The NMBA spotlights Santa Fe radio station owner/operator Estevan Gonzales on his thoughts on broadcasting and what he sees as the next challenges broadcasting will face in New Mexico.
When and where did you start in broadcasting?
KSWV began its broadcast in 1991 from the second floor of the Alpine Sports building off Sandoval Street and has always been a family owned radio station. Our mom and dad (Celina and George Gonzales), with their four sons Anthony (programming), Patrick (sales), Javier (finance) and myself (student intern). Ernie Mills syndicated his news program from our studios and also served as our news director and adopted “Tio”.
Today we’re located in Santa Fe’s midtown art district off of Taos Street and have a new generation of family that has joined the business. In 2015 I joined the family business full time as General Manager and morning show host, while my wife Adi-Risa serves as Traffic Manager and hosts our popular lunch time show, “Adi-in-The-Afternoon”. My nephews George Anthony and Josh (Anthony’s sons) program our music and digital content. George Anthony also has the drive home music show. And in keeping with family, my brother-in-law Amado has a mid-morning music show and my father-in-law Chris Abeyta “El Musicano” is a popular musician and poet and has a weekly music show on Sunday mornings.
Who was the greatest influence on your professional life?
This last year, one of the greatest influences has been a fellowship to the National Broadcaster’s Association Business Leadership Training program in Washington DC. This executive MBA-style program has provided me with the fundamentals of purchasing, owning and running successful radio and television stations. It’s expanded my professional network to people across the country in the broadcast business, government and the FCC.
Without a doubt, because we’re a family business, the greatest influence in my professional life is every single person in my family. I wake up each morning with a sense of
duty to honor their legacy and obligation to our community. From dad, I learned tenacity, which is needed in sales, I learned to treat everyone fairly and to always respect the microphone. From mom, I learned how to be tough, plan for the future, manage margin, watch spending and love unconditionally. From my brother Anthony, he’s the best in the business! I learned how fun broadcasting can be through artistic content creation, the importance of on-air checks, being out in the community, taking the time for personal listener engagement and how to have a lot of fun! From my brother Pat, I learned how to work hard, to never give up and that its important to have a relationship with Jesus Christ . From my brother Javier, I learned the virtue of selflessness and the importance of always helping people in our community, staying upbeat and being a great dad! From my wife Adi, I learned that life is always beautiful no matter the ups and downs, and that having a genuine relationship with our listening audience is key to a great radio program. My nephews and children have taught me to look at how content is consumed by the younger generation and how to try to be “less-serious” and be “more fun”.
What has been your biggest challenge this year?
Without a doubt the biggest challenge has been how to meet all of our obligations to the business and to our family, even while having some temporary set backs. We set up a studio office in our home to manage all operations. The cost was expensive and the technical learning curve was challenging. We converted our dining room to a classroom for our three children, so all within 250 square feet we have the kitchen, our studio office and the kid’s classroom. It can get pretty loud, which makes it tough to voicetrack!
And because of the pandemic, it was tough for Adi to schedule treatment after suffering weeks of debilitating lower back pain that kept her in tears and bed ridden. Though she took time off from her show, she continued traffic operations from a laptop in bed. Finding time for self-care like exercising or quiet time for meditation is also challenging.
Some of the other obvious challenges included losing revenue due to Covid, while meeting with an increasing demand to share important, business-saving and life-saving information out to the community.
What do you see for the future of broadcasting?
If there’s one thing this pandemic has brought to the forefront, it’s that broadcasters are a lifeline in the community. It’s that our communities need us and depend on us. Broadcasting will evolve with technology and how content is consumed, but one thing will always remain, our relationship with our community. But to have a thriving future, we need to have substantially more women and minority ownership of broadcast media, and we need to keep fighting for a regulatory environment that is fair and levels the playing field.
What’s the best thing about being a broadcaster in Santa Fe?
Knowing that we make our listener’s lives better whether it’s through our on-air personalities, music, news, sharing memories, sending birthday shout-outs, celebrating anniversaries and covering community events. Our listeners are the best and they are the most loyal! It’s really fun to listen to the voicemail messages they leave us, read their letters and getting to know them and being apart of their family. And the fact that we’re a family business, with a new generation on the horizon, allows us to have a lot of fun together.
