Pick it and stick with it

Reggie Gay, general manager at WJAY Radio, spoke to FMU’s Student Media Association (SMA) on Nov. 1 from 2:15-3:30 p.m. in room 116 of the Academic Computer Center (ACC) about how he became successful in his career as a disk jockey.

The SMA meeting, which was open to all students who have an interest in media communications, opened with a short introduction by David Baxley, assistant professor of mass communication, who gave a brief background on Gay and his career.

Gay has worked in several large market areas, including Atlanta, as a black gospel disk jockey.

“I am a black gospel disk jockey,” Gay said. “It’s where I have hung my hat in my career. I’ve done it for 34 years; it’s where my heart is. I was raised in church, so it’s what I know.”

A Kentucky native, Gay earned his bachelor’s degree in broadcasting communications from Eastern Kentucky University.

“I’m a trained broadcaster,” Gay said. “I know your track, I know what you’re dealing with as a student in mass communications.”

After school, Gay worked in Washington for a short time before returning to Kentucky where he began working in the radio business.

“I worked for about eight years in Lexington, Kentucky,” Gay said. “That’s where I cut my teeth into the business. I did a short stint of secular radio, but I was on the air as another name, so my sister convicted me. She heard me on the air, and my voice had already become recognizable because I had done gospel before that, and she said ‘you know good and well people are going to recognize your voice.’ So I let that R&B thing go.”

Gay’s biggest advice to students entering the mass communications field was something his father told him while he was in school. He said it was the reason he has been successful.

“Pick one thing and stick with it,” Gay said. “One thing. Not two or three things, but one thing and stick with it.”

Gay also offered possible job opportunities to students who were interested in working with him at WJAY Radio.

After discussing how he made his career, Gay opened the floor to questions from the students.