Maureen "Mo" Cooper from the Class of 1999 is the first voice you hear at the beginning of this podcast. An imaging guru, she and Ed LaComb ('85) have done the production for this show.
A Central Square native, Mo grew up listening to Z89, even if she had to work to get the station to come in that far north. She's always loved radio, and began working in the Syracuse market before she even got to SU. Once at WJPZ, she was there for the format flip to the Pulse, where she learned a lot about both on-air and imaging. And she was on several stations at once in the market - needing cue cards to keep track of all her different on-air names!
Maureen says WJPZ helped teach her what she was passionate about, but also what she didn't want to pursue professionally. As a local, she was happy to step up and help staff the station over school breaks, but that experience taught her management was not where she wanted to go professionally. In fact, she even tells the story of what we believe was the first automation in WJPZ's history, when she couldn't staff the Pulse over Christmas, 1995. It's a story she's never told before and shares for the first time with us.
Mo did have to leave the station when she got full time work in Syracuse, while still a student. But she stayed in contact with her classmates, including when they made the flip back to Z89. After graduation in 1999, we were really starting to see a sea change in radio ownership, as the Telecom Act of 1996 really started to take hold. Ownership swaps were happening everywhere, which led to opportunities. Mo had her pick of several markets, and she went to Orlando for a decade after school.
Maureen briefly left radio and moved to Houston. But sure enough, she was eventually pulled back in, where she worked on-air and imaging for several radio stations. She's currently at legendary CHR KRBE in H-town.
We close with Mo's feelings about the true family of WJPZ, and how these connections across the generations are still a huge part of her life.
Join Us in Syracuse for Banquet on March 4th: https://bit.ly/WJPZ50BanquetTickets
The WJPZ at 50 Podcast is produced by Jon Gay '02 and JAG in Detroit Podcasts
Want to be on the show? Email JAG at jag@jagpodcastproductions.com
Connect with the WJPZ Alumni Association: https://wjpzalumniassociation.org/
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
