Innholdsfortegnelse for July 22, 2019 i Radio Ink Magazine

The history of Radio Ink’s 40 Most Powerful People in Radio list is a fascinating look not only at the names of those shaping the industry since the passage of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, but at how the radio industry has changed over the past 23 years. Designed to bring momentous regulatory changes to a sputtering industry, the Telecom Act has indeed been more transformational than most would have imagined back then. That’s especially worth pondering today as the Ajit Pai-led FCC considers moving forward with a further relaxation of local radio ownership rules. Industry players are split on whether a loosening of rules that were created before digital media spread to the masses is a smart one, with companies large and small taking sides on a fierce battlefield that…

One of the top five questions I get from broadcast sellers is, “Why won’t prospects return my calls, e-mails, or texts?” The answer is simple. In their minds you haven’t given them a good enough reason to respond. Fact: in most cases, prospects will return your calls only when they are convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is in their best interest to call you back. New prospects may not know you from Adam Ant, and you’re calling them, texting, or e-mailing them and leaving a message out of the blue. What have you got to offer them that would give them reason to call you back? Put yourself in your prospect’s shoes. What do you listen for when you go through your voicemail? Imagine that the…

Being a PD today is no easy job. Most PDs are now responsible for not only multiple stations, but multiple formats, promotions, and the digital side. When I became PD at WPRO-AM & FM, I would often tell my wife that I didn’t stop all day but felt as though I hadn’t accomplished a lot. It felt like all I was doing was putting out fires. My 100 percent laser focus was not on either station. Here are ideas on how a PD can succeed in this multiple station/format reality. Get up early. Whether you have live morning shows or syndicated ones, you must be on top of them. The earlier you get up and going, the better chance you will have to hear issues and figure out ways to…

Dhruv Prasad (2018 Rank: 9) In 2018 Dhruv Prasad, who co-founded Townsquare Media with Steven Price, sat at number 9 on our list, alongside Bill Wilson as co-CEO. In January of 2019 Prasad stepped aside, clearing the way for Wilson to run the company on his own. It was Prasad’s one and only year on the list. Larry Wilson (2018 Rank: 11) As CEO of Citadel, then Alpha Media, Larry Wilson had been on our list for 11 years before being removed as leader of Alpha in the summer of 2018. We have not heard much from or about Wilson since then, but we would never consider him done with radio, knowing his love for the business. Mike McVay (2018 Rank: 18) After being in Cumulus CEO Mary Berner’s inner…

Recently in a board of directors meeting for my company, we had a discussion about a company I was planning to acquire and the amount of money I was about to spend. One of the board members, an Internet advertising expert, asked, “What are you buying, really? Why do you really want this company?” My response was, “I want the list. I can make a lot of money off the list of customers.” Then, the unexpected. He said, “You’re throwing your money away. For a fraction of that amount, I can get the same number of customers they have in about six weeks’ time.” Another board member, an expert in Amazon marketing, stepped in and said, “And I can get you that many customers on Amazon for a small part…

We did everything right. We prospected the right target for our station, provided market research to support why advertising on the radio would be a great business decision for them, and we even went the extra mile by creating an award-winning commercial campaign to position them as a market leader. In our minds, we hear the client saying they love it and want to get started ASAP. But then we find ourselves in a holding pattern, as the client says, “I need to think about.” Converting the client from prospect to close might be one of the most frustrating phases in sales. We invest so much time prospecting, calling to schedule a meeting, and presenting a thoughtful plan, only to have to wait. Now what do you do? My advice…

For more than 130 years, Michaels Jewelers has served Connecticut with 10 locations throughout the state. In addition to stores in Connecticut, Michaels has 14 Pandora franchise locations along the East Coast and in the Southwest. Marketing Manager Lindsay Michaels tells Radio Ink that radio gives Michaels Jewelers multiple ways to connect with people at all times. Radio Ink: What is it you like about radio? Michaels: I have a long commute. I listen to my favorite morning show driving in to work, and then when I get to work, I put on the stream. When it comes to jewelry, I like to think more like a consumer than a business owner, so I know what I like to listen to. TV for me has kind of gone away because…

While in high school in North Carolina in the 1940s, George Beasley would listen to his cousin Ralph Epperson’s radio station. Then his uncle Robert Epperson launched a station in the same town. What George didn’t know back then was that radio was about to become a family business for decades, thanks to his being intrigued by what his cousin and uncle were doing. George Beasley’s infatuation with radio led to his listening at all hours. WOWO in Fort Wayne, WLS in Chicago, and WCKY in Cincinnati were a few of his favorites when those monster stations boomed across the country at night. Beasley started out in radio selling the Surry County Basketball Tournament on Robert Epperson’s WSYD-AM in Mount Airy, North Carolina. At the time George still had no…

