Radio Ink April 5, 2021

RADIO’S PREMIER MANAGEMENT & MARKETING MAGAZINE SM

VOL. XXXVI, NO. 4

4 • 5 • 2021

WWW.RADIOINK.COM

TALK RADIO WHAT HAPPENS NOW?

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i m a i M September 22-23, 2021 Intercontinental at Doral • Miami hispanicradioconference.com

Opening Keynote

Nathan Simington

Medallas de Cortez “Distinguished Leadership” Award Recipient

FCC Commissioner

Platinum Sponsor:

Corporate Sponsor:

Bronze Sponsor:

Medallas de Cortez Awards:

Emilio Estefan

Participating Sponsors:

Media Sponsors:

2021 HISPANIC RADIO CONFERENCE AGENDA 22-SEPTEMBER 2:10 - 2:30

Opening Video Opening Remarks: Deborah Parenti, Publisher, Radio Ink

2:30 - 3:10

Keynote FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington

3:10 –3:50

Advertising Expectations: How the Pandemic Has Shuffled the Deck

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3:50 – 4:35

Moderator: Angelica (Angie) Balderas , SVP/ Integrated Marketing Solutions, Entravision Communications/ Sacramento

Radio Programming in a Post Pandemic & Socially Aware Environment” Moderator: Bob Perry, International Radio Programming Consultant

4:35 - 5:20

Hispanic Radio Executive Leadership Roundtable (Sponsored by Estrella Media)

5:20– 6:00

“Medallas de Cortez” Awards Presentation (Sponsored by vcreative)

dia Sponsors:

Distinguished Leadership Award Presentation: Emilio Estefan 6:00-7:30

Cocktail Reception (Sponsored bySBS)

23-SEPTEMBER 7:45-8:30

Continental Breakfast

8:30-9:15

Keynote

9:15-10:00

What the Biden Administration and a New FCC Mean for Hispanic Radio

Moderator: Frank Montero, Co-managing Partner, Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth

10:00-10:20 Break (Sponsored by Triton Digital) 10:20-11AM

The Advertiser & Hispanic Radio: Delivering Client Expectations for a Bigger Slice of the Pie

11:00-11:40

Keynote

11:40-11:50

Información Romper

11:50-1:30

Lunch

1:40-2:30

Podcasting – Taking Advantage of Radio Assets for Expanding the Revenue Stream Moderator: Eric Garcia, Director of Sales/ Radio, Univision

2:30-3:10

TBA

3:10-3:30

Break (Sponsored by Triton Digital)

3:30-4:30

Multicultural Marketing to Millennials

4:30

Closing Remarks

Moderator: Carolina Patiño, General Sales Manager, Spanish Broadcasting System/Miami

IN THE ISSUE A PR I L 5 , 2 021 | VO LU M E X X X V I , N O. 4

EVP/PUBLISHER Deborah Parenti dparenti@streamlinepublishing.com EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ed Ryan

edryantheeditor@gmail.com

MANAGING EDITOR Brida Connolly bconnolly@streamlinepublishing.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Rob Dumke rdumke@streamlinepublishing.com DESIGN DIRECTOR Alfonso Jones alfonso.streamline@gmail.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR Kenneth Whitney kenneth.whitney@gmail.com PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Nicolynn Kuper nkuper@streamlinepublishing.com DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS April McLynn amclynn@streamlinepublishing.com ADVERTISING/MARKETING CONSULTANTS Jennifer Jacques 937.522.5971 jjacques@streamlinepublishing.com Gail Lawing glawing@streamlinepublishing.com

404.307.3194

Carl Marcucci cmarcucci@streamlinepublishing.com

703.670.2860

George Wymer gwymer@streamlinepublishing.com

937.609.6778

CHAIRMAN/CEO B. Eric Rhoads erhoads@streamlinepublishing.com Twitter: @ericrhoads Facebook: ericrhoads EXEC. VP/COO Tom Elmo WHAT‘S NEXT FOR TALK R ADIO?

06 PUBLISHER’S BEAT

By EVP/Publisher Deborah Parenti Thinking Bigger ... Beyond The Radio Pie

07 THE WIZARD OF ADS

By Roy Williams 10 Tips For Advertisers

08

PODCASTING

By Matty Staudt Why Podcast By Committee Does Not Work

09

ADVERTISER SUCCESS STORY

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RADIO’S FANTASTIC FACILITIES

Featuring Walmart and Sam’s Cub Radio, Meruelo’s KLOS/Los Angeles, and Bonneville Bay Area

RADIO INK (ISSN 1064-587X) is published monthly January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December. Twelve issues each year for $199 per year, Canadian and European subscribers $249 per year, by Streamline Publishing, Inc., 331 SE Mizner Blvd., Boca Raton,

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BLAST FROM THE PAST

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CONTROLLER Jaime Osetek

By Editor-In-Chief Ed Ryan The Future Of The Talk Radio Format A roundtable of experts discuss what’s next for Talk

By Associate Editor Rob Dumke Freedom Of Speech Spurs Success On Radio

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COVER STORY

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PUBLISHER’S BEAT

DPARENTI@STREAMLINEPUBLISHING.COM

EVP/PUBLISHER

STREAMLINE PUBLISHING

DEBORAH PARENTI

Thinking Bigger …

Beyond The Radio Pie

It’s never good for radio when a station or group finds itself in financial difficulty.

Beyond the damage from COVID-19 — piled atop digital competition that entered the competitive landscape over 20 years ago — the bankruptcy filings and maneuvering to bolster balance sheets continue to pack an especially painful punch in the gut.

Of course, some players were in trouble long before the pandemic, and critics will be quick to point to self-inflicted wounds.

But there is another issue that goes beyond the ongoing crisis we face. It’s the tendency to use bad news coming from across the street to enhance one’s own position. Not that we need crises to beat each other up. It’s a similar tactic to that of reaching for low-hanging fruit. Rather than thinking bigger, everyone goes after the same pot. And that’s the big problem.

In Radio Ink’s recent cover interview with Tom Buono of BIA/Kelsey, Tom made an important point that too often gets overlooked by those with an “eat our own” mentality. According to Tom, radio gets less than 10% of the total local market advertising.

“Managers need to focus on the other 90% to grow their business,” he said. “If radio is only growing at 2% and you go from a 10% share to an 11% share of radio dollars, you will only grow a little over 2%.

If you look at other traditional media like direct mail, which is the largest traditional

media in terms of local advertising, and figure out which of their categories may be vulnerable, you can develop a strategy to take share.”

No one would dispute the importance of growing radio’s digital assets, but to neglect the traditional side, which will remain core to radio’s bottom line for some years to come, is to take an eye off the bigger ball still in play.

According to PwC’s latest “Global Entertainment & Media Outlook” report, “The largest share of radio spend is still concentrated in traditional broadcasting and is expected to remain that way through 2024. Spend on traditional radio in 2020 is forecasted to be $12.9 billion and will rise to $15.5 billion by 2024.”

And while at a faster CAGR, terrestrial online advertising will continue to account for a much smaller share.

Which brings us back to “the other 90%.” Television, outdoor, newspaper, direct mail — all are part of the 90% outside digital. All fall into the “traditional” tent and all are competitive with radio’s traditional asset. To ignore or lose focus on these competitors is to miss an enormous bucket of possibilities.

As attractive and critical as digital advertising is today, the competitive field is large, and, as Tom Buono notes, “The position that radio finds itself in is that you create the awareness that goes into

that purchase funnel, and Google takes the lion’s share of the local advertising dollars out in the last click of the process.

If we can focus on awareness that’s created, the attribution tied to radio, you have a much better chance of growing your share.”

And therein lies another opportunity for radio: if it moves from tunnel vision focused solely on capturing the digital piece of the pie to showcasing its competitive advantage in the traditional space as well.

Fastest turnaround from concept to execution. Closest to point of purchase.

Cost-effective. In virtually any traditional media match-up, radio wins. And it’s accountable. Spots billed are spots aired.

If there remain lingering doubts, PwC offers this encouraging prediction.

“Traditional radio will get a boost from the growing number of new platforms and distribution routes, including smart speakers, the launch of 5G, and cheaper mobile data packages.”

Many years ago, there was a radio campaign targeting print advertising.

It consisted of a newspaper cut into a 5 1/2 X 8-inch hardcover book. The point was: “Find your ad.” That creative display packed a powerful punch. Sometimes what’s old can be new again.

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THE WIZARD OF ADS

10 Tips For Advertisers These are things every local advertiser needs to know, and if you are the AE who shares these 10 tips with them, their respect for you will skyrocket.

1. Bad ads waddle like a porcupine and make lots of little points. Good ads charge like a rhinoceros and make a single point powerfully. This is true regardless of media.

2. When universities ask me to address their advertising and marketing majors, I always warn those young “advertising experts” never to give advice to friends or family who are involved in a local business. “This is because everything you have been taught assumes you will go to work in marketing for a Fortune 500 company, or for an advertising agency that places the media for large, national brands. You have not been taught how to grow a local business.” And then I ask their professors whether they agree with what I just said.

Without exception, every professor has agreed with me. Most of the time, they start nodding their heads when I say, “Everything you have been taught assumes you will go to work in marketing for a Fortune 500 company...”

3. The most dangerous of these Fortune 500 concepts is the “media mix.” Widespread belief about the value of a “media mix” has caused small business owners to sprinkle their budgets across several different media because they are worried they are going to “miss someone.” After all, “Not everyone listens to the radio.” “Not everyone watches the news.” “Not everyone looks at billboards.” “Not everyone blah, blah, blah.”

Advertiser, you can’t afford to reach

ROY H. WILLIAMS

PRESIDENT WIZARD OF ADS INC. ROY@WIZARDOFADS. COM

everyone. You’ve got to choose who to lose.

Would you rather reach 100% of the people and convince them 10% of the way, or reach 10% of the people and convince them 100% of the way? Repetition is effective. Repetition is effective.

Don’t be a porcupine. Be a rhino.

the home service categories — when it makes sense to use geotargeting. If time and energy are an underused resource, the placement of door hangers and lawn signs and flyers under windshield wipers are old school but still pay big dividends. This is what I call “shoe leather on the sidewalk.

4. If you sell a product or a service that most people will need sooner or later and you suspect you’ve been sprinkling your ad budget “a little bit here and a little bit there,” try spending 80% of your ad budget on a single mass media and the remaining 20% online. The choice of mass media is up to you, but it’s hard to go wrong with local broadcast radio or television newscasts.

