Julie Brinks is the general manager for WAOE-TV 59 in Peoria. She received her bachelor of arts degree in cinematic arts from Central Michigan University in 1980, and her masters of business administration in leadership studies from the Baker Center for Graduate Studies in 1999.
She began her career as a local sales representative in 1980 with WOOD-TV 8 in Grand Rapids, Mich., and moved on to become the production and promotion manager with WPBN-TV 7 in Traverse City, Mich., in 1981.
Brinks became the operations manager, responsible for oversight of all station operations except sales, at WWTV 9 in Cadillac, Mich., in 1983.
In 1992 she moved to WGKI-TV 33 in Cadillac, Mich., and was promoted to the station/general manager, helping to complete the start-up of the station, and stayed there until 1999. Brinks moved to Peoria in 1999 to oversee the startup and operation of WAOE-TV 59, where her responsibilities include programming and various consulting and training activities for other stations. She is married to Tom Brinks, and they have two sons—Joe, 8; and Paul, 5.
Tell us about your background, schools attended, family, etc.
I was raised in Saginaw, Mich. My mother passed away when I was 12, so during my teen years it was just my father and me. I was very involved in music, theater and speech, and journalism.
I attended Central Michigan University, originally majoring in music with a broadcasting and cinematic arts minor. My second year I opted to major in broadcasting, but did complete a 40-hour instrumental music major as well.
Why did you decide to switch to broadcasting and cinematic arts?
A friend of mine in the music department was also a broadcasting minor and was working at an "underground" commercial radio station. He got me involved, and I had so much fun that it just made sense to me to pursue something I really enjoyed as a career. I spent a great deal of my extracurricular time with both student-run radio and television projects. My junior year, a programming idea I had was selected, and I was able to produce a weekly childrens’ educational program for the local PBS station, complete with dancers, singers and puppets. It was a great experience.
Detail your career path from your first job to today.
I started my career in Grand Rapids, Mich., at WOOD-TV 8 with a short stint in the sales department. From there I worked as a media buyer/planner at J.I. Scott Advertising in Grand Rapids. I really missed working at a television station, particularly the creative aspects of the business.
I had an opportunity to go to a smaller market, Traverse City, to the NBC affiliate as their creative services and promotion manager. I figured I would get my feet wet in management, and then head back to a big market, which seems to be the goal of most young people entering the business.
I was wooed away by the competition one year later, and became the operations manager of the CBS station in the market, WWTV.
It was a very challenging situation for a 24 year old. The station was No. 1 in news, with five newscasts a day, four bureaus, two studios, and 27 people on my staff. The first thing I did was hire a production assistant younger than me so I had someone to boss around.
Nearly nine years later I was still at the station; a seasoned manager having weathered several union contracts, eight budget cycles and a very difficult ownership change. I met my husband, and committed to staying in the area.
I made a very unusual decision to join a group of local business owners building a new station in the market with a small amount of equity in the project. At that time, the Fox Network was on air only three nights per week.
The station had a total staff of 10 people, none of which had ever worked in television. Some associates in the industry thought I was crazy, but it turned out to be the most important career step I have ever taken.
So you have previous experience in building a TV station from the ground up. How did the two projects differ? How are they similar?
With the Traverse City project, we were literally learning on the job—a lot of trial and error on the part of everyone involved. The banks would not loan the company money, so everything was leased at steep interest rates.
The start-up funds were obtained through the sale of shares to 35 local business owners, with the majority owner as the general manager. I personally progressed from operations and promotion/programming into sales, sales management and overall station management through the seven years of building the company. By 1997, we had two full power and four low power stations, which we sold in 1999.
Here in Peoria I started on the project with the transmitter still in a box in the middle of a cornfield. I have the muddy boots in the truck of my car as a momento. In many respects, this project has been the same.
The prior experience, however, drastically improved and excelarated the start-up process. Additionally, the ownership here has given full support, both financially and with their experience and expertise in the field. I have been able to hire an exceptionally qualified support staff from the start.
From a viewership perspective, WAOE has penetrated the market—after one year on the air—to a greater degree than after three years in the previous project. Our investment in both programming and promotion has given us that edge.
What is the greatest challenge with running a start-up television station? What type of programming do you offer? How large is your viewing area?
The greatest challenge is awareness in the community. Television is a very high profile business, but viewership is also habitual. Making the community aware of what you have to offer, getting them to find you and watch you on a regular basis is difficult. There are a lot of options out there.
WAOE is affiliated with the United Paramount Network, hence our UPN 59 moniker.
However, we program the majority of our broadcast day ourselves. We acquired the rights to valuable sports products like Cardinals Baseball, Big 10 and Illinois football/basketball and the ISHA championship programming. In addition, we carry syndicated programs such as 7th Heaven, Family Feud, Star Trek: Voyager, and Blind Date.
This Fall we will add new programs— including Friends—on a nightly basis,as well as the X-Files to our weekend programming lineup.
We are licensed to cover the Peoria and Bloomington television market. We are not currently operating at our fully-licensed power due to some technical issues, but we anticipate a resolution to those problems very soon.
The cable systems in the entire market have been very accommodating to us in carriage, and those over-the-air viewers who currently get a weak signal will have a drastic improvement in reception when the issues are corrected.
How many employees/offices does WAOE have? How have you done in the ratings since going live? Has it been easy to attract advertisers?
WAOE is located in downtown Peoria directly across from City Hall and the Peoria Civic Center. The location was intentionally selected for its high profile. We have 15 employees.
