Courtesy of Rich GalloImagine rubbing elbows with celebrities like P-Diddy, Kevin Bacon or Jessica Simpson. Rich Gallo does not have to imagine it. He lives it.
Since his graduation from Temple University in 1994, Gallo has worked in both television and radio. His first job was at QVC working behind the camera and as the product coordinator. Unfortunately, Gallo was part of an employee cut back. Before leaving QVC, though, someone told him that Q 102 was looking to fill a part time position in promotions. Gallo applied for the job and began working shortly thereafter. While at Q 102, Gallo became a radio personality known as “Rich the freak.” Gallo says that he was “like Gary on Howard Stern.” He was not one of the main DJs, but he would throw in his two cents. While working at Q 102, Gallo also worked part time for UPN 57 and metro traffic. After six years at Q 102 with no health benefits, Gallo decided it was time to move on.
Currently, Gallo is the event coordinator and assistant promotion director at The River 94.7. As the event coordinator, Gallo goes to different promotions, like the kind held at malls or at a concert, and is responsible for making everything run smoothly. From dealing with location managers to making sure that everything is set up correctly, his job is to guarantee that everyone involved with the promotion is satisfied.
The assistant promotion director portion of his job is more office related. Gallo writes liners for the air. Liners are note cards for DJs to use when telling about an upcoming appearance they will make. Gallo also writes value added letters. He writes to organizations making deals such as a pair of tickets for x amount of advertisement.
The irony is that when Gallo applied to work at Q 102, he was only looking for a temporary job until he could find another job in television. Eight years later he is still working in radio.
“You never really do the same thing twice,” Gallo said. Despite his inconsistent schedule, Gallo cannot deny the amount of fun that he has at his job. Not only has he met and mingled with some of Hollywood’s best, but he also gets free food and drinks when the station covers Monday night football at a local bar and restaurant. And who could complain about getting to go to work in jeans and a T-shirt?
His advice to anyone venturing into the field of communications is to make contacts. That is how Gallo made his career moves, by word of mouth not by the job section in the daily paper. “Don’t give up. It can take awhile,” Gallo said. It took Gallo awhile to get to where he his today, but he never lost his persistence.
Gallo feels that internships always help. As assistant promotions director, Gallo deals with internships.
If you are interested in an internship with The River 94.7, you can contact Rich Gallo on his cell phone at 215-805-2100 or by e-mail at Richardgallo@clearchannel.com. For more information, go to river947.com.
Posted to the web by Marisa Gallelli