People rarely record the TV news on their DVRs. They watch it live. The same is true of live sporting events.

By the way, in case I forget to tell you this later, repetition is effective.

7. “But what if I sell a product or a service that only a tiny percent of the population will ever want or need?”

Friend, that’s when you bet your entire ad budget online. But make sure that your gross profit margin will allow you to spend 25% to 33% of total top-line sales on advertising, because when all the shouting is over, that is what you’re likely to spend.

(Meanwhile, those local advertisers who are betting on the effectivezness of mass media are spending only 6% to 12% of total top-line sales on advertising.)

5. “Wait a minute,” you say, “you told me to be a rhino and not to sprinkle my budget, but now you’re telling me that 20% of my budget should be spent online!

What’s up?”

Google is the new phone book, so you must have an online presence. Properly used, mass media will make you the provider people think of immediately and feel the best about, but the first thing those people are going to do when they need what you sell is go online to look for your phone number, or your store hours, or your street address, or your online reviews.

You’ve got to show up when your customer is looking for you.

6. There are instances — particularly in

8. Mild surprise is the foundation of delight.

In your ads, 1. If you say what your customers expected you to say, they will be bored.

2. If you make unsubstantiated claims, they will not believe you.

3. If you speak to anything other than a felt need, they will ignore you.

4. If you say something new, surprising and different, you will gain their attention.

5. If you give them a reason to like and trust and believe you, they will.

9. If you win the heart, the mind will follow.

The intellect will always create logic to justify what the emotion have already decided.

10: Repetition is effective. Repetition is effetive. Repetition is effective.

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PODCASTING

MATTY STAUDT

PRESIDENT JAM STREET MEDIA

Why Podcast By Committee Does Not Work

When you do a podcast for everyone, you are producing a podcast for no one. What I mean by that is, the more people you try to include in your target audience, the more segments you cram in, and the more people chiming in on what they think will sound good, the more you will most likely alienate people and make a podcast that doesn’t do any one thing right. That becomes a big issue when you’re working on a podcast for a brand.

When working for a brand, you’ll find that each organization will have a lot of stakeholders who want to be involved with the podcast. This makes sense, as the brand is spending good money and they want to make sure they’re getting what they want and need out of the podcast.

The problem is that this leads to way too many ideas for a 30-minute podcast, some of which a podcasting pro will know will not work. So, how do we appease everyone and still make a great podcast?

As A Brand • Be clear with what your KPIs are for the podcast. What is it you want to accomplish with the show? Is it brand awareness, lead generation, or content for marketing? Or all three?

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Know who your audience is. Very targeted demographics make things easier when developing content strategies.

Be open to the ideas your producer brings to the table, and be flexible with your ideas about formatting, hosts, etc. If you’re paying a pro, listen to them when it comes to what content will work well for certain audiences.

Let the paid creatives be creative. At some point, you have to hand things off to them and trust they’ll do a great job.

Understand that there are limitations to what kinds of podcasts can be made with certain budgets. If you want a Wondery-sounding show, be prepared to pay more than you would for a simpler podcast.

As A Producer • Remember that the brand is your client, and you have to listen to and incorporate as many ideas as you can that will work.

• Push back on ideas that you know will not work, but give reasons and cite data to back up your arguments.

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Listen to all ideas with an open mind.

Often the best podcasts come out of several ideas morphed into one.

Be realistic with what you can do with the budget you’ve been given. Don’t promise This American Life if the budget is for an interview podcast.

At the end of the day, the best podcasts for brands work best when everyone knows their part and their strengths, and are ready to let each other do their jobs.

Staying focused and making sure everyone is in their lane makes for the best podcasts for the listener. At the end of the day, we’re making a show for them, not for us.

Matty Staudt is the former director of content at Stitcher, and was radio’s first VP of podcast programming with iHeartRadio.

He is now the president of Jam Street Media in Los Angeles, where his network includes the hits Deep Cover: The Real Donnie Brasco, Appalachian Mysteria, and The Big Swing. He also provides consulting for podcast startups and brands. jamstreetmedia.com; @MattyStaudt on social media.

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Freedom Of Speech Spurs Success On Radio

By Rob Dumke

Ross Rhode

Ross Rhode is not afraid to speak his mind. He supports freedom of speech. He supports radio as a way for people of all political and social stripes to have a voice.

That’s why when he wants people to know about Fair Muffler & Brake Shop in Green Bay, Wisconsin, he spends his ad dollars on WTAQ News Talk, 97.5 FM/1360 AM. When Rhode was hired as the first employee at the business when it opened in 1984, radio was the messaging medium.

And when he bought Fair Muffler & Brake in 2001, radio remained his first choice.

“We always advertised on the radio,” Rhode says. “The late Shawn Mulhern from WNFL used to do live remotes from the business. He became the voice of Fair Muffler & Brake Shop. After Shawn passed, I tried another announcer, but he sounded like every other voice on the radio. So I started doing the ads.”

Most of the spots he runs are during AM drive, but when Rush Limbaugh was added to the WTAQ lineup, Rhode’s spots filled some of the avails. That drew some atten-

tion to Fair Muffler & Brake Shop — especially from some folks who started trolling the business on Facebook.

“There were some people that targeted us because we advertised on WTAQ during Rush’s show,” Rhode says. “These people would send me messages that would say, ‘You know Rush is controversial, blah, blah, blah.’ They were trying to get me to stop advertising on Rush Limbaugh. I said, ‘I’m not going to stop.’ WTAQ then asked me if I would be interested in doing an ad just about freedom of speech, basically saying that I support freedom of speech.”

And that’s what Ross Rhode did. The spot ran during one of the local WTAQ talk shows.

“People called while one of my guys was answering the phone. He got off the phone and asked me, ‘What the hell did you just do?’ He told me a couple callers said they were already customers and because of the ad, they will continue to be. Also, some said they were not customers yet, but because of the ad, they will be.”

On February 17, 2021, the news broke that Rush had lost his fight with cancer at age 70.

“When Rush passed away I did a special ad, because I owed him that,” Rhode says.

“He was a link between people who are like-minded. Whatever your politics are, we agree that I’m not trying to tell anybody what they should or should not believe — but there is still freedom of speech, and that is what it should be.”

Shop. The year 2021 is the 20th anniversary of owning Fair Muffler and Brake Shop. I’ve been part of Fair Muffler since 1984, and I liked it here so much, I bought the place.

There are a lot of things that need to work together to stay in business for 37 years.

One thing that is important is having good customers. How do you get good customers, you ask? Advertising. We always advertise on WTAQ, and for most of the time, Rush Limbaugh has been there. I have had many people tell me that they are our customers because we support freedom of speech and Rush Limbaugh by advertising on WTAQ. Rush listeners are very special people. Rush was that link that brought a lot of good people together. His passing is very sad. And he will be missed by millions. Rest in peace, Rush Limbaugh.

Rhode says, “You know, I’m not trying to be controversial. I’m riding the edge a bit, especially with Rush, but you know, it catches people’s attention. They think of the place and they come in. I actually had a guy come in, he said he had not been here before, and he was asking about the shop.

He said, ‘I heard your ad, and the one you did about Rush Limbaugh, and that’s why I’m here.’ I don’t think there is any other medium where you can get that reaction.

That’s why I like radio.”

Thanks to Ross Rhode, Fair Muffler & Brake Shop, www.fairmufflershop.com/ Thanks to Kelly Laughrin, Midwest Communications, kelly.laughrin@ mwcadvertising.com

Limbaugh Commercial Transcript Hey, this is Ross at Fair Muffler and Brake

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While capital spending was down over the past year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, when you

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have to rebuild, you have to rebuild. We found several new fantastic-looking new facilities we

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had to share with you. These three were truly amazing.

Walmart Radio

Scott “Bo” Woloszyn in the brand-new studios at Walmart and Sam’s Club Radio in Bentonville, Arkansas, along with a closer look (left) at some of the top-flight digital gear

Thanks to Scott “Bo” Woloszyn of Walmart & Sam’s Club Radio for sharing the new studios for the company radio station.

The brand-new studios for Walmart & Sam’s Club Radio are located in Bentonville, Arkansas, inside the Walmart home office.

The studios feature Axia Telos gear, the automation is DAD Enco, and the video streaming is all via LiveStream Studio. The studios took about two months to build, and

another two weeks to switch out to all-digital gear.

Woloszyn tells Radio Ink they have a full main studio and an Axia Fusion console that broadcasts coast-to-coast during live shows. Across from the main studio board is an interview or social media video spot.

There’s also a production studio, as well as a video switcher studio for live video capture.

Walmart World Radio Network, which includes both Walmart and Sam’s Club Radio, broadcasts music across the entire U.S. to all Walmart & Sam’s Club locations, with an online stream at www.walmartworld.com.

The live shows (Live with Antonio and The Bo Show) are sent via satellite, just like a syndicated show would be. When the live shows aren’t on, each store location acts as a local radio station, playing localized music.

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Meruelo Media’s KLOS/Los Angeles Meruelo Media VP Engineering/IT David Gray explains the upgrades at the new KLOS studios in Los Angeles: “I think we built an interesting mixture of radio and TV systems into a powerful multistudio, multi-media facility that is staying busy in this hybrid new world.

“We have a full-sized Ross 4 MLE Octane video production switcher, Axia Fusion radio mixing consoles with AES67 audio-over-IP that interfaces with our traditional RTS intercom/IFB systems. We built a dozen PCs that we use for

full-screen, full-resolution Zoom callers. We built other PCs that we use for our 2-channel graphics creation and playback. All of our productions are recorded onto Blackmagic HyperDeck recorders.

“We have a mixture of ENG- and PTZ-style cameras spread across multiple studios. The studios have some pretty unique custom furniture that transforms to fit the needs of different shoots, as do the multiple 82-inch Samsung monitors that can be fed individually or fed as a single virtual skin in our studio A via our Matrox Mura video wall controller. Studio

A is affectionately called the ‘OMG studio’ as it dramatically transforms within minutes to meet the next project’s objectives. This studio gets its name because many times the first thing that our clients say when they walk into Studio A is ‘OMG.’” In the photo above, we’re looking at Matt Pinfield doing his Sunday show on KLOS. Meruelo CEO Otto Padron points out, “Matt looks great, and the show sounds amazing on air — and on our YouTube channel.”

