Jess Poxson has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the broadcast journalism profession. She’s been on the air in Metro Detroit for years. Her stops include some of the biggest stations in the city. She’s even had her own midday show – The Jess Show – even after being told that women don’t normally capture those spots. Being an avid listener to her skills on the mic, I know how great an on air personality she is. Thing is – that might not be my favorite thing about her. She was motivated to learn, she worked hard and doesn’t take anything for granted. Especially in an industry where you get the opportunity to speak with many different celebrities. But her being back at the school she started at – The Specs Howard School of Media Arts – helping others achieve their dreams of one day being on the air, might be one of the most impressive things about her.
When Jess stopped by the studio a few weeks ago I was excited to hear about her journey in the D.J. business. I was surprised to learn about all of the places she’s been. She has some incredible stories to go along with those stops. Jess tells Sound Vapors, “I was a traffic reporter at WJR. I was so scared too. The first time I went on, over night.. I had one shift, they said, we’ll put you on here and see how you do. This was the place with the golden voice. I said, I really need to get it together. It was Saturday, over night. Nobody was really paying attention to my traffic report, but it was the biggest deal to me. My first traffic report, I don’t even know if anyone could understand it. I was going so fast, just to hurry it up and get it out of the way. Then a real legend in radio.. his name’s Kevin O’ Neill, the most humble guy in radio. He was like, just slow it down just a little bit, shake the nerves off just a little bit and that led into all kinds of other things. I became an anchor and news reporter on WJR.”
Poxson continues on with her journey and says, “I was on WDVD 96.3 and Saturday morning was my shift. I was also “Doug’s girlfriend” on 93.1 Doug FM. Then from there I had my own show on Nash FM, The Jess Show! I was in a contract there and my contract ended and I wound up going across the street to the competition, 99.5 WYCD. I was also on 98.7 AMP Radio and 104.3 WOMC.” Being a Metro Detroit resident almost all of my life I can tell you that every single one of those call letters are monsters in the Detroit Media Market. That’s one heck of a resume.
We went pretty deep into the inner workings of a station as well as her rise into having her own show. The information she shares is invaluable. Her stories of fun times are as well. Sometimes in life it’s not always just the paycheck that makes our path tolerable, it’s the experiences we have as well. When asked about a few cool memories, Jess shares with me, “Turks and Caicos. Sandals Resort. My P.D. (program director) came in and said, do you want to go to Turks and Caicos? I’m like, whaaat? Are you serious? Everything was paid for. It was absolutely beautiful. To have these big country stars performing and being able to mingle with them and other radio personalities.. I had so much fun. That was seriously one of the best times of my life. I remember swimming in this beautiful ocean or whatever body of water it was, but I was like, God, thank you so much for my life and for.. radio got me here and you gave me that. That’s what I thought, you gave me my dream. You let me have this and you made it bigger than I could ever imagine. So to me, that trip, it’s such a good memory in my heart.” Like I said, she’s a grateful person and takes nothing for granted.
This might be one of the longest podcasts that I’ve done but it went by so fast and flowed seamlessly. That’s what happens when you have a true pro sitting across from you on the the other mic. I’m truly looking forward to having her in the studio again! To hear our entire conversation you can click the link to your favorite place to listen to podcasts or by watching on YouTube. It was an entertaining chat to say the least. If you are thinking about a career in that field, this is definitely a must listen episode. Like I said – Jess Poxson is a wealth of knowledge.
-Tommy Marz
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