Young Edge jock works her way to the top
Rob Terpstra
Issue date: 1/11/05 Section: Arts & Entertainment
Undeniably passionate and speaking contagiously, Josie Dye knows what she is talking about. As the Edge's midday on-air disc jockey, this Torontonian has really found her niche on the 102.1 frequency range.
Now working at the station for just over two years, Dye made the switch from the much larger Toronto station, Mix 99.9, after working there for more than seven years. Still at 26, relatively young compared to industry standards, the radio personality has worked her way up since becoming an intern.
"I was on the air on a different station," said Dye. "I worked my way through that station a lot. I started out as an intern when I was 17 at that station, until producing the morning show, and eventually got my break and I was allowed to do overnights at that station."
Dye's real love at the station is the dynamic aspect of being on-air. As assistant music director at The Edge, Dye's encyclopædic knowledge of music resounds through the radios of listeners across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and surrounding area.
As much as the disc jockey enjoys her on-air duties, she also finds pleasure in handling administrative tasks in the music department. Dye admits that ensuring all of the announcers are playing what they are supposed to be playing can often be the worst part of her job. Dye and everyone at the Edge must adhere to Canadian Content (CanCon) and Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) regulations. 'Reconciling' is another term used by Dye to ensure that the correct music is being played, catalogued and documented.
"I think a lot of people will disagree with me, but especially on the radio when people hear Canadian artists over and over, we're developing our own artists, we need to do this," said Dye. "It's hard when we have a place like America right beside us, which has the money to put into their artists ... If we didn't have CanCon, we wouldn't have Canadian artists."
Aggressively targeting the male 18-34 age demographic, Dye believes that the radio station caters to that group adequately, and even those who do not fall in that demographic understand the message the station is trying to get across. Unfortunately, Dye isn't so sure the station is on her parents' preset.
Now working at the station for just over two years, Dye made the switch from the much larger Toronto station, Mix 99.9, after working there for more than seven years. Still at 26, relatively young compared to industry standards, the radio personality has worked her way up since becoming an intern.
"I was on the air on a different station," said Dye. "I worked my way through that station a lot. I started out as an intern when I was 17 at that station, until producing the morning show, and eventually got my break and I was allowed to do overnights at that station."
Dye's real love at the station is the dynamic aspect of being on-air. As assistant music director at The Edge, Dye's encyclopædic knowledge of music resounds through the radios of listeners across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and surrounding area.
As much as the disc jockey enjoys her on-air duties, she also finds pleasure in handling administrative tasks in the music department. Dye admits that ensuring all of the announcers are playing what they are supposed to be playing can often be the worst part of her job. Dye and everyone at the Edge must adhere to Canadian Content (CanCon) and Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) regulations. 'Reconciling' is another term used by Dye to ensure that the correct music is being played, catalogued and documented.
"I think a lot of people will disagree with me, but especially on the radio when people hear Canadian artists over and over, we're developing our own artists, we need to do this," said Dye. "It's hard when we have a place like America right beside us, which has the money to put into their artists ... If we didn't have CanCon, we wouldn't have Canadian artists."
Aggressively targeting the male 18-34 age demographic, Dye believes that the radio station caters to that group adequately, and even those who do not fall in that demographic understand the message the station is trying to get across. Unfortunately, Dye isn't so sure the station is on her parents' preset.
