Interviews

What’s the best way to make sure you and everyone working for you are on the same page? Radio Ink reached out to a handful of managers who made our Best Managers in Radio list in 2017 and asked them this question: What do you expect from the people you manage?

Part of Radio Ink's mission is to find radio's future stars and bring you their stories. Brandy “Beasy Baybie” Henshaw is the afternoon host on Alpha Media's Hot 103.9/93.9 in Columbia, SC. She's also featured in the upcoming Radio Ink issue "Future African American Leaders in Radio," which starts mailing across the country on March 19.

Last week, Alpha Media named Ernie Martinez National Director of Digital Content. Martinez has come a long way from his first gig in radio when he was 19 and a producer for Radio Disney. As the head of Alpha's Digital Division, Martinez is now responsible for the digital strategy for hundreds of Alpha's radio stations, and that includes finding ways to bring in digital revenue.

Does the radio industry take creative seriously enough to help clients succeed? Why do many advertising agencies lack the desire to spend time on radio creative, caring mostly about a television commercial that takes so much more time to produce and costs so much more than radio? Why do radio stations allow awful-sounding advertisers to record their own commercials? We turned to a very successful creative services company to try to find the answers.

Steve Swick is all about local. He's about local when he's running his eight radio stations. He's about local when he's dealing with his clients at Local Radio Networks. And he's not a happy man when roadblocks are put in his way when he's trying to execute great local radio.

Tom Barnard may be remembered as the most successful host in the history of Minneapolis-St. Paul. He was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2017 and has a Marconi on his shelf. He’s also become one of the most successful podcasters in radio. We talked to him about his life, career, and what he's doing now.

Chris Kroeger (pictured) hosts PrimeTime with Chris Kroeger weekday afternoons on Entercom’s WFNZ in Charlotte. OrthoCarolina, a physician-owned private company, is one of the nation’s leading independent academic orthopedics practices, serving North Carolina and the Southeast. And