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Room with a view: the new studios at Bonneville’s KOIT-FM/San Francisco

Top 40 WMVQ (Now 99.7) also gets a new look in the Bonneville/S.F. makeover

The new sales and management workspace at Bonneville Bay Area

A look at the lobby, rack room, and feature studio

Bonneville San Francisco Director of Marketing, Promotions & Events for Bonneville San Francisco Carlos Pedraza shares that cluster’s brand-new facilities with us.

The new facilities were completed in mid2020, but because of the stay-at-home orders in California, there’s been limited staff in the building, and nobody from the public has been

able to see the new digs yet. Pedraza says there are people who work for Bonneville who haven’t even been in the building yet.

Jason Ornellas, regional director of engineering for Bonneville West Region, reports the equipment vendors in the build were: Wheatstone, RCS Zetta, Yellowtec, Mika,

KRK for studio speakers, Omnirax furniture, Telos for VX Phone System, Gates Air for STL, Cielo Networks for Microwave links, Inovonics for Monitoring, and SCMS for equipment purchases.

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THE FUTURE OF THE TALK RADIO FORMAT 2BC-EDIT-RI_Cover Story 4-5-21 (pages 14-23).indd 14

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Julie Talbott President Premiere Networks Chesley Maddox-Dorsey CEO American Urban Radio Networks Superadio Fred Jacobs President Jacobs Media Andy Bloom President Andy Bloom Communications Phil Boyce SVP/Spoken Word Format Salem Media Group & Salem Radio Network Programming Consultants Valerie Geller Mike McVay Buzz Knight

By Editor in Chief Ed Ryan

Even though the radio world knew the day would come after he announce his Stage 4 cancer diagnosis back in January of 2020, it was still a devastating loss to his radio associates and legion of listeners when Rush Limbaugh passed away in February of this year.

The 70-year-old conservative talker was on the air for 32 years, dominating the Talk format for the majority of that time. He was credited with saving AM radio and revitalizing the Talk format, becoming a must-listen for millions of Americans across the country, no matter which political party was in power.

For three hours every weekday, Rush entertained and informed his fans, laying the foundation for many new political talk shows that would follow.

What happens next to the Talk format? How many hosts will it take to fill in that noon-to-3 p.m. slot on over 600 radio stations? Can the political Talk format survive without Rush?

Will the format move in a different direction?

We’ve assembled an all-star panel of radio industry experts to dig deep into what happens next. They are:

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”In a lot of ways, Rush was a very unique broadcaster. From a Talk radio perspective, we’re going to see more lifestyle radio versus controversial talk.”

Chesley Maddox-Dorsey

Radio Ink: What is the state of the Talk format following the passing of Rush Limbaugh?

Julie Talbott: No one would deny that we’ve lost the biggest star of the day. We will continue to give his listeners what they want right now, which is the comfort and hope of his voice. Long term, we are an industry that loves to talk about our shortcomings and not our positives — and there are so many positives.

We are never going to be able to replace Rush Limbaugh. We want to get as creative as we can with the storytelling and do it differently. That’s the mission, and I think it’s a very bright future for everyone. We aren’t going to put our heads in the sand and say we won’t miss Rush, but we have a bright future. Let’s figure out how to tell the stories in the best possible way.

Valerie Geller: Personally, I didn’t realize how hard I would be hit by the loss of Rush. He played a big part in an important chapter in my life when I worked with him at WABC. Working with Rush, and those guys at that time, changed the trajectory of my life. It opened up my world in so many ways. When he died, I was very saddened by that, and I was surprised. Politically, he and I couldn’t be farther apart.

What happened, after Rush’s death was announced, the next day I had 37 calls from radio stations asking what they were going to do now. They can either take what the network is going to give them, or they now have a pile of money they can use to hire somebody.

Chesley Maddox-Dorsey: I had the experience of having Rush at stations that we owned and operated, so I know the importance of that audience, his voice, and his entertainment of that audience.

In a lot of ways, he was a very unique broadcaster.

From a Talk radio perspective, we’re going to see more lifestyle radio versus controversial talk. There’s no question controversial talk gets us engaged and our blood stirring. There’s more opportunity for lifestyle talk, and the American radio listener wants that.

You can’t replace what you already had. Julie is right: Rush Limbaugh is not replaceable. I think that space can be filled with other needs the listeners have.

over to podcasts and left us. We have to entertain first. They want to find middle ground. They want conversations, not to be talked at. When you look at where audiences are going and what they’re responding to, it’s conversations in an entertaining way. It’s a seat at the most fun, fascinating conversation. That’s what we need to provide if we’re going to survive.

Chesley Maddox-Dorsey: Rush connected to people. He had an incredible manner of connecting to his audience.

Fred Jacobs: I’m the music guy. This whole thing reminds me of what we went through in Rock radio when Howard Stern moved over to Sirius 15 years ago.

There was all this discussion about who would be the next Howard. Here we are, and there’s no Howard Stern. There can’t possibly be.

I think we are at the same point with Rush. Rather than trying to find the next amazing talent who will electrify radio, I agree with Chesley: it’s time for an introspective look at the overall format.

Start thinking about other ways to do this besides the Limbaugh way.

Julie Talbott: You’re right, Fred, we aren’t going to try to replace Rush Limbaugh. Sadly, we’ve had a year to test, to brainstorm, to talk with every part of our loyal audiences. We aren’t going to replace him.

The narrative that everyone calls to ask about is “Who’s next?” That’s not what we want to put out there. Those millions of loyal listeners don’t want a name, they want to hear the comfort in his voice, and then they will want something creatively different from their beloved Rush.

It’s our responsibility to come out with creative ways to enhance our Talk format.

We aren’t ready to go down that path yet. When we see that the listeners have mourned enough, then we will come out with some different suggestions.

Valerie Geller: I think a lot of Talk listeners are sick of the politics. They tune out. A lot of the Talk audience went

Mike McVay: You have to acknowledge Rush was the highest-rated daypart on the stations he was on. For the longest

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time, as an individual programmer, corporate programmer, and now as a consultant, I would hear all the complaints and frustrations people would have with a high-profile talent like Rush, how polarizing he was, and yet the guy was number one over and over again and had huge ratings. It screams as to how entertaining he was, how engaging.

You’re not going to replace that, ever.

Secondly, any time a radio station makes a change, no matter how big or small, you give the audience permission to look elsewhere, and they will. It doesn’t mean they won’t come back, but the audience will look to see what else is out there. It’s an opportunity for a lot of other people to forge a path that’s their own. It’s an opportunity, as Julie said, for Premiere to do something that’s different, what the next generation is looking for.

Andy Bloom: When Rush came on the air, he wasn’t replacing anybody. He was creating his own hill, because he was an original. When Howard Stern became Howard Stern, he wasn’t replacing somebody else. He created his own hill, which was outrage.

I think the trick now is figuring out, or finding somebody who will captivate America through entertainment, through storytelling, which is important. We have to find the next great storyteller/entertainer, something I wrote about for Radio Ink more than five years ago.

The problem is the industry has been lax in doing that and has failed to find the next great entertainer. Whether it’s going to be a conservative talker or outrage personality, it’s going to be something new and original, and it will captivate America.

Buzz Knight: I think it may splinter the Talk format in some regard — which may be healthy. You might see it split into some other categories, whether that be a Millennial Talk category or Entertainment Talk radio. You aren’t going to replace him and potentially splinter the category.

Phil Boyce: You aren’t going to replace Rush Limbaugh. I don’t think we need to. There are a lot of people coming up underneath who can fill that gap well.

There are very talented people coming

into the Talk arena now. Rush is leaving behind a strong and robust format, the number one format in radio. I will always cherish my years with Rush, but look forward to what the years may be like going forward.

Radio Ink: Is there something under the radar in this format that will get more visibility? Something that gets away from politics?

Mike McVay: Some of the best talk talent now are on Rock stations, and don’t play music. I think you will see someone take those talents and move them into stations that have more talk. I look at iHeart in Cleveland; Rover does a talk show in the morning on WMMS, which is a Rock station other times. Tom Bernard in Minneapolis is on the long list of really good talk talent.

It stands to reason that if the conversation is engaging and entertaining, it could attract any demo. Back to Rush — there were things he did as a Top 40 DJ that he still did on the air as Rush Limbaugh the conservative Talk radio guy.

Andy Bloom: That’s a great point, Mike.

You look at some of the top talk shows now, and they did come from music radio. Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, and a number of others who got their start in Top 40 or Rock. That’s a great place.

I’m fascinated now by what NPR has done over the past five years. I was looking at the top 23 out of 25 markets, looking at 12+ total week data, and NPR is number one 12+ in five markets, number two in another two. It’s the number one spoken word station in nine markets and top five in 10 different markets. I think there’s a great story going on at NPR that breaks the traditional mold that Rush did and so many others are now filling.

“Maybe in a syndicated world it is more challenging, but we keep defaulting to controversy here because that’s worked in the past. Are we sure that’s the road we want to go down again?”

Fred Jacobs

“When you look at where audiences are going and what they’re responding to, it’s conversations in an entertaining way. It’s a seat at the most fun, fascinating conversation.

That’s what we need to provide if we’re going to survive.”

Valerie Geller

Fred Jacobs: I think that’s right, Andy.

We’ve done a lot of work for NPR and public radio stations in general. There are some tremendous personalities around the country at local and regional public stations, but NPR in particular has stepped up big time.

Somewhere Jarl Mohn is smiling because he predicted all this would happen. We

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Fred Jacobs

were together at the Talk Show Boot Camp in Dallas a few years ago, and that was a big part of the dinner conversation. It suggests there are potentially all kinds of Talk radio programs.

I was of the mind that there’s only one way to do Classic Rock. What I’ve learned over the years is, no, there’s Classic Hits, hard Classic Rock — there are a number of different ways to skin this thing, perhaps — as difficult as it may be for Valerie’s 37 stations that woke up last week to realize their number one daypart is gone.

Valerie Geller: Rush was unique. There’s nobody like him. Paul Harvey and Howard Stern were unique. Can there be another Barbra Streisand? These people have something so special.

Yet there are other people who are diamonds. It means taking risk, and our business is risk-averse. We have an opportunity now. It’s entertaining, inspiring, informative, and connected.

It’s storytelling.

If we can take some risks, try some people, and give them some runway — don’t kill them after three shows. When I first was working with Rush, he had a 0.3 and nobody believed he would do well in New York. Howard had Mel Karmazin.

