Headlines

Larry Wilson is Radio Ink Magazine's Radio Executive of The Year. The issue, in which Wilson appears on the cover, is out this week. The Alpha Media CEO is in the midst of creating his second large radio company, which will consist of 252 stations in 54 markets once the deal with Digity closes (which is expected soon). His first big company was, of course, Citadel which he sold to Forstmann Little back in 2001 for $1.2 Billion. Wilson and his team created a culture in radio that many people loved to work for at Citadel and that has carried over to Alpha. Here's an excerpt from our cover story with Wilson where we ask him to tell us why people love to work for him.

For the past 16 years the Country Radio Seminar has been held at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Nashville. This year the event is being held (Feb. 8 - Feb. 10) at the Omni Hotel. It's a change that took a lot of planning and plenty of hard work after being settled in one location for so long. Radio Ink's special Country Radio Seminar issue will be released on February 8. The issue will feature an interview with the President of the Board of Directors at CRS, Emmis' Charlie Morgan about the CRS changes.

(by Wayne Ens) I’m angry at radio’s resolve to take a back seat to digital. While I don’t deny the powerful role of digital in marketing, digital budgets should be coming from print, direct mail, and yellow pages, not from radio. In fact, radio should be perfectly positioned for revenue increases.

It was a DUI setup during the 2013 lawsuit between Bubba The Love Sponge and Todd Schnitt in Tampa that could wind up getting Bubba's former lawyers disbarred.

The two organizations have been working together for 10 years now and celebrate that decade-long partnership with a new long-term renewal. Premiere Networks represents The Mix Group in advertising sales. Since partnering with Premiere in 2005, The Mix Group has grown from 35 stations to more than 900 and has seen over 1,200% growth in revenues.

Country Radio Seminar and the COPD Foundation have partnered to offer chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) screenings at CRS 2016. Screenings will take place throughout the 3-day event, held Feb. 8-10 at Omni Nashville.

Radio Ink is excited to announce a new series of podcasts for managers. Each Monday a new podcast will be posted to our website, featuring some of the best managers in the country, both in the radio industry - and outside the radio industry. We kick off this new series with My Home Team Media President Susan Luchese as she describes her rise through the ranks in radio. Susan was mentored by the likes of Kirby Confer, Barry Drake, John King and others. She now leads 60 people on a daily basis. Her enthusiasm for radio is incredible and her knowledge of all things digital is second to none. LISTEN HERE. If you have any questions for Susan you can contact her at [email protected]

You may remember Williams, who became a national star when a video of a homeless Williams went viral. It showed Williams, who has a great radio voice, panhandling in Ohio. His fame and a $400 book deal didn't help him clean up his struggle with drugs and alcohol and he was back out on the street. WVKO in Columbus has put Williams back on the air.

(by Roy Williams) Your radio station is approaching an intersection. The light is green. Turn left, and you’re headed toward Excellence. Turn right, and you’re headed toward another kind of Excellence. Go straight, and you’ll arrive at Mediocrity.

(by Ron Robinson) Like Igor, radio seems to have no consciousness of its own debilitating deformity – its “hump.” Now, I understand this is a claim that might generate a few unforced snorts of righteous indignation. Yet, I maintain: Any shouts of outrage are, essentially, a representation of “hump denial.”