Good morning Des Moines, there’s a new morning there’s a new show in town and it’s about to be a party with Jeff Angelo on 1040 WHO.
“I hop out of bed and it’s an instant party! I am definitely a morning guy. Most of my radio career has been in the morning. So that’s just where I’m naturally suited,” Jeff Angelo told Barrett News Media over a Zoom call.
The long-time host is calling his new gig “the pinnacle” of his career and an accomplishment of a childhood dream.
“I was over at a friend’s house in St. Louis, Missouri. I was in sixth grade, and we were listening to this top 40 radio station in the 70s in Saint Louis. It was KSLQ and they had one of those top-40 DJs that was doing the all-upbeat, ‘It’s 72 degrees in St. Louis. And we’ve got the new one by Queen. Here comes Bohemian Rhapsody!’ My friend John said, ‘Man, wouldn’t you like to do what he does for a living?’ And it was like a light bulb went on in my head. I was like, ‘Yes, actually I would.’”
Jeff Angelo found himself surrounded by encouragement. “I told my teachers I wanted to be in radio and they were very supportive. I got to call track meets and basketball games and make the daily announcements and do the daily menu items because they were like, ‘This kid wants to do this.’”
It wasn’t smooth sailing to the top. Angelo’s calling almost didn’t happen right after high school. “There was a there’s a broadcasting school in St. Louis, Broadcast Center, which you auditioned for to get in. It was so funny because what they do is, for a week, you read the news and you practice your articulation, and there’s a teacher that comes in and coaches you. Then there’s a day where you make a recording and that teacher decides whether or not you should be accepted in the school.”
The night before his audition, Angelo’s coach, Brad Harrison, said, “I’m sorry, but I don’t think you got it. I don’t think you’re cut out for radio. This just isn’t your deal. I’m going to come back in tomorrow, and I’ll listen to you again, but you’re really struggling with all this.”
Determined to accomplish his dream, Angelo did not accept no for an answer. “I stayed up all night re-reading all of the copy and practicing all the things I need to practice. I went back in, and I did the spiel and [Harrison] sat back and there was like this incredible moment of tension and he goes, ‘Kid, that is the biggest 24-hour turnaround I’ve ever heard in my life. Welcome to Broadcast Center.’”
Angelo went to a few stations before landing in Creston, Iowa. While there, the Republican Party asked him to run for state senate.
“In high school, I fell in love with politics through a political science class where I was asked to volunteer for a campaign. I just loved it. And so politics, although this sounds strange, politics was a hobby for me.”
From 1997 to 2009, Angelo served in the Hawkeye State Senate. “I was honored to be in the Senate for 12 years. At the end of the 12 years, I didn’t want to campaign anymore, and I just wanted to get back into what I really love. I loved my time at the Capitol, don’t get me wrong. But I wasn’t a lifelong politician. I was just a guy. I really enjoyed [being in politics]. But I’m going to get back into the media again.”
Angelo joined 1040 WHO as a fill-in anchor before joining full-time.
Over the years, Jeff Angelo has seen a lot change in the media landscape. “There are so many more platforms vying for people’s ears that you have to figure out what draws people to still want to listen to me. Every single day you have to think about that challenge, because there’s YouTube and there’s social media and there are podcasts. So what are you doing to get people to decide to listen to you?”
Angelo believes it’s his personal touches that keeps people tuning into his show.
“What is key to radio that other platforms don’t have is people have to connect with you. They need to think you’re their friend every day. So I need to offer an opinion on things. I need to be funny and creative. But, also, people need to connect with me as a person.”
Another change that allows Angelo to connect with his listeners? Social media. “I think [social media] does both [helps and hinders radio]. I think it helps you constantly reach out and connect with your audience. And I think good radio is about connecting with people. But also I would note, and I’ve talked a lot with media people here, part of our job is constantly being on social media. And people in the comment section are horribly mean.”
Angelo added, “I think that there are a lot of media professionals these days who know that being on social media is an important part of their job, but they’re struggling with their mental health because it’s hard to compartmentalize. People are very mean to you in a very personal way all the time on social media, and you’re forced to expose yourself to that because you should be on social media. So it’s a blessing and a curse.”
His advice to those looking to follow in his footsteps is simple, “Be authentically you. I think everybody, including me, when you first get into the business, you think about the people that you loved listening to and you start performing. And you start being kind to them.”
Angelo noted some of his greatest mentors and coaches he’s ever had consistently talk about being authentic. “They’re not coaching you to perform. They’re coaching you to be your authentic self and be very vulnerable on the air… What you have to do in radio, which maybe sounds counterintuitive, is you have to find your authentic self and your authentic self, and that’s what people connect to.
“If you’re performing or you’re playing somebody else that you’ve heard on radio and you say, ‘I want to sound like them,’ that’s not authentic. The audience will pick that up. You will not be successful.”
“My future plans are just to do the best job I possibly can do in this job.” He jokingly added, “Until they tell me you’re too old and you’re not making any sense anymore. Then I’ll run for President of the United States.”