Everybody who’s good had somebody who believed in them and stuck with them.

If you have a talent you believe in, go to the mat for them. Take some risks,

Valerie Geller

knowing it could fail. They may cross the line, and yes, you may have to go to court like we did with Rush in the beginning. I think our business has not had a backbone. We’ve been going through consolidation. Now is the time.

We’re in a global pandemic. If we’re not going to find shining stars now, when are we? Mike, you mentioned that some are safer than others. Talk radio has been fun, and I think some of that has gone away with this dogged political agenda stuff.

That has to come back — unique conversations and feeling like your world has been expanded. In public radio, we talk about the “driveway moment,” where people sit in the car and want to hear the end of a conversation or interview. Talk radio has provided that for years. We have work to do. We’ve gotten fat. We need to fight for our listeners, to experiment, try new things.

We can incubate people in podcasts and on the weekends. In commercial radio, we’ve lost the farm teams. It’s important to develop people at the local level, then pull them up to syndication.

Andy Bloom: This is exactly the trouble with the industry. The industry doesn’t do this anymore. It isn’t willing to take chances. It’s much easier to fire or suspend somebody and not take chances. If you’re breaking eggs to make omelets, the industry doesn’t want you.

It’s a systemic, industry-wide problem, until management at the highest level is ready to say, “We’ll defend and stand by you,” instead of, “If we get complaints, we will suspend or fire you.”

The other point is, I don’t believe ratings matter a damn anymore. They don’t care what they are unless you’re one of the monoliths that’s been grandfathered in. What they care about is your salability, and you’re not sales-friendly if you’re controversial.

All these things we know make for great radio and attract great audiences are things management doesn’t care about anymore. I’ve worked with someone who is capable of pulling great ratings, but they’ll create a headache. This person hasn’t been able to get hired and instead has decided to go down the path of “I won’t do that anymore.” They’ve decided to become vanilla as a slice of Wonder bread and learn to help sales.

It’s a question of what the industry is willing to bear.

Chesley Maddox-Dorsey: Some of what he says is true. We’ve worked with every great talker over the years, like Al Sharpton, Rachel Maddow, etc.

There is a lot of pushback from the advertising community. Our business model is advertiser-supported. If we get advertisers heading for the hills, it’s fiscally irresponsible for us to not respond to this.

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“The narrative that everyone calls to ask about is ‘Who’s next?’ That’s not what we want to put out there. Those millions of loyal listeners don’t want a name, they want to hear the comfort in his voice, and then they will want something creatively different from their beloved Rush.”

Julie Talbott

“When Rush came on the air, he wasn’t replacing anybody.

He was creating his own hill, because he was an original.”

Andy Bloom

‘Rush is leaving behind a strong and robust format, the number one format in radio. I will always cherish my years with Rush, but look forward to what the years may be like going forward.”

Phil Boyce

Julie Talbott

Julie Talbott: I think salability is critical.

We have an entire sales division that never steps foot into an ad agency because they do have to worry about that.

Anyone we bring on board, we spend an enormous amount of time holding their hand, letting them know what they will be up against. That’s worked for us.

It’s hand-to-hand combat, and a great strategy working the content and sales team together to understand who those advertisers are — capitalists that want to grow a business.

There’s a lot of finesse that Paul Harvey had that people now don’t have. They go straight for the jugular as opposed to easing in. Paul made you think.

I don’t know that we don’t need some of that back — people who are willing to engage in a different way. We look at ratings — and they do matter in the syndication world. We have a responsibility to make the paychecks that are supported by advertisers. I do think we have to find measures of engagement other than controversy.

Fred Jacobs: My question is “Is controversy a necessary ingredient in order to be a captivating talk show host?”

I think back to people like Ron Chapman and J.P. McCarthy and others who were brilliant, charming, and captivating. They owned their towns.

Maybe in a syndicated world, it is more challenging, but we keep defaulting to controversy here because that’s worked in the past. Are we sure that’s the road we want to go down again?

Mike McVay: I think there are lanes, just like magazines. There’s Men’s Life and Mad Magazine, the same way there’s that conservative Talk radio station. It’s not controversy to the people listening. It’s controversy to the people who disagree with what they’re saying.

In my former corporate role, it’s one of the things that would drive me nuts. The view from a number of the leadership team members was very different from what was coming out of the speakers. I guarantee there’s no liberal Democrat who’s changed to become a Republican by listening to Talk radio. They’re in an echo chamber. As long as they aren’t lying or creating violence, it’s not controversial to that listener.

I do think we are in a time where there’s room to be a lane for the other guys. There are other liberal talk shows, other shows that are entertaining and engaging. They are going to be in a different lane. I do think there’s opportunity for the other guy. It would be good

Andy Bloom: When they cancelled Dr. Suess — I don’t know what’s controversial anymore. You don’t have to say anything that’s really controversial to find yourself in trouble with the political correctness police or the cancel police.

Chesley Maddox-Dorsey: I grew up listening to Paul Harvey, who wasn’t controversial, but engaging. The question is, how do you get the quickest response, the most vocal form of engagement.

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Andy Bloom

if you didn’t tune up and down the dial and hear a lot of Rush or Hannity, but heard some of these people who are trying something different.

Andy Bloom: The point is well taken.

I pulled the list of the most listened to Talk radio programs. It’s all over the place regarding topics. It still has Rush as number one, Hannity as number two, then Marketplace followed by All Things Considered.

We have the first two conservative Talk, followed by financial news, then a newsmagazine, Dave Ramsey, Mark Levin, and then Coast to Coast. They are all over the place. It falls into a number of places.

Valerie Geller: I think it comes down to tell the truth, make it matter, never be boring — which I’ve been shouting from the hill since 1990. This is the essence. If somebody is fun and fascinating, it will work. If the time goes fast, it’s working. Is it a pleasure to listen to?

I don’t feel negative about our industry. I think we have an opportunity to go to the edge of the wall and look at some unique individuals. I love radio. To me, when you are in the car and the magic happens — that’s still there. I called into my first talk show when I was 7, and I’m still enthralled.

We don’t want to lose sponsors — I get it. I talked to someone who bought a $4,000 bed because of live copy, radio, and podcasting.

Phil Boyce

Radio Ink: Why hasn’t Joe Rogan been syndicated on radio?

Julie Talbott: There are a lot of talents out there. Some are made for radio, and others not. Some like the freedom of a podcast. With Rush’s passing, I remain completely excited. There are hundreds of things to do.

Don’t forget about the Sports format, where we’ve developed great entertainment. I don’t think we need to be doomand-gloom. We’ve never been healthier, with tons of talent and podcasts. I have people who send me podcasts who don’t want to be published yet because they are not ready for the limelight of that. We have a bright future ahead of us.

Fred Jacobs: Julie said it best: 20 years ago you went on radio or TV, but now you have podcasting, satellite, etc. You have people like Adam Carolla, who are happy doing what they’re doing in their environment.

They don’t want to be over here, and that’s fine. There’s a place for everyone. As we all know, this is a tough job to bring it every day and be good over time.

Buzz Knight: We are not welcoming enough to incubating formats or personalities or, among all talent and formats, not welcoming diversity in the types of voices we allow in. I don’t feel we’ve reached that capability or potential.

Mike McVay: I think podcasting can be a great incubation opportunity. You saw

how Ben Shapiro went from a podcast and did very well. To what Julie was saying, neither podcasting nor streaming is a replacement for radio. Radio has an amazing distribution that’s bigger than Spotify, Amazon, etc. — and we apologize for it.

On a side note, we play too many commercials, to the point of not incubating talent. We are throwing a lot of people on the air or voicetracking, or we have no talent on the air at all.

I learned this past week that 1,000 downloads puts you in the top 15%. You have to get 20,000 downloads to get ads.

There are more great radio talents than great podcasters.

Chesley Maddox-Dorsey: People feel there’s no barrier to getting into podcasting. True talent needs coaching.

It needs listening to, refining, and always being interested in improving. That’s one of the things Rush Limbaugh was always interested in doing. He set a high bar, and he continued to go higher.

Podcasting is not a farm system because they don’t have outside input.

Unless you are well-produced, you don’t have a great podcast. You might have a great subject, but you don’t have a listenable podcast.

Valerie Geller: Everybody can talk, so everybody thinks it’s easy. This is very hard work. People in the industry know how special talent is. The great ones make it look so easy. Whoopi Goldberg was funny and smart, but she didn’t

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“Some of the best talk talent now are on Rock stations, and don’t play music. I think you will see someone take those talents and move them into stations that have more talk.”

Mike McVay

listen. You had somebody who missed one of the big factors that makes one a powerful communicator.

There’s such a temptation to find a famous name elsewhere and bring them in, instead of looking at people who are homegrown. Looking at: is this person a good listener? Do they observe life? Are they original? Are they interactive, sensitive to the world around them?

We get fooled by big names and the temptation to throw them front and center. When they fail, we’ve invested a lot of money and they don’t work out.

The trick is to find powerful communicators, people who are gifted at this, and then develop them. I am optimistic about where we are right now. We can learn from our mistakes and move on.

Andy Bloom: There’s no doubt there’s talent out there. How much we’re allowed to do with them is one question, but the other thing is how technology is going to change what we are going to do — the challenges and opportunities that technology presents.

More and more people are using connected cars, smart speakers, mobile apps. These are going to present increasing challenges for this format.

Especially one that at the current time relies on older demographics. Technology also provides fragmentation, provides other options for them.

One of the challenges and opportunities is the new tech world that continues

to evolve as fast as we can keep up. We have to do a great job, or we will get steamrolled by stations that are hip to it.

Radio Ink: Do you think this upcoming opportunity will be a chance for stations to insert local hosts? How important is that?

Buzz Knight: Whoever the host is, they have to be great. If it’s a local opportunity for an influencer in a marketplace that matters, great. But I don’t think it’s a onesize-fits-all. This does create opportunity.

It pushes us to go to different places to find what the new thing could be.

One reason people are so captivated and get lost inside [audio chat app] Clubhouse is because it’s an opportunity for us to hear people who have a different range of voices we haven’t heard before. Some are good and some aren’t.

This is opportunity time for sure.

