Tim McCarthy is president of the Broadcasters Foundation of America — the only organization that improves the quality of life for people in radio and television who find themselves in a financial struggle due to critical illness, accident, natural disaster, or other misfortune. McCarthy took over the position after the passing of Jim Thompson, who led the organization for 14 years.
Before joining the foundation, McCarthy was Senior VP of ESPN Radio Group, where he led the play-by-play business across four ESPN-owned stations. Previously, as SVP for ESPN Owned and Operated Radio Stations, he directed operations within the group — and he also served as the president and general manager of 1050 ESPN Radio, the group’s New York flagship, since it started broadcasting in 2001.
Under McCarthy’s leadership, ESPN Radio realized huge growth in both the New York and Los Angeles markets, quickly becoming a leading voice in alternative sports.
McCarthy was a big part of Mike and Mike in the Morning, The Michael Kay Show, and NFL Sundays on ESPN Radio. He was also instrumental in securing broadcast rights for many leading sports teams including the New York Knicks, the New York Rangers, the New Jersey Devils, the Los Angeles Lakers, and 13 NFL teams.
As an industry leader and philanthropist, McCarthy is passionate about giving back to the community. He’s been recognized as Man of the Year by the Epilepsy Society of New York, received Disney’s Points of Light Volunteer Service Award, and was selected as one of radio’s Top 10 Managers by Radio Ink Magazine. He’s led fundraisers for many great charitable organizations, and he is the perfect person to lead the Broadcasters
Foundation of America into the future.
Here’s an excerpt of our interview with McCarthy from our special Forecast 2023 issue of Radio Ink magazine. You can subscribe to Radio Ink HERE and download the full interview and our special report “Brokers Predict Radio’s Future.”
Radio Ink: How are you able to raise money at the level you need to when there are so many worthy causes out there?
McCarthy: First, our events, of which there are three. One is the Golden Mike Awards at the Plaza, where we award the Golden Mike to a Broadcaster of the Year. The next is our Celebrity Golf Tournament, and there’s the Philip J. Lombardo Charity Golf Tournament at the NAB in Vegas.
Secondly, we have our Guardian Fund. Those are individuals outside the broad-
cast community who give money. Then we have our Angel Fund — corporate and
state association donations, like Disney or NBC. It’s those three buckets.
On top of that, Katz Media has been tremendous; they started a foundation under the name of Stu Olds, who used to run Katz. They do fundraising for us every year.
The rest is me hitting the phones talking to people and groups, telling them we are here. Everyone gets confused because they think broadcasters make so much money, but the business is tough. The fact is people get sick, lose their homes. Horrible things happen to good people, and we want to be there to help them get back on their feet. About four months ago a person wrote a beautiful letter. We had been taking care of him for three years, and he just got a new job. He said, “You guys are amazing and basically saved me.” He went on to say, “I’m good now, and I don’t need the help anymore.” That’s a
win for us.
Radio Ink: Are you coming up with new ideas?
McCarthy: Yes, we are getting more involved in social media to get our message out. We do more smaller events that have bigger tentacles. We do unbelievable events and get tremendous support from all these broadcast associations — Beasley, iHeart, everyone.
The key is getting the message down to people deeper in the organization. Sometimes the message gets stuck on top, but I need it to go down deep so they know we are there to help. Someone can be a sales guy and give $100 a year, but eventually they could be a GM and it’s $1,000.
I am also working hard at getting more support from the talent in our business. I notice that the upper-tier managers know about us, but the big radio talents like Ryan Seacrest, Delilah, etc., didn’t know about us. I had them record videos reading the letters from our recipients. We are going to put some on our website as well. Mike Breen, the Knicks announcer, just did one for us. These are ambassadors — people trust and look up to them.
As we build this brand deeper within the radio community, it will bring more recognition and dollars. I want people to know about the message, not just the events like the golf tournament.
Radio Ink: What I noticed during Hurricane Ian was that when you have pictures and video, it really drives donations. I can imagine that’s hard when someone is sick, but it pulls the emotional strings.
McCarthy: We are trying to do more of that, but it goes back to the personal dignity thing we talked about. We have some people on our website who have been willing to tell their story. I have a letter we just got from one of our grantees. The real pictures of helping people are difference-makers. I have a tremendous passion for this business. The foundation, through Scott Herman, Phil Lombardo, and the work of Jim Thompson, does such great work. I want to build on Jim’s legacy and let everyone know we are here to help.
To subscribe to Radio Ink Magazine in time to receive our special Forecast 2023 issue, which includes our full interview with McCarthy and a special report from brokers predicting the future of radio, CLICK HERE.
To reach McCarthy at the Broadcasters Foundation send him and e-mail at [email protected]
Make a donation to the organization HERE.
