July 20, 2020, Issue 714
Welcome Aboard. Please Stay Home
Starting a new job is hard; starting a new job in the midst of a global pandemic adds its own unique set of challenges. Cherry Creek Country KIYK & KCIN/St. George, UT midday personality Chris Cruise, Warner/WAR Dir./National Radio & Streaming Promotion Michael Chase and Stoney Creek VP/Innovation, Radio & Streaming Adrian Michaels shared how they’re overcoming those challenges — hint: it involves a lot of video chat — with Country Aircheck. “[PD] Aaronee Cottam saw a couple of my videos on Facebook, and we started talking Chris Cruise via phone and Facebook Messenger about putting my The Premix show on,” says Cruise. “That didn’t work out, but she said they were looking for a midday personality. I said, ‘Let’s go.’” Now on his “third or fourth” Country station, Detroit-based Cruise has not only never met his co-workers in person, but he’s never stepped foot in St. George, UT. When asked about moving there – or anywhere – in the future, Cruise says, “I love Detroit. I have Michael Chase two nephews who I get to see every weekend, and my parents live 20 minutes from me. I’ve had to tell a couple of programmers, ‘Hey, I appreciate it, but I need six figures and some change to even think about it.’ Not because I’m cocky or think I deserve it … I just don’t want to move.” Exhibit Opening: Michaels left Warner/ WEA at the end of May (CAT 4/28) after six years at the label group … well, maybe Adrian Michaels left isn’t the right word. “My contract was coming up, and I knew that I was going to take on a different job,” he explains. “But the way it came up, my office is still there; everything’s still on my desk. There is an Adrian Michaels museum sitting in the middle of Warner.” (continued on page 8)
Go Chard Or Go Home: Black River’s Kelsea Ballerini spends time with radio in support of “Hole In The Bottle.” Pictured (first row, l-r) are the label’s Bill Macky, Ballerini, the label’s Jane O’Malia-Staszak, WPOR/Portland, ME’s Jonathan “JR” Ruppel and WBWL/Boston’s Amanda Jo Parker; (second row, l-r) Max/ Norfolk’s Eddie Haskell, WGNA/Albany’s Matty Jeff, WXTU/ Philadelphia’s Mark Razz, WDSY/Pittsburgh’s Mark Anderson and WKLB/Boston’s Dawn Santolucito; (third row, l-r) WXCY/ Wilmington, DE’s Tyler Daniel, WQMX/Akron’s Ken Steel, WGTY/ York, PA’s Scott Donato, WEBG/Chicago’s Lance Houston and WBEE/Rochester’s Billy Kidd; (fourth row, l-r) WUSH/Norfolk’s Dave Parker, the label’s Mike Wilson and Rick Froio, WTHT/ Portland, ME’s Corey Garrison and the label’s Bailey White.
Inside Moving The CRHoF Dinner Originally set for June 24 and moved to Sept. 3, the Country Radio Hall of Fame Dinner has been pushed again. The overarching reason – worldwide pandemic – is obvious, but the nuts and bolts involved and implications on future planning merit a check-in with CRB Exec. Dir. RJ Curtis. For starters, communication with the host hotel was a prime factor. “More than
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