Fred Jacobs: When you look at all the local markets, there are local morning shows leading in a variety of different markets. Dan and Chuck The Freak in Detroit, Preston and Steve in Philadelphia, etc. You can see that great local talent can really resonate and do a wonderful job. Great entertainment is great entertainment, whether it’s being piped in from L.A. or sitting in an air studio in Detroit. If it’s good, it will work.

Valerie Geller: That’s the answer. Get people who are good.

Julie Talbott: It’s about great storytellers and entertainers. That’s what we look at every day. It is a lot of hard work.

It’s important to get folks who are passionate, wanting to come in every day.

I hear a lot of great talent, but if you’re not willing to give it your all every day ,it won’t work long term.

Andy Bloom: Local is radio’s secret sauce.

Radio Ink: Three big names that our readers should watch for over the next year, whether podcasting or in the radio space?

Mike McVay: I am very impressed with Ben Ferguson. He’s a bright young guy.

I had a chance to work with him some years ago.

I listen to Rover at WMMS in Cleveland, a talk show that could work on any Talk-formatted radio station. My personal favorite is Heidi and Frank on KLOS/L.A. in the morning. They’re entertaining, topical, political when they need to be. For the most part, it’s about what everyone is talking about every day.

There’s a certain amount of cynicism and lack of respect that makes it a fun show.

Buzz Knight: I’d be hard-pressed to find three. Looking into different platforms of

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“We are not welcoming enough to incubating formats or personalities or, among all talent and formats, not welcoming diversity in the types of voices we allow in. I don’t feel we’ve reached that capability or potential.”

Buzz Knight

distribution where talent can come from provides an opportunity. One — I’ve been fascinated by the audience she’s built, but she would need extreme coaching to get to the next level — we think is great is Heather Cox Richardson. She’s the breakout on Substack. She’s a historian and professor out of Boston. She’s created a unique voice.

Fred Jacobs: I love a lot of people. John Holmberg, who does mornings for KUPD in Phoenix. Phoenix is an overlooked market, and he has been doing mornings there for a long time. He brings it every day.

I love Greg Baharrell, who does nights on KLOS. This guy is totally out of his mind. He’s irreverent and a lot of fun. The other wacky guy out of L.A. is Christian James Hand. He may not be capable of doing a four- or five-hour show, but the feature he does with musical breakdowns is some of the most compelling storytelling I’ve ever heard.

Chesley Maddox-Dorsey: I will say the quality of a person is more important.

I think the next great person will come from a music background.

Julie Talbott: I’m going to talk about who we have on the air right now who are new in their careers. Buck Sexton, our young guy who is very talented. Ben Ferguson; we’re really working him right now. And in the sports world, Clay Travis.

He is one of the great storytellers. I have 20 more behind that.

Andy Bloom: Clay Travis would be on my list.

Mike McVay: I should’ve said Greg Baharrell. I hired him from San Francisco to KLOS to do nights. He has since been syndicated. He is somebody to watch.

Fred Jacobs: I have one question for everyone. One of the concerns I have is that demographically, this thing is getting away from us. We’re looking at radio like we have the entire palette of the country to go at, but when you look at what is happening with radio demographics and conservative Talk, it is aging white guys.

I worry even if we came up with a great talent geared at 21-year-olds, would they still be around to appreciate the talent?

Julie Talbott: It’s something we focus on all the time. We’ve spent a long time developing The Breakfast Club. We’ve developed them in different ways, and we will continue to develop each of the three of them in different ways. They do bring that younger audience.

We’ve brought in Jason Lee; he’s a Hollywood gossip guy. We think the way to do that is use the power of Charlamagne or Angela Yee or DJ Envy and build within them. We are trying to bring diversity and younger audiences in.

Fred Jacobs: I think they are a great example of diversity.

Julie Talbott: And Enrique Santos. He’s

doing both the Spanish and English shows.

Let’s give ourselves a little credit. We do have a lot of work to do, but we are spending a lot of time finding these gems.

Chesley Maddox-Dorsey: Twenty-four hours a day, people can listen. You can only do videos so many hours a day before your eyes burn out. We have young talent we are developing, and it attracts. Ebro in the Morning attracts a good group of young people. We have a young jock in the morning who has grown in wisdom. He is a smooth talker. The format doesn’t allow for a lot of individual conversations, but he’s engaging and entertaining. He attracts women like nobody’s business.

I think radio has a lot of upside. We still have the ears more than any other medium. They are available to us 24 hours a day. We just have to keep after it.

Mike McVay: You are right, Chesley and Julie, we don’t look at The Breakfast Club as a talk show, but that’s clearly what it is. Charlamagne is now at a point that when there was social unrest, he was being interviewed on CNN. There’s Men’s Room, the talk show, or DL Hughley, who is very entertaining.

Julie Talbott: We did try to merge some audiences by putting Rush Limbaugh and The Breakfast Club together and letting them have an hourlong conversation. We are all trying things. Let’s not forget we are trying.

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RADIO’S TOP 20 LEADERS

We first launched our Top 20 Leaders List back in 2017, asking readers to choose and vote on the people they believed were tops in the industry to work for. This past year radio has needed strong leadership more than any other time in its history.

We had only two requirements for nominations: each nominee must be active in radio today and have at least five years of experience in the industry.

Additionally, executives who made our most recent 40 Most Powerful People in Radio list were not eligible.

This year we asked our Top 20 leaders the following questions: How has leading through a pandemic made you a stronger leader?

If you were launching your career tomorrow, would you choose radio again?

Why do you think 2021 is going to be a strong year for the industry?

How would you team describe you, in a word or two?

Here are Radio’s Top 20 Leaders for 2021.

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01

BAYARD “BUD” WALTERS President Cromwell Media Nashville

How Bud’s team would describe him: “Good citizen, nice person.”

Bud Walters tells Radio Ink 2021 is going to be a great year for radio because there’s finally some momentum after radio had to make some tough decisions in 2020 due to COVID. “Those benefit us in 2021.” He goes on, “Most of us have learned to use the new technologies and have more to work with than we could ever have imagined. Our associates seem to feel the same way. If we use them all

well, 2021 will be a great year.”

On how leading through a pandemic has made him a better leader, Walters says he’s not sure it has, other than more tenacity. “Early decisions we made, even before we knew about the Paycheck Protection Program, included keeping our full-time staff employed and paid, helping every client who needed it, serving our communities in whatever way we could.

Having this as a core principle helped guide most decisions that helped us all work together better.”

Looking back, is there anything he would have done differently?

“PPP,” he says. “We wasted a good bit of our time applying with a regional bank that had too many applications and could not process them. Our small-town community bank offered to handle it and did so in a day, and it was funded in two days. We should have gone there first.

Community banks are the best.

“Second, we should have anticipated that this might last a year or more.”

And finally, on the topic of whether he

would pick radio as a career if he were just starting out, it sounds like there’s no question about it. “In college I saw what a difference a small-town radio station could make in a community,” he says.

“That’s when I decided on broadcast management and ownership (I was a lousy DJ).

The idea of community service still rings true, and we have so much more technology today.

“Local radio is a key part of it.

Depending on where a person wants to live and the lifestyle, local radio is still fun (and very different from major market) and profitable. Local stations are very available, affordable, and a great local business. The key is knowing we’re in the sales/advertising business. Thus, local radio has to include digital/social, web, apps, streaming, Alexa, and compelling programming.

“If I was young and thought I had the skills, it’s a great choice. But it is not ‘just radio.’ Being in business for yourself is never easy. Doing what we do is a lifestyle and not a job.”

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02

MARY QUASS

President/CEO NRG Media

Mary tells Radio Ink her team would describe her as “passionately optimistic.”

Mary Quass believes 2021 is going to be a great year for radio because radio has been thrust into the digital future, and the industry is starting to figure it out. “And now we can provide our audience with more of what they want,” she

says, “because we know more about those wants and we can provide realtime results to our advertisers to assist them and become a true partner with them in their marketing journey!

“In many ways we have been able to take the best of the past with listeners that are emotionally tied to their favorite station and now extend that relationship in ways that fit the lifestyle of 2021, and it is working. As I have said before (to paraphrase Sally Field): they like us — they really like us.”

As far as leading through a pandemic, it reminded the NRG CEO that people are the secret sauce. “And so there was no hesitation telling our people there would be no staff cutbacks as a result of the pandemic. Because it’s my responsibility

to put them first and give them peace of mind in a scary time, so they could focus on helping our communities.”

And Quass says she would absolutely choose a career in radio if she were starting all over tomorrow. “What an exciting time. Think of what we have — every radio station has the opportunity to develop a following of loyal listeners we call friends, and, unlike when I started, now we have multiple distribution platforms to share our lives with them, and they take us with them as we are relevant in their lives. And today we don’t sell spots on an over-the-air signal, we provide an advertiser access that matches their product to an audience who believe in us because we are their friends. How great is that?”

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03

DAVID SANTRELLA

President, Broadcast Media Salem Media Group

David tells Radio Ink the one word his team would use to describe him is “warrior.”

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David Santrella believes 2021 is going to be a great year for radio, because the economy is coming back and business owners will want to get their lives back to pre-pandemic normal.

“That means they will need partners like us to come alongside them and help them,” he says. “It will give us the opportunity to work more closely with clients than we ever have. It will give us the chance to lock arms with them, get creative, and get their business back on track. And in doing that, our business will get back on track. Our business always gets better when we first help those we serve.”

Santrella says going through the pandemic has made him a better leader because it forced him to strike a delicate balance between understanding the very real challenges caused by the pandemic, but at the same time not giving anyone, including himself, an excuse to take a foot off the gas. “It wasn’t ‘our fault’ that the economy came to a screeching halt, but it is ‘our problem’ to fix,” he says. “It’s compelled us to become more

creative, which led to some remarkable growth initiatives in 2020, some of which were highlighted on Salem’s Q4 earnings call. I think crisis provides opportunity to lead better. It’s easy to lead when the sun is shining and the wind is at your back. When the storms hit is when your real leadership ability shows up.”

No question about it, if Santrella were launching his career tomorrow, it would be in radio. “Oh, my goodness, I would jump at it with even more enthusiasm than I did when I started at my high school radio station, WMTH 88.5 FM, back when I was 14 years old. Radio has so much to offer! We continue to have great signals that provide award-winning content that’s free and just one button push away.

“But now we also have streaming channels that provide that same content, as well as other content choices that provide for endless opportunities to be creative.

Now, we also offer an array of digital marketing services that give our advertisers the ability to engage with our listeners at an entirely new level.”