RAÚL ALARCÓN Chairman/CEO Spanish Broadcasting System Raúl Alarcón Broadcast Center 7007 NW 77th Ave. Miami, FL 33166 GREG ASHLOCK President/Markets Group iHeartMedia 3400 W Olive Ave., Ste. 550 Burbank, CA 91505 EDWARD ATSINGER CEO Salem Media Group 4880 Santa Rosa Road Camarillo, CA 93012 CAROLINE BEASLEY CEO Beasley Media Group 3033 Riviera Dr., Ste. 200 Naples, FL 34103 MARY BERNER President/CEO Cumulus Media 2 Penn Plaza, 17th Fl. New York, NY 10121 RICHARD BRESSLER President/COO/CFO iHeartMedia 125 W. 55th St., 11th Fl. New York, NY 10019 DARRELL BROWN President Bonneville 55 North 300 West, Ste. 200 Salt Lake City, UT 84180 ED CHRISTIAN President/CEO Saga Communications 73 Kercheval Ave. Grosse Pointe Farms, MI 48236 DARREN DAVIS President iHeartRadio/iHeartMedia Networks 125 W. 55th St., 10th Fl. New York, NY 10019 ERICA…

An account executive who “goes with the flow” never makes a lot of money. But an account executive who knows precisely what he or she is going to do today is an account executive who can afford to start a campfire with crumpled-up hundred-dollar bills. When I was a baby AE, I had the good fortune to spend a day with Gene Chamberlain. He taught me three things that day that have made me a lot of money. Today I’m going to teach those three things to you. You’ve Got to Prune Your Account List We run out of time long before we run out of opportunity. There are only 24 hours in the day and no way to get any more. But businesses that need better advertising are like…

BusinessDictionary.com describes feedback as the information sent to an entity (individual or a group) about its prior behavior so that the entity may adjust its current and future behavior to achieve the desired result. We all crave feedback, but, more specifically, your employees crave it and deserve it. In our business, everyone is so busy that the precious time you once had to provide constructive feedback for your team seems to be slipping away. Programmers, when was the last time you airchecked your afternoon talent? I’m talking about a real coaching session where you reviewed and graded an actual show and then brainstormed future content. When did you meet with your online editor to review your station website? Or meet with your imaging/production director to review, in real time, your…

In 1996, Radio Ink founder Eric Rhoads unveiled the first 40 Most Powerful People in Radio issue. His goal with the “Top 40” issue was to create a historical record of an industry he felt was about to change dramatically following the Telecom Act of 1996. The new rules from 1996 sparked changes that went on for decades and still are debated today. Was that round of deregulation good for radio or bad for radio? There are valid opinions on both sides. Today, there’s more competition than ever before for the ears of the consumer. There’s also much more competition for the budgets of advertisers. Digital monsters like Google and Facebook are swooping into all size markets and snatching up ad budgets. That very issue is what many radio executives…

“We often sound out of touch or simply not aware of things going on in the advertising and media world, and therefore we miss opportunities.”— iHeartMedia CEO Bob Pittman “Our future depends on our willingness — and ability — to embrace and even initiate change. Clinging to the status quo is the surest way to a quick demise.”— Cumulus CEO Mary Berner “Finding extremely talented salespeople and sales leaders is our biggest challenge and our greatest opportunity.”— Cox Media Group EVP/Radio Bill Hendrich “The fear is that lifting or relaxing ownership caps would prevent competition and limit originality. That thinking is outdated. The competition for the share of ear is almost endless.”— Entercom COO Weezie Kramer “Please, please, please — live remotes are dead, and the sight of a station…

TOWNSQUARE CEO BILL WILSON What’s next for Townsquare? CEO Bill Wilson answers that question and many others in our cover story in the August 12 issue of Radio Ink. Wilson joined Townsquare in 2010 and has been co-CEO and chief content and digital officer for the company. Before joining the ranks of radio, Wilson was president of AOL Media. PODCASTING SPECIAL REPORT To help radio thrive at the shiny new toy called podcasting, we’ve lined up a panel of podcasting experts and picked their brains about how radio can snatch up the ad dollars moving into the podcasting space. Our panel of podcasting experts includes Tom Webster, Dave Beasing, Lisa Orkin, Mark Asquith, Tina Nole, Elsie Escobar, Rob Greenlee, and Matt Cundith. OUR AUGUST ADVERTISER SUCCESS STORY Stevens Point Orthopedic…