Interview with Rita Houston

Today, I had the privilege of interviewing Rita Houston, the program director for WFUV. WFUV is the music discovery station that runs out of Fordham's campus. It is broadcasts to the entire NYC metro area and is popular nationwide. Rita shapes the station's musical footprint. She is responsible for bringing new talent to the limelight.

Patrick: As the program director for WFUV, you have a serious passion for music. Where did this passion come from and which musicians or bands inspired it early on?

Rita: I've always been a big music fan and avid radio listener. Growing up here in the NYC area was a great foundation for music and radio. Listening to WNEW FM in the late 70's and early 80's was an inspiration for my career. And now working with my mentors from there like Dennis Elsas and previously Vin Scelsa and Meg Griffin is a dream come true. Bands like the Talking Heads, The Clash, and Elvis Costello inspired me early on.

P: What does your day look like as a program director?/What are your duties as program director?

R: My day is seldom quiet as I'm always listening to music, watching videos, talking on air, or brainstorming ideas with the staff here. A typical day starts at home checking socials and email and then at the radio station all day.
We do a lot of events and live broadcasts so I'm usually out several nights a week at shows and producing events. I host my own show, The Whole Wide World every Friday night so that's how I end my week.

P: What kinds of music do you love that don’t fit on WFUVs roots and rock formula?

R: I love Frank Sinatra and classic hip-hop.

P: When selecting songs to go on air, how do you balance what you want to hear with what you think the audience wants to hear?

R: We have solid data on who is listening to WFUV and everything we play is focused on that. However, we are always striving for a diverse, interesting mix of artists and that requires digging deep and taking chances.

P: How do you go about discovering new music amongst the avalanche of new releases?

R: I count on the programming team here - Russ, our Music Director, does a great job of keeping his ear to the ground and that helps us a lot.

P: After a long period of Being the dominant musical style in the US, rock has lost a lot of ground to genres like country and hip hop. What do you think the future holds in store for rock music?

R: I think the long tail will be the model moving forward and that leaves plenty of room for all kinds of music. The pop charts will dominate with country and hip-hop but the alternative scene will never go away.

P: Finally, What are some relatively unknown artists or albums you would recommend people listen to?

R: Caroline Rose, Tom Waits, and Bob Dylan.

A big thanks to Rita Houston for talking with me. It's eye-opening to have a conversation with someone so involved with the music I enjoy. Hopefully, everyone got a better idea about one person who brings today's rock music to the masses.