Official: Frank Ski Lands PM Drive At WHUR DC

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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