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04

PAT PAXTON

Chief Programming Officer Entercom

Pat Paxton tells Radio Ink 2021 is going to be a great year for radio for two reasons.

“First, because we are proving yet again what a resilient society we really are. Of course, there are challenges in front of us, but as an overall population we’ve fought through unprecedented times, and we’re going to come out of this smarter and stronger because of it. This will drive an economic rebound that will touch all segments of society — especially marketers, who need to get back in front of consumers so they can take full advantage of the recovery.

“Second, the recent resurgence of audio is real. Leading chief marketing officers are recognizing how important audio is to a successful media marketing mix. We are poised as an industry to do better than we ever have.”

About managing during a pandemic, Paxton says, “Obviously, the pandemic has changed everyone and how we all lead, at every level. Making sure we stay engaged and make people feel even more valuable is paramount. Listening to new challenges and helping address them is critical. For the most part, the same leadership skills needed prepandemic still apply today. We just have to be better and lead from the front.”

Would Paxton launch a career in radio tomorrow, if he had to start all over again?

“I got into this business for two reasons,” he says. “First, I’m a huge music fan. That hasn’t changed or ebbed. Second, I grew up listening to WCFL and WLS in Chicago, which were personality-rich, fun, and infectious. Radio is still those things. So, yes. In fact, I’d be even more excited because of all the platforms radio is on now — from mobile to desktop to smart speakers and, of course, in the car.

With that kind of distribution, the sky is the limit if we continue to focus on creating great content.”

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05

SCOTT MAHALICK

Operation Manager Hubbard Radio Seattle

Scott says his team would describe him as a “luminary.”

Leading through a pandemic has made Scott Mahalick a better leader because he’s had to improve his communications game in order to make sure everyone’s voice is heard: “It takes a lot more focus and energy to do the same things that you could in person pre-COVID.” He adds that 2021 is going to be a great year for radio because many people have realized what a friend and companion radio can be.

If he were starting his career over tomorrow, Mahalick says, “I would focus on social platforms. It is the most powerful and exacting, multidimensional part of our business.”

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06

BRIAN MAYFIELD

EVP Ramsey Media Ramsey Solutions

How Brian’s team would describe him: “resolute.”

Brian Mayfield tells Radio Ink that 2021 is going to be a great year for radio because we are stronger for what we learned from 2020. “Winston Churchill said, ‘Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.’

Opportunity is always available — it’s up to us to seek it out. Sure, we’ve seen work rhythms and habits change, and business is being conducted differently because consumers have moved past their dependency on physical brick-andmortar locations.

“We’re seeing how local business is redefining itself to take advantage of

those opportunities. And as long as our teams adapt and adjust, while at the same time creating compelling and desirable content and entertainment, the listeners will remain — and so will the revenues.”

Mayfield has some excellent insight on managing through a disaster. “Over my career I’ve led teams through a few catastrophic events, including the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The attacks happened just two weeks before I started my first tour of duty as a GSM. “Of course, I had already mapped out the new initiatives I would launch, the processes I would implement to motivate my new team, and the strategies I would use to exceed the budget I was inheriting. But the world had come to a complete standstill, and I had to throw out my plans and start all over. That’s when I learned a tough lesson: regardless of how well you plan, it’s the things you fail to plan for that can define or destroy your success.

“With the pandemic, we were again dealing with a new and terrifying problem, but with the added difficulties of constantly changing timelines and contradictory information. At first, we felt

the impact of the pandemic would be short-lived. But the situation escalated quickly once fear and uncertainty gained traction, until finally, there was no end in sight. That meant, as a leader, I had to live in a constant state of change and be willing to adapt as new information was available so I could make good decisions and pivot when circumstances changed.”

He continues, “One of the things I had learned from past challenges of this scale is to pay attention to the indicators so I could formulate a plan to pivot when the time was right. You never want to change direction prematurely or out of fear or panic. It’s important to maintain a proactive, not reactive, stance.

“Here’s how that played out for me and my team: we didn’t wait for the phones to start ringing. We immediately reached out to our clients and communicated with them clearly and often. We assured them we were present, engaged, and committed to walking through this with them. We adjusted every advertising spot to avoid the appearance of being tone-deaf. And, because we knew our listeners were turning to us for answers, I reminded our advertisers that we had a stronger exposure than ever with our audience.

“Our main job was to keep everyone calm. Like the advice Dave gives on investing in a crisis — if you don’t want to get hurt on a rollercoaster, don’t jump off. This was no time for our clients to jump off the rollercoaster. In the end, we lost one advertiser due to the pandemic, and it made sense for them to pull back at the time.”

About his own experience, Mayfield adds, “What I learned from the pandemic specifically was that everyone was watching me — my team, my clients, and my family. They watched for my reaction because it would define their own reaction. Personally, that responsibility became an exercise in patience. Dr. John Delony explained it best when he said, ‘In a crisis, facts are your friends.’ I had to stick to the facts and not create fear or make a small problem worse for the people around me. And to do that, I could not allow myself to be influenced by outside sources who didn’t follow the same logic.”

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07

BETH NEUHOFF

CEO Neuhoff Communications

Beth says the one word her team would use to describe her is “resilient.”

The pandemic year was humbling, according to Beth Neuhoff. “Revenues were down. Morale was challenged. The pandemic forced us to work more closely together as a team, despite its being virtually. We also had to think much more about the human side of work, and making sure our colleagues’ mental health was a top priority.”

She says, “If I could change one thing, I would have been more consistent in the message that the business will never go back to the ‘old normal.’ It’s natural to want to go back to what we knew, but that no longer worked. The pandemic was a catalyst to do things in a more innovative and efficient manner. As Mike Hulvey likes to say, ‘It’s the new better.’”

If she were beginning a new career tomorrow, would it be in radio? “As defined 20 years ago, all-analog, straight radio would not excite me,” Neuhoff says. “But today’s vertically integrated product that runs from on-air to podcast, streaming, digital, and events is an exciting, excellent way to launch a career in local media and marketing.”

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08

CHRIS OLIVIERO

Senior Vice President and Market Manager Entercom New York

Chris tells Radio Ink his team would describe him as “approachable.”

Oliviero believes 2021 is going to be a great year for radio because radio’s 100-year history shows it has always evolved, adapted, and moved ahead. “It is in our DNA,” he says. “Plus, all the experts are saying postpandemic that people are clamoring to spend more time with their friends and reconnect to the world, and local radio has always been a trusted friend and companion on listeners’ life journey. So we are perfectly suited for this next chapter.”

Leading through a pandemic has given Oliviero a new perspective; he says, “To witness our entire world change overnight must humble us all. As leaders, we all seek a high degree of control, but now an invisible virus had us back on our heels, in the dark, and in many ways defenseless. The requirement to pivot quickly to surrender areas that were beyond our influence, and pinpoint those that we could still direct, was crucial. Never more was the old adage ‘control the controllable’ so relevant.

“But in the silver-lining department, this past year has made us all see each other beyond our professional roles and more on the individual human level. There was no avoiding the shared experience as a community of sickness, death, isolation, and economic angst. It was hitting us all in the face on a daily basis, so we needed to talk about it, not as business associates, but as friends and neighbors. My hope is the knowledge gained on these fronts during the pandemic stays with us when we are finally on the other side of COVID-19.”

If Oliviero were starting his career today, would it be in radio? “The unknowable hypothetical, of course,” he says, “but my gut says a very strong probability. The attraction would be the ability to create exciting, engaging, and impactful local content for your hometown. And radio today still does that so much better than any other medium, in my opinion.

“That, to me, has always been the draw or magnet for radio. It is not necessarily the means of communicating that content, such as AM vs. FM vs. digitally, but the creative process through a local lens.

“So, decades ago, out of college, I tried to get a job at WFAN. I think in 2021 that kid would still do the same.

Good news is I can just e-mail my application or go on LinkedIn, and skip the stamps and the post office.”

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09

TONY COLES President BIN: Black Information Network Division President iHeartMedia Markets Group

Tony’s team would describe him in one word: “purposeful.”

Tony Coles tells Radio Ink 2021 is going to be a great year for radio because “the pandemic forced us to change the way we work and our attitudes toward how we work — for the better.” He says, “Technology and concepts moved us years ahead over the course of a few months. We are now better positioned to move faster and smarter. I am excited for the future.”

He goes on, “Leadership is about serving people. Whether it is a manager losing a loved one to COVID or a client

fighting to keep their business alive, how I serve the people around me has changed. Personally and professionally, leading through the pandemic is one of the greatest challenges most of us will face, but I believe I am closer to my team as a result of all that has happened.”

If Coles could have done one thing differently over the past year, he says it would have been to enjoy the chaos more. “We often want to control chaos, and 2020 was filled with things we couldn’t control. Sometimes we lose sight of the fact that the most chaotic moments often happen just before the best things in life.”

And Coles tells Radio Ink he certainly would jump into radio today if he were starting out tomorrow. “I’m just as excited about the audio space today as I was the first day I walked into WHIZ. I love this industry and would gladly do it again. I think the only thing I would do differently is get off the air sooner (the listeners would be thankful) and move into management earlier.”

Congratulations to NYSBA Board Members!

Ed Levine Chris Oliviero for making Radio Ink’s 2021 Radios Top 20 Leaders!

From your friends at the New York State Broadcasters Association

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10

CRAIG SWAGLER

Vice President & General Manager CBS Audio Network CBS News Radio

How Craig’s team would describe him: “dedicated.”

Craig Swagler tells Radio Ink 2021 is going to be a great year for radio because radio adapts to the needs of clients and listeners. “We do it faster and more effectively than other forms of media,” he notes. “The pandemic has presented both new challenges and new opportunities from which we can learn.

It grants us the opportunity to tap into new audiences that are discovering great brands for the first time on new and emerging platforms. Audio is just getting started as one of the most accessible ways we all consume content.”

Has a worldwide pandemic made Swagler a better leader? “Absolutely.

This pandemic has made us all better leaders and communicators. We had to overcome many technical and editorial challenges from day one of the pandemic that demanded we lead and communicate more effectively.

“Central to our success was talking with greater frequency and consistency to the many journalists, broadcasters, and engineers vital to completing our mission of delivering accurate and up-to-date news to the hundreds of stations that rely on CBS News Radio.

Maintaining and increasing our flow

of information to the affiliate stations was extremely important to our success. Understanding the challenges and problems we all face in the midst of this global health crisis enables us to provide better content for our clients and make us a more robust business.”

