by Caroline Gabsewics
Staff Writer
Kim McCafferty had an idea about what she was getting into when she accepted the job as news director for the Lex & Terry Show on FM-104.5.
She knew she would be picked on and she knew she’d be the basis of some of their jokes, but unlike some of the past “news girls” McCafferty will shoot right back at them.
“When Terry said that I pick on them too, he isn’t lying,” she said after Wednesday’s morning show. “They will hear it right back; they don’t intimidate me.”
McCafferty has been the news director for the Lex & Terry Show since November of last year. She has been with Cox Radio, which owns five stations in the market including FM-104.5, for three years. When the position opened on the Lex & Terry Show, McCafferty auditioned for a week and a month later, on Nov. 15, 2004, she began her job.
As well as giving the news throughout the show, McCafferty also sits in on the show with Staley and Jaymes, listening to callers’ problems and they all respond with advice. McCafferty said she believes she and the guys work well together because she understands her place on the show.
“I know where I fit in and I truly believe I understand my role. It’s not my show,” she said. “I want to add the female perspective, but I don’t want to be too overbearing. I want it to come natural.”
Staley and Jaymes both agree that the three of them mesh together very well.
“She fits best with us, better than anyone else we’ve ever had,” said Staley. “And the listeners really like her, too.”
Jaymes added that he thinks the turning point was when they blew the air horn at her the first time on the air to scare her. The fact McCafferty took it in stride made them realize she was their girl.
“She takes it, takes it and takes it” said Staley.
The Lex & Terry Show has been on the air for over 10 years, and both said their job is just plain fun.
“Our job is like what people do when they leave work,” said Staley.
McCafferty said the three of them have fun both on the air and off of the air.
“I love Lex and Terry. They are solely why I keep doing this every day,” she said. “Who gets to walk away from their job in a better mood than before they got there?”
The Lex & Terry Show begins a little after 6 a.m. and it ends at 10 a.m. McCafferty said there is a format to the show, but at the same time there is plenty of room for freelancing and ad libbing. Their show is mainly based on their callers. As the news director, McCafferty has to be in the door by 5:30 a.m. to gather the morning’s latest news.
“I usually get here at 5:40,” she said. “They bust my chops a lot about that.”
Once in the building, McCafferty needs to get stories together for her first news segment in the 6 o’clock hour. As far as mainstream news, she picks the top three headlines and then, because of the nature of the Lex & Terry Show, some not so typical stories .
“The guys are my biggest challenge when I do the news,” said McCafferty. “They always do something to try and throw me off or to make it challenging for me.”
During Wednesday’s show, McCafferty left the room to get stories ready for her last news segment and while she was gone Staley and Jaymes schemed ways to disrupt her while she was on the air. Within the five minutes that she was gone, audio from Celine Dion speaking about Hurricane Katrina victims surfaced. Staley and Jaymes got the idea to interrupt McCafferty with the audio while she was on the air and also play it in the background.
“The jokes come with the territory,” she said. “They always give me a hard time and if they are picking on me, I know they love me.”
After the show is over the day is hers. McCafferty said she usually catches the evening news so she knows what to look out for in the morning.
McCafferty said she realized early on that Staley and Jaymes never made her feel like it was just the two of them.
“They took me under their wing,” she said about her first road appearance with them in Fargo, N.D. (the Lex & Terry Show is syndicated in several states all over the country). “There is truly a friendship there and they’ll laugh that I’m being so honest.”
Even though she is behind the microphone during the week, people may also recognize McCafferty from Ch. 12/25 where she is a reporter on the station’s Sunday morning show.
“I wanted other options; I like the look and the professionalism,” she said of her Sunday morning gig. “I enjoyed the energy of the station and I wanted a taste of it.”
McCafferty got her degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Illinois and has been working in the radio business for 10 years. Her first job out of college was as an on-air female personality.
“I love being able to reach out to the masses; it is such a powerful thing,” said McCafferty. “It is great to put who you are out there and hope that they like you.”
But McCafferty said nothing can beat the job she has with the Lex & Terry Show.
“I love what I am doing and a feel very lucky to have this job. It’s like one big party every day,” she said. “I hope this continues to work for us.”