Show Wes Slaughter student hits airwaves nightly on By Raymond West Feature Editor I You walk into the disk jockeys jockey's booth and see meters bouncing lights flashing and timers counting In the middle of it all sits year old Salt Lake Community College student student student stu stu- dent Wes Slaughter the midnight after-midnight DJ at the nw country station He got his start in the business by assisting a DJ in a dance club From there he move into an entry level position at in Mid-April Mid of this year Although he has had no formal communications education education education tion he has received extensive the on-the-job training He says that like anyone he at times trips over his tongue and that sometimes makes him nervous He has had experience performing performing per per- forming in theater which has been beneficial to him in his current job because it taught hem how to speak in front of audiences But when he does make a mistake he says the best thing for him to do is plug right along and ignore it He used an example of a skier If a skier starts to fall hell he'll do what he can to cut into the turn and regain his balance Likewise a DJ must recover as quickly as possible and try not to leave a long pause or stutter excessively Slaughter said that a DJ must receive a license from the Federal Communications Commission prior to going on theair the theair theair air for the die first fast time They must demonstrate to the FCC that they can perform the duties of their fob effectively and within set guidelines which must be followed nation He didn't have much difficulty attaining the license but there are many rules miles to be remembered Slaughter says he likes his job even though it limits his social life He sleeps the day away and is the only one around the station at night so he spends a lot of time alone The late night listeners are a whole different crowd said Slaughter He said that some of the other time slots are higher paying positions but the radio industry is extremely competitive and drive time slots are hard to get He chose to become a DJ because he feels that he is outgoing outgoing outgoing out out- going and he likes people Slaughter said that he never uses his position for undue personal benefits He doesn't want it to reflect negatively on himself or the station For instance he would never go to a private club that serves alcohol and use his position to get him in because he is under age Teaming Slaughter a unique DJ with a fresh new station is proving to be a successful combination has been on the air since March The Station is gaining ground in the country market because of their unique approach to radio station station station sta sta- sta- sta tion format Slaughter explained that they keep their commercials commercials commercials com com- to a bare minimum and that they carefully spread them out to prevent long runs mans of commercials Every song the station plays must receive an approval rating of at least 80 among country fans before their station f L Ll y r nik wT l l l u uS S P Pt t A W t-W d Photo by Raymond West WestON WestON WestON ON THE NIGHT SHIFT SHIFf Wes Slaughter works the midnight to 5 am a.m. shift at a new country music radio station will air it This is to ensure that listeners will enjoy what they hear every time they switch on the radio |