(By Dan Sileo) As many of you probably know by now, I’ve switched radio companies in the past six months — although you’ll still find me broadcasting in sunny San Diego. I’ve departed The Mighty 1090 and am now with Entercom Communications, and I couldn’t be happier — this is a fantastic organization.
That said, this is the greatest challenge of my 24-year career in radio. You see, in that nearly-quarter decade in the industry, I’ve always worked at heritage stations like KNBR, WDAE, WQAM, and The Mighty 1090. These are Sports radio stations that have built-in, established fan bases. If it’s not too much of a stretch, think of them like Southern Cal’s In-N-Out burger chain. When you go to an In-N-Out, you know what you’ll get: an exceptionally good burger made with fresh ingredients. It’s a lock.
Ditto that for the heritage stations mentioned above. But now I’ve left the relative “safety” of heritage stations and taken up morning-show residence at Entercom’s 97.3 FM THE FAN in San Diego. So every weekday morning I’ll be on-air 5-9 a.m. — a shift I’ve worked for over two decades.
It’s a “restart” for THE FAN and that’s where the challenge lies. Which brings me to my main point: assembling a winning team. We have an awesome management team. For them its all about the steps. The first step was putting together a winning programming team. Fortunately, our Market Manager Bob Bolinger is a massive believer in Sports Talk! Bob has put his name and trust in our operations guy Kevin Callahan to put a world-class Sports radio team together.
Bob really runs a family environment — something I haven’t felt since my Jacor radio days with Randy Michaels. Callahan is one of the best — and maybe one of the last — true programmers I’ve been around. He has an amazing “bedside manner” with his talent, which insures he will get the best out of them. And I must say, for a massive company like Entercom, that’s such a great asset. San Diego Entercom is run like a top!
Kevin’s first big step was going out and hiring Adam Klug from CBS Sports Radio. Adam used to produce the Doug Gottlieb Show when he was at the network. He has a great ear for Sports radio and I am enjoying working with him. We also have Rich Herrera in the APD role — another longtime Sports radio guy whom I have great trust in.
At the time of writing, our station and show will be on the air a total of three months, and I couldn’t be prouder of the work everyone is doing to get THE FAN up and running. Already the station sounds like the best Sports station, not only in San Diego, but in Southern California.
Kevin Callahan said, ”We will sound better before we are better” — and he’s right! I have always produced massive radio ratings in every market I have worked in, including San Diego when I was at The Mighty 1090. But the challenge now is not to get discouraged, because the ratings numbers, I’ve been told, will take about 18 months to really reflect our work. But again I go back to the management team and the confidence they have in, not just me, but in the process and culture we have started to build here at THE FAN.
I wrote an article a few years ago about how important having the perfect team around you is — just like I did when I played for Jimmy Johnson at the University of Miami. JJ’s assistants were superstars. And here at San Diego Entercom, I am once again surrounded by superstars. Buckle up, folks, Team 97.3 FM is about to blast off!
Dan Sileo is a former NFL player and the new morning host (5-9 a.m.) on Entercom’s 97.3 FM THE FAN.
