September 12 2016, Issue 516
Harassment Revisited
Response to “Radio, Record Reps & Harassment” in last week’s (9/6) Country Aircheck Weekly was, not surprisingly, voluminous. In addition to countless troubling “me, too” stories, respondents made clear their view that the issues are worse and more pervasive than first reported. “It’s not just radio, it’s artists too,” wrote several female regionals. Added a male PD, “I once had a female rep hit on me and I had to call her boss.” A female programmer says, “I’ve been [propositioned inappropriately] by male regionals and nationals.” Beyond the responses, Country Aircheck also reached out to female executives in records, radio and artist management for more answers and, hopefully, a path toward solutions. Face The Problem: At some point in their careers, most women in the industry have experienced harassment, but one former label exec says it lessened as she climbed the ranks. “The chair you’re in makes a difference,” she says. “People look at VP or National differently than a regional or coordinator. Maybe there’s a little more liberty that can be taken with a regional or coordinator.” Having had those experiences early Gloria Allred on can often make a female exec better prepared to help regionals who are going through it now. “It’s probably a lot less intimidating to come to a female supervisor and share that experience than it is with a male,” says a current label exec, who points out that help isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. (continued on page 10)
Circus Freaks: Broken Bow’s Jason Aldean (back, center) spends time with radio friends in Boston for his Six String Circus Tour stop at Fenway Park. He’s pictured with (back, l-r) WBWL’s Lance Houston, the label group’s JoJamie Hahr, America’s Morning Show’s Ty Bentli, WKLB’s Dawn Santolucito, AMS’ Chuck Wicks, WKLB”s Ginny Brophey, Country Aircheck’s Lon Helton, AMS’ Kelly Ford, WRNX/Springfield, MA’s John Thomas, Cumulus/Nashville’s John Shomby, WKLB’s Mike Brophey, WUBE/Cincinnati’s Grover Collins and BBR’s Carson James; (front, l-r) WKLB’s Christina Serrano, BBR’s Lee Adams and Jon Loba, WPOR/Portland, ME’s Jon Shannon and WBWL’s Jessica Callahan.
How To Buy Your Hometown Station
Consultant and former CBS Radio/Pittsburgh VPP Keith Clark is living the full-circle radio life many only dream about as a partner in the purchase of WWNQ (The Dude) in his hometown of Columbia, SC (CAT 5/25). Here's how it came to pass: As a pre-med student at the University of South Carolina, Clark never considered a career in radio. "There was a DJ at a
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