Without question, Swagler would choose radio if he were launching his career tomorrow. “I still firmly believe that radio is the most effective, powerful, and portable tool for reaching the American people,” he says. “In many markets, radio is the only local media platform serving these communities. The audio landscape stretches beyond the local station with podcasting, streaming, web, and, at the center, radio. Audio is the original medium of the storyteller, triggering the imagination of the listener with news, insight, and analysis.”

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11

KRISTIN CANTRELL

Owner/CEO Seven Mountains Media CapCity Communications

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The one word Kristin’s team would use to describe her: “energy.”

Kristin Cantrell says 2021 is going to be a great year for radio because the industry has spent 12 months honing skills and improving efficiencies, from sales to traffic to programming. “Our trade organizations, such as the RAB and our state associations, have really stepped up to the plate to provide a myriad of resources and training tools. Now we get to use what we

have learned from all those webinars in a reemerging economy. We’re more connected to our communities. We’re better on the air and stronger on the street, so we’re ready for the ‘Roaring 20s’!”

Managing through a pandemic has been the most defining era of Cantrell’s career and life. “Not only as a broadcaster, but as a leader,” she says. “In the last 34 years, I have been faulted many times for being ‘too nice’ or ‘not tough enough.’ During the pandemic, compassion has proven to be a strength when leading a group of people through a year like no other in living memory. More listening. Deeper questioning. Heightened awareness. Compassion in action. When I embrace this approach to our work, I believe our managers and team members become better leaders. So the pandemic allowed my leadership style to be more acceptable, and that is very gratifying.”

And Cantrell would absolutely jump into radio again if she were starting a new career tomorrow. “I grew up hearing about the Golden Age of Radio, and now I’m living in the Golden Age of Audio. We have the ability to entertain and serve more listeners in more ways than ever before.

“Our industry is so essential and vibrant. I started my career as a 19-yearold know-it-all with an obnoxious amount of energy, and I would have thrived on the fast pace of change and innovation we are experiencing right now.”

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12

JOHN CARACCIOLO President/CEO JVC Broadcasting

How would John’s team describe him? “Bulletproof.”

John Caracciolo tells Radio Ink 2021 is going to be a great year for radio because this is the year of the comeback. “People want to go out, artists want to play concerts, Talk radio is huge right now, and listeners are craving local news, information, and personalities. I am excited about 2021. Radio has constantly reinvented itself. We always move with the times, and we will continue to expand in 2021 and beyond.”

Leading through a pandemic was the hardest year of Caracciolo’s career. “The pandemic came on fast and there was little time to plan, and how do you plan for a complete stop of business?” he says. “I learned a lot over this past year, but most of all I learned how to make quick, decisive decisions with not a lot of factual information. I learned how important empathy and integrity are to a leader. Sometimes a leader must turn on a dime and not look back, and sometimes a quick decision is just what the staff needs to stay focused and on point. 2020 taught our industry to innovate and efficiently reduce costs without reducing content and substance.”

He also says he made two decisions he wishes he could take back. “We launched a new format at the end of 2019, and we planned and purchased a large outdoor billboard campaign for March through May 2020. To get a better price, I prepaid for the campaign. So when the world shut down in March and no cars were on the road, my outdoor campaign really stood out. It was the best outdoor campaign that no one saw.

“Part of our company consists of a large outdoor concert venue on Long Island. We had a great season in 2019, and we were coming off a huge high. We pre-booked a lot of shows for 2020, sent deposits, and started the opening of the venue in late March. Needless to say, when the world started to shut down, we were standing in the middle of a 7,000-seat venue with shows canceling. All early reports were that we would get back to some type of normal by mid- to late summer so I decided to keep the venue open and hope that we could pull off half a season. Well, we all know how that worked out.”

It’s an “absolutely” from Caracciolo about whether he would launch a radio career if he had to choose his line of work tomorrow. “Although the world has changed dramatically since the days I started my radio journey, radio is still a dominant force in the daily lives of over 92 percent of Americans. Radio is local, radio is community and outreach, and that is what I love. If you do local radio the right way, with a lot of fun, live with personalities that relate to their audience and formats that are unique and different, you will have a long, wonderful career.”

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13

VINCE BENEDETTO President & CEO Bold Gold Media Group

How Vince’s team would describe him: “bold.”

Vince Benedetto tells Radio Ink 2021 is going to be a great year for radio because the industry has learned to adapt and overcome the greatest challenges we’ve ever had to face. “My team is more creative, nimble, and confident

than ever,” he says. “We’ve been tested under fire and are now back on offense with nothing but growth ahead.”

Managing through a pandemic reminded Benedetto of his days in the military. “During times of crisis, you have to find a way to focus your energy and thoughts toward mission-critical thinking and problem-solving,” he says.

“It’s exactly when you feel events around you are spinning out of control that you must zero in on those things still within your control.

“During the events of the past year, my team and I really learned how to do this together. We found new ways to adapt at speeds we wouldn’t have thought possible. We improved our communication processes and together developed a ‘whatever it takes’ attitude

toward making sure we did not allow our organization to succumb to the stresses of the moment.

“We made it our goal to get all of our people and our communities through it, together. We also made it our mission to rise to the moment and make the best local radio we ever made. We learned to support our listeners, our local businesses, and our communities in new and more extraordinary ways. On so many levels, leading and learning through this crisis has made me even more aware of what we are capable of accomplishing under extreme adversity.”

He does say he wishes he’d understood sooner how long the pandemic would last. “Many of the decisions I made early on were through the prism of the disruption lasting only a few weeks or months. In retrospect, it took me longer than I feel it should have to realize just how long we were going to have to manage through this crisis.”

And Benedetto says he would “absolutely” get into radio if he were choosing his career tomorrow. “The audio landscape is exploding with opportunities,” he says. “As radio broadcasters, this is our primary domain. As such, this is the best time to be a media entrepreneur.

It’s also the perfect time to expand station ownership (or to become a first-time station owner) and grow new revenue streams that synthesize with our core businesses.”

CONGRATULATIONS Vince Benedetto, Founder-President Bold Gold Media Group 2021 Radio Ink Top 20 Radio Leader

Thank you for your leadership, passion for radio and vision from all of us in your Bold Gold Media Group family.

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14

TOM LANGMYER President & CEO Great Lakes Media

Tom says the one word his team would use to describe him is “authentic.”

Langmyer believes 2021 is going to be a great year for radio because we have experienced a seismic shift in our world, and “radio will absolutely be in much better shape as a result.” He says, “The radio business had been ever so slowly ripping off the band-aid. The business has been dominated by everything that has nothing to do with radio. Radio is not debt reorganization, stock prices, layoffs, selling assets, corporate reshuffling, hand-wringing about other ‘platforms,’ and more.

Those are all important challenges for any business, but these topics had become the defining words for our business.

“We’ve finally ended that horrible, slow, and painful process.

Actually, to a larger degree, it was done for us. The pandemic and the economy ripped off the band-aid, but something or someone had to do it. When that happened, we had to learn new ways to operate our business, do it efficiently, make full steps ahead, and stop looking backward, so we can focus on our business of content, which drives connections that drive positive outcomes.”

He adds, “Leading is best judged when times are difficult — or at the very least, different. This has been both different and difficult. Some of the most taken-for-granted things changed drastically and almost instantly.

“The in-person dynamic went away immediately. At the time the pandemic hit, we were in the midst of a set of strategic meetings that had been planned as in-person gatherings to include outside partners and others. We were also in the midst of several market visits and other travel, all very critical. Our team remained fully engaged, business continued, but our unique mode of doing business had to adjust. Our very competitive ‘key attribute’ had to present itself in new ways.

“When in a holding pattern on a few things for reasons beyond anyone’s control, a leader actually needs to work twice as hard. Objects in motion tend to stay in motion. My thoughts immediately turned to ways we could and would keep things in motion. How best could we keep the group informed, continually communicate status on progress, update our business partners, and forward discussions with those with whom we were in discussion?”

Langmyer says he would most definitely be in radio if he were starting his career today. But he adds, “Of course, who isn’t going to say that, perhaps even if they don’t mean it? But let me tell you why I mean it. The world of audio content has actually expanded, not declined. Our world has gotten bigger, and communication and engagement have done nothing but grow.

“Of course, my definition always was and is that radio is not a technical delivery system. Radio is an important personally connecting experience with audio-based content, driven by well-known, trusted, and often loved influencers. Other elements include events, community activation, being at the center of activity — and hopefully creating that activity. I also know that radio is fundamentally a local business.”

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15

ED LEVINE

Founder/President/CEO Galaxy Media Partners

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How Ed’s team would describe him: “passionate and optimistic.”

Ed Levine tells Radio Ink that 2021 will be a great year for radio because of the pent-up demand that was artificially stifled in 2020. “When we discuss pacing, we are primarily looking at 2019,” he says, “and we may pull even with 2019 sooner than anyone ever imagined if my instincts turn out to be correct.”

How did the pandemic make Ed Levine a better leader? “The pandemic served as an X-ray into the leadership and soul of a company. In those first early, scary days it was clear that some tough decisions would have to be made quickly as the ad dollars were drying up fast. To ensure solvency, expenses had to be reduced dramatically and quickly.

“Some companies chose to lay off a lot of staff. We went a different route.

Galaxy began a program of shared sacrifice and shared responsibility in which the people at the top sacrificed the most, but everyone contributed for the good of the whole. The end result was better than I could have possibly imagined.

“We were prepared for the worst-case scenario, which never really occurred.

Make no mistake — it was difficult. But we had prepared for Armageddon, which thankfully did not occur. We reduced expenses by separating ‘got to have’ from ‘nice to have,’ realizing that our people were the ultimate ‘got to have.’

We did not lay off a single full-time staff member. It showed the staff truly what Galaxy was all about — as all X-rays do!”

If Levine were starting his career today, he would be on the radio, but would also have a blog, a podcast, and some type of show on YouTube. “In other words, I would be a media person,” he says. “It’s all converged into one space, which presents challenges for radio, but also opportunity. For instance, I never thought we would have a streaming TV network, but in partnership with Syracuse University, we launched CuseSportsTalk on Twitch last December.

We are very excited about its long-term potential post-pandemic, as it’s a model based on advertising and subscriptions.”

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16

NICK MARTIN

General Manager Big River Broadcasting

The one word Nick’s team would use to describe him: “passionate.”

