It’s hard to imagine that someone in this business has been at one station (or group) all her life. Still, Jade Springart grew up in Detroit, started at Greater Media Detroit (Now Beasley Media Group) as a promotions intern in 2007 for 101 WRIF, 94.7 WCSX, and 105.1 WMGC, and over the years has worked her way up to PD of both WRIF and WCSX.
She’s technically a Unicorn in this business. She’s on air on WRIF from 10:30 am to 3 pm and does a podcast with Andy Green from the “Dave and Chuck the Freak” morning show.
As an intern back in the day, she quickly realized she wanted to be on-air and involved in everything that had to do with the music.
“I did my first on-air shift at WRIF in 2010, did overnights and weekends, became the music director in 2015, took on the full-time midday role in 2020, became PD for WRIF in 2021, and then PD for WCSX in 2024,” she explains.
The two iconic brands Springart oversees, one Active Rock and the other Classic Rock, are very different brands with BIG personalities: WRIF, home to “Dave and Chuck The Freak,” and WCSX, home to “Big Jim’s House.”
And while there is a lot of sharing among the music, to ensure the success of both, “It’s really all about spending enough time with each station and focusing on what makes them unique and different from each other,” says Springart. “It would certainly be helpful to get an extra hour or two in the day, too!”
Springart says working with such big personalities and different entities on both stations is easy when you work with the best in the industry.
“I’m so fortunate,” she says. “We’re all on the same page, and it certainly helps achieve success when everyone is working together towards the same goal. We have a very collaborative environment, too. Having a staff that I trust to handle different tasks is huge.”
Springart says that’s always been the case. “While I’ve certainly experienced a lot of different situations over the course of my 18-year career, I can honestly say that the crew in my inner circle has never been anything less than wonderful.”
“For the most part, I worked with them and learned from them as I was coming up in the industry, and I think they all know my goal has always been to help them/us succeed. Respect was something my predecessor always instilled in us, and that didn’t change as I took over. I feel very fortunate to have had that experience.”
It’s easy to tell just by listening to the two stations, even for a few minutes, that both play a big role in the community. “Locality is a top priority for both WRIF & WCSX,” insists Springart. “With both stations being heritage in Detroit, it is imperative that we connect with our community. It certainly is a major factor in driving success, but it’s also a part of who we are in Detroit Rock City.”
“Both stations also have a heavy focus on Veterans throughout the year as well as many charitable events year-round and during the holidays. There is no better way to reach your audience than to be there with them supporting the causes they support.”
The local music scene in Detroit is also a big priority for WRIF. “We have a local show called ‘Motor City Riffs’ that airs on Sunday nights at 9 pm. It’s been on the air for as long as I can remember (with a short hiatus in there), and it is really well received,” says Springart.
“In fact, every year for our annual Riff Fest, one of our Motor City Riffs bands opens the show. We’re proud to be Detroit Rock City and it’s amazing when a local record gets into regular rotation.”
One of the biggest challenges in the Rock and Alt formats is the massive sharing among stations in the market. The gold that comes back in music research is very much the same and includes a very limited number of hits. That leaves many stations playing a lot of the same gold libraries, which can cause rapid and frequent burnout. I asked Springart how she keeps both stations fresh and relevant.
“I think one of the most important things you can do is focus on locality and imaging,” she says. “I believe that along with talent’s personalities, the station as a whole should take on a persona and personality. For us, we are Detroit. We are grit, hard-workers and proud to be from the Motor City.”
“We have to let the listeners know that we are in touch with what’s happening in our community, whether it’s the Lions, pothole season, the latest happenings at Coney Island (look up Lafayette & American), and more. As far as music goes, yes, we’re both gold-based, but special features always help to break that up. Theme weekends, daily features like the ‘4 Play at Four’ where the listeners pick the songs each day, things like that always keep things lively.”
Another big challenge is the use of AI in the business and the impact it’s having on the industry. “I think AI has its pros and cons. It can definitely be helpful for some things like show prep and writing spec spots, but it’s not a personality,” says Springart.
“I don’t love the idea of ‘AI Jock.’ AI can do a lot of things, but do we need it to emulate being a human with independent opinions? What becomes the point of human existence if AI becomes the artist? Like, I need AI to fold my laundry, I don’t need 47,000 AI cats flooding the Internet…. Real cats exist! LOL.”
“We have done some experimenting with it, and like I said, there are pros and cons. Depending on how we utilize it, it can have a really great impact on our industry (and society as a whole), but we could also be four steps away from living in ‘The Terminator’ (or some other more relevant movie reference).”
I also asked Springart if we missed anything important that keeps her up at night. “How much time do we have? I guess one thing I’d like to say is that despite what Gene Simmons continuously says, rock n’ roll is not dead!”
“There are so many talented and amazing young bands out there. I would love it if we all worked together in the industry to build these bands into the gold of the future. I love it when a song grows organically and continues up the chart and lingers in the top ten and works to hit number one, as opposed to driving a record to number one immediately and then dropping it as soon as it hits.”
“And one more thing, I’d like to extend my gratitude to everyone at Beasley Media Group for trusting me and giving me the opportunity to lead both of these brands in a major market.”
Follow Jade Springart on Instagram: @JadeOnTheRadio, X: @OnAirJade, Facebook: facebook.com/JadeOnTheRadio, and check out her Podcast: https://wrif.com/podcasts/the-jade-andy-show/
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Charese Fruge’ is an award-winning Content, Broadcast, and Marketing executive with over 20 years of experience in markets like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, San Diego, and Las Vegas. As the owner of MC Media, she works with radio brands and individual talent, especially young women, helping them grow their brands and negotiate on their own behalf. She is also a Voice Actor and Voice Over Talent as well as a Freelance Writer for International Broadcast Outlets. Find her at @MCMediaOnline or www.mcmediaonline.com.