We recently completed our first four book cycles of Nielsen ratings since launching the station in April 2000, and we have verifiable viewership in many demographics and programs on the station. Initially, we were selling the concept of who we are, and promotional ideas. Now we are able to sell those ideas and concepts backed by delivery.
The fact is that there are a lot of advertising options out there for businesses. We don’t sell spots in a package of the week. We are building relationships and finding ways to help our customers increase their business in the Peoria community.
What sets your station apart from others in the area?
I believe it is the fact that we produce and deliver a high quality/high results form of advertising, and yet we are very affordable. In addition, the programming we bring to Peoria is purely entertainment oriented. Regular doses of sci-fi, action, adventure, sports and games are what we are all about. We tend to be a bit edgier than the traditional station.
What, if any, misperceptions does the community hold regarding your industry in general, or station here in Peoria?
I think the biggest misperception is that people think we are only a cable channel. The fact is that we are a local broadcast station, Channel 59, and we are also on cable systems throughout the area.
How did you initially market your station? What, if any, changes have you seen in those efforts recently?
We launched the station with a multi-media campaign that included radio, billboards and spot cable.
We continue to utilize those media on a regular basis, as well as our own on air to inform Peorians of the programming we offer. Our target at launch was directly at the 18 to 34 population, with a bit of a male focus.
We have not changed the media mix, but we are now broadening our targeted base to 18 to 49. We are still male friendly, but not male exclusive.
Additionally, we are focusing on an expansion of our non-traditional promotional activities by partnering with other media and clients on events in the community.
How does your company recruit and retain employees?
This type of a project requires an enormous amount of dedication from every staff member.
It is much more of a career choice than a job. I try very hard to create a workplace where people take their individual responsibilities seriously, and yet work as a team.
Everyone has input and ideas along the way. I believe if the individual feels a certain amount of ownership in the project, it is a far healthier, creative and eventually successful environment.
We have found the best results in recruiting by using on-line job listings such as Tvjobs.com; Monster.com and Peoriahelpwanted.com. One of the hardest parts of building a new company is retention. Not everyone has the work ethic, talent or determination to take on and see through this kind of a project.
We offer pretty much the same benefits as other companies in our industry. What we can offer that is different is a real opportunity for personal growth, and an opportunity to be involved in something that just doesn’t come along every day in our industry. When was the last time a new television station was started in Peoria?
This position brought your family to Peoria, and your husband is a stay-at-home dad.
Talk about how you and your husband, Tom, came to this decision. Any regrets?
When Tom and I were married in 1990, I promised to keep my career in the Traverse City region. After the birth of our second child in 1996, I went back to school to obtain my MBA. It took three years in an executive program which combined on-line and a weekend classroom setting. It was well worth the effort.
Needless to say, without his support, there is no way I could have run the television station as the station manager, gone to school and raised two small children. He has been a fully involved partner in their upbringing from day one. Also, his parents and family were close by for additional support.
When the decision was made to make this move, it was a pretty serious one. Tom had never lived anywhere else. He was very concerned about moving to a community where we knew absolutely no one. Peoria is actually a big city, compared to the community of Cadillac, where we lived. We also knew the kind of hours this project would require of me. We decided that until our youngest was in school, he would be the stay-at-home Dad.
My only regret now is that I am totally spoiled. He is an excellent cook, the house is neat as a pin inside and out (he was a good bachelor), and I haven’t done a load of laundry since October 1999. The youngest starts kindergarten this year. I may have to brush up on my domestic skills soon.
What is the first reaction most people have when hearing about your arrangement? Do you see this perception of role reversal changing?
Interestingly, most people respond very positively, and with a great deal of curiosity. I think perhaps the concept is harder to accept when you are trying to deal with it yourself. Despite our modern society, I am still a very traditional individual. We wonder how this will effect our childrens’ future and view of family life.
I think it is wonderful they have had an opportunity to spend a great deal of time with their father. Many children don’t have the opportunity to spend time with either parent. With this arrangement, we actually have more time as a family than we ever did when we were both working.
What has been the most challenging for you as a family with your move?
Perhaps two things have been challenging. The family support system we had in place was one area we had really had taken for granted. Getting to know people in the community on a social level can be difficult.
Tom has been quite isolated to the neighborhood, which I am sure is not much different than any spouse raising small children and moving to a new community.
Second, our oldest child was diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome just after we arrived in the community. We had to needed to work closely with the school system to develop an educational plan to work with his situation.
What has surprised you the most since you came to Peoria?
We are surprised at how much there is to do in the community on an ongoing basis. If you find yourself bored, or can’t find some kind of activity of interest, you aren’t looking hard enough.
What are your hobbies?
We try to spend most of our down time doing things together as a family, which works out well. My oldest son is into trains, so we can be found Sunday afternoons chasing them with our video camera. Personally, I can be spotted between the rows of books at the Metamora library Saturday mornings, and I enjoy needlework, although I usually take on projects that require months of attention. We also love to travel, and when we do take time off, we usually go for a serious escape: Northern Canada, Mexico, and Hawaii...as far as we can get from a telephone.
What is your greatest challenge? Your greatest reward?
My greatest challenge is to keep myself balanced between professional growth and personal needs. I have very high achievement expectations of myself, with a constant need to grow and learn. But that also means I tend to get wrapped up in the business world. I have to force myself into personal down time. If I can put forth my very best effort, and if, in the process, a few other people are inspired to do so as well, that is extremely rewarding. TPW