Nick Martin believes 2021 is going to be a great year for radio, because radio has again proven to be the medium that can stand the test of time. “We’ve seen the demand and consumption of our products steadily increase as we served the public interest throughout this pandemic,” he says. “Unfortunately, we all had to endure business restrictions that heavily impacted our industry. But, when all of the smoke clears, radio can stand confident and tall with the message that we’re still here to help you get results.”

On managing through a pandemic, Martin says it challenged every skill managers have. “It ultimately forced us to swing at nothing but curve balls, from a different pitcher each day. I love sports analogies because they are so reflective of what we deal with. It forced us to adapt daily to the current business climate, technical challenges, financial pressures, and personnel issues we continue to face. A typical day at the office this past year wasn’t anything like a typical day before the pandemic.

“I’ve said many times, the lyrics and title of my alltime favorite song, REO Speedwagon’s ‘Roll With the Changes,’ provide such a simple lesson. This past year, we all ‘rolled with the changes’ — what a year! Trying to conduct business in this environment has been extremely difficult. But through it all, adapting to the circumstances and being there for your team and the communities your stations serve hopefully made you a better leader to handle whatever lies ahead.”

No doubt Nick Martin would choose radio if he started a new career tomorrow. “Absolutely!” he says.

“I would look at the opportunities that exist today that weren’t there when I started and see a great career path. You combine this great medium, which reaches more of the population than any other medium, with all of the different platforms, brand extensions, and emerging technologies to see the potential for growth.

“I’ve spoken to many college classes, and this question comes up regularly. My answer hasn’t changed.

There is a lot more opportunity now than when I started. There’s a great quote from President Abraham Lincoln that I love, and it applies here: ‘The best way to predict your future is to create it.’ Your career will ultimately be defined by what you make of it.”

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17

SHERMAN K. KIZART

Managing Director Kizart Media Partners

How would Sherman’s team describe him? “Hardworking.”

Sherman Kizart tells Radio Ink he’s the sixth child in a family of 11 kids, and he knows the value of hard work. “My father worked three jobs his entire life to take care of his family and never complained once,” he says. “He exemplified to me at an early age the importance and the value of hard work.

My work ethic continues based on my father’s example today. I won’t be outworked.”

The radio industry experienced two pandemics in 2020, according to Kizart.

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“COVID-19 is the first one. That was followed by a pandemic focused on racial bias and social justice. Radio has played an important role in addressing both COVID-19 and the racial justice pandemic in a very impactful way. ‘Reset’ is how P&G Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard described our world today, beset with the challenges of the pandemics.”

One thing Kizart could have done better in the last year, he says, was to aggressively embrace, adopt, and employ all the technological software and hardware to maximize his engagement with clients and customers.

And, finally, Kizart says 2021 is going to be a great year for radio because more advertisers and their agency partners are being judged on accountability and delivering results — unlike any other time in this country’s history: “Delivering results has always been and continues to be the one thing that radio does remarkably well, unlike any other media platform, traditional or new.”

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18

(TIE)

GARY SCHONFELD

Co-founder Co-CEO AdLarge Media

Gary Schonfeld tells Radio Ink his team would describe him as “authentic and trustworthy.”

Schonfield believes 2021 is going to be a great year for radio for several reasons.

“More people across this country will be in their cars, more often,” he notes. “Radio’s expansion into digital audio will continue to increase and enhance the offerings available to the public. The Independent Broadcasters Association will continue helping radio stations do what they do, better. New programming will be developed and offered to listeners. I also predict sports will be back in a much bigger way in 2021.”

The pandemic has forced business leaders worldwide to reconsider everything they do and how they do it, according to Schonfeld. “There is no business that hasn’t been affected by the pandemic, whether it be in a positive way or a

negative way. Like many other companies, AdLarge rapidly pivoted to being 100% remote. We quickly recognized that greater communication was necessary to maintain the inclusive and positive atmosphere we enjoy at AdLarge. The same is true with all our clients and partners.

Also, there is now a much greater need for speed in decisionmaking. The world is changing faster than ever and it’s critical to adapt along with those changes.”

We got another “Absolutely!” when we asked whether Schonfeld would go into radio if he were launching his career tomorrow. “Radio has always been and continues to be an important and relevant medium. Radio still reaches 90% of adults 25-54 every week. Persons 12+ spend 11.8 hours a week listening to radio. Radio continues to be one of the most effective ways to influence purchasers, which is why it is in high demand by advertisers on the network level and the local level.

Radio drives sales and traffic.

“And radio is creative, spontaneous, interesting, and exciting. What could be better? Radio has and continues to become more than radio. Audio is hotter than ever, both with listeners and with advertisers. Radio is expanding its reach into digital audio, and that has become more compelling than ever. AdLarge was there 20 years ago, and we’ve continued to watch it grow. It’s been a privilege to be part of radio’s exponential growth.”

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2RI_Top 20 Leaders 4-5-21 (pages 24-46).indd 43

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18

(TIE)

CATHY CSUKAS

AdLarge Media Co-Founder and Co-CEO

Cathy tells Radio Ink her team at AdLarge would describe her as “determined.”

Cathy Csukas says 2021 is going to be great for radio because the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel is now in sight. “Finally, the numbers are consis-

tently going in the right direction,” she says. “Through it all, the listeners never abandoned radio. And, as we all slowly get back into our pre-pandemic patterns, radio will be a big beneficiary. More and more people will be on the move, and when they move, they listen to radio.

Radio, and all audio platforms, offer great value, information, and entertainment, which is what people crave now more than ever.”

She goes on, “When the pandemic really hit the industry (the world) in March of 2020, it forced us to reimagine how we did our business. It made us reevaluate how we communicated. The massive change in our day-to-day lives dictated that we think creatively to find new ways of doing things. First and foremost, we

had to be empathetic. The pandemic affected everyone, and in ways that could never have been anticipated.

Decisions had to be made decisively and quickly. We had to pivot to remote working and communicate differently, all of which was accomplished successfully.

Overall, it made AdLarge a stronger, more aligned team focused on our clients’ and our company’s goals.”

And Csukas is a strong believer in radio.

“Audio continues to be a thriving and exciting industry. And audio is an ever-evolving industry. Over the years, radio has weathered many challenging times, and it has always adapted and come through it even stronger. Ours is an industry of passionate and creative people who love all that audio offers and can be.”

44 RADIOINK.COM APRIL 5, 2021 2RI_Top 20 Leaders 4-5-21 (pages 24-46).indd 44

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19

MIKE HULVEY

COO Neuhoff Communications

Mike says his team would describe him in one word: “positive.”

Has managing through a pandemic made Mike Hulvey a better leader?

“Like everyone else, we had to shift on a dime,” he says.”

I know our communication skills have improved, and our ability to think through a problem and act quickly.”

On whether he would launch a career in radio if he had to start over tomorrow, Hulvey says oh, yeah.

“I love the radio business!

It’s changed from a business built around a device to being so much more.

Technology has enhanced our ability to reach people, to impact communities and drive business. Even after 100 years, there is something very sexy about ‘radio.’”

APRIL 5, 2021 RADIOINK.COM 45 2RI_Top 20 Leaders 4-5-21 (pages 24-46).indd 45

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20

(TIE)

BRUCE MITTMAN

Founder/CEO Community Broadcasters President/CEO Mittcom

20

How Bruce’s team would describe him: “driven.”

Bruce Mittman believes 2021 will be a strong year for radio because it will be a year the industry can build on. “The second half of 2021, especially, will start to create some real momentum as the vaccines return us to some sense of normalcy,” he says. “I don’t believe that it will be a stellar year, but it will shine a light on how we continue to grow and expand over the next five years.”

Leading during a pandemic forces managers to draw on their skills as teacher, coach, and counselor, according to Mittman. “Obviously, there’s no similar experience to draw on, so you are constantly challenged to differentiate between what is real and what is just wishful thinking. The pandemic has also required us to make decisions without

(TIE)

JAMES LEVEN President/Founder Community Broadcasters

any reliable data on timing or long-range costs. Therefore, you need to believe in the team you have built, while also relying on your own ability to make good decisions.

“Management is a day-to-day effort that eventually becomes week-to-week as trends begin to emerge. The uncertainty can actually play in your favor if you use the opportunity to demonstrate to your various constituencies that you are their champion even when the circumstances feel hopeless.

“The good news is, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Our team has definitely emerged tougher and more resilient, and our clients recognize that our connection to them and the community is even deeper. More than ever before, our name is not just a slogan but an undeniable truth.”

Jim says his team would describe him as a “leader and a coach.”

Jim Leven tells Radio Ink that the pandemic has been the most jarring event he’s ever worked through, including the recession of the early ’90s. “It has been an interesting time for the industry and our ecosystem in general,” he says. “I think the pandemic has prompted me to redouble looking to the team, as well as to my ideas in devising ways to be more focused on our local communities. We have worked with charities and our clients, which has allowed us to remain more locally relevant and as a source of sponsor revenue.”

Is there anything he would have done differently? “Hindsight is always 20/20,” Leven says. “I guess I wish I had planned for this sort of disaster, although I’m not sure that was possible — and I wish I had worked as collaboratively with clients before as during the pandemic.”

And if Leven were launching his professional career tomorrow, it would most certainly be in radio. “I suppose that, given I have been in radio for 50 years now, I could think of nothing else. But I still see radio as a linchpin, the center of media that includes broadcast, streaming, social, and digital means to coalesce a community using its local talent and team to be a local source of entertainment, information, and local coalition building.”

46 RADIOINK.COM APRIL 5, 2021 2RI_Top 20 Leaders 4-5-21 (pages 24-46).indd 46

3/24/21 3:42 PM

BLAST FROM THE PAST

WOLFMAN & KATZ

That is of course the great Wolfman Jack, menacing afternoon driver Loo Katz back in 1977 at then-MOR WWDC-AM/ Washington, D.C. Loo started out as production director and became PD when the station flipped to Top 40 in 1978. As he himself says, “I was all of 24. Yikes!”

Thanks to Loo, now founder and CEO of Hound Radio, for this fantastic photo.

Gold Sponsor: Triton Digital

November 16, 2021 Harvard Club, New York City

Top 40 Plaques: vcreative

radioinkforecast.com

APRIL 5, 2021 RADIOINK.COM 47 2RI_Blast 4-5-21.indd 47

3/24/21 3:43 PM

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