Frank Ski |
After months of anticipation and speculation, WHUR 96.3FM – Howard University
announced today the new host of its coveted afternoon drive show is television
and radio veteran Frank Ski. He will
make his debut on the Urban AC station on Monday, September
9th at 3 p.m.
Ski, a familiar voice to the Washington region, won the hearts of voting
listeners and the coveted radio spot over nearly a dozen other broadcasting
vets competing in “WHUR’s Next Big Voice Contest.” Howard University Radio Network General
Manager Jim Watkins says the news is exciting for WHUR and Washington’s radio
listeners. “We are thrilled to welcome Frank to the WHUR family and we look
forward to him bringing his love for radio and the community to the Washington region.”
“The Frank Ski Show” will be a mix of music; news and
celebrity interviews; community activism; and lots of prizes and giveaways,
providing listeners a well-balanced and intellectual perspective of urban
radio. “DC is like home for me. This will be a powerful show featuring
buzz-worthy pop culture and political topics ranging from election coverage to
the latest antics of reality television,” said Ski.
Ski has a proven record of community engagement. He has served as host and spokesperson for
several charitable and educational initiatives, including the Civil Rights Walk
of Fame, Rainbow Push Coalition, The Latin American Association, and 100 Black
Men. His “Frank Ski’s Kids Foundation”
believes in exposing kids to their future through the arts, science, technology
and athletics. The foundation has provided financial assistance to youth for
over 10 years.
Ski began his radio career in Washington
in the early 1990s before moving on to Baltimore
and then to Atlanta
in 1998 where he ruled the airwaves for over 14 years. “The Frank Ski Show” airing from 3 p.m. to 7
p.m.
Frank Ski, Wanda Smith |
For now, Ski tells Rodney Ho at accessatlanta.com, he plans to fly up to D.C. during the week
and come back to Atlanta
on weekends (which includes weekly DJing gigs at his Buckhead restaurant Frank
Ski's.)
He is doing the syndication on his own rather than attach
himself to a big syndicator. "We had talked to some companies but I wasn't
going to get the type of deal I wanted financially," he said. "By
being the owner allows me to have better control over the things I want to do
on the show."
Ski said it was not easy for him to walk away (December 2012) from a cushy
job at WVEE V-103 (in Atlanta), where he and Wanda Smith were the No. 1 morning hosts for
virtually their entire 14-year run.
But he said he wanted "to do something different. If I
was going to make the move, I had to step out on faith. I had a lot of deep
conversations with the family. I also had deep conversations with God. It was a
very spiritual move. We'd do those daily inspirational vitamins. It just
started talking to me. If you want to make a change in your life, you've got to
make the sacrifice. It really gave me an opportunity to look at life for the
value of what it is, not for the value it was worth."
He said the WHUR show will be similar to his V-103 show, a
"lifestyle" focus where he'll be able to talk about a big social
issue one segment, then "Love & Hip Hop Atlanta" the next.
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