners. We also have our game of the week broadcast of local high school sports including live play-by-play of football, basketball and baseball. You can also hear live local sports talk shows along with numerous other specialty shows on the station as well. All of our content is hosted and produced by our students under the supervision of our staff and faculty.
We’d like to learn a little more about you….
Where did you grow up?
Glenview, Ill., a northern suburb of Chicago.
Family?
I’m married to Fran Mallace who is President and CEO of Make-A-Wish Arizona , we have two adult daughters, Jordie who lives in Los Angeles and does digital marketing for Este Lauder, and Sydney who lives in Phoenix and is a bridal stylist for Grace Loves Lace.
Favorite type of music?
Jazz, Jazz Fusion, Deep House and Classic Rock.
Favorite color?
Red
Favorite TV shows or movies?
TV: Ted Lasso, Homeland, The Equalizer, Fauta, Penn & Teller Fool Us. Movies: The Godfather, Now You See Me, National Treasure and Hallmark Movies.
Favorite local restaurants or other haunts?
It used to be Don and Charlies before they closed, Portillo’s, Durants, Carolina’s, Honey Bears BBQ, Nino’s Greek Cafe and Chestnut.
Least favorite food?
FISH!
Three things readers would be surprised to know about you?
I’m an art collector. My job on Thanksgiving is to smoke brisket for 40 people. Becoming an airplane pilot is on my bucket list.
Contact Email: mmallace@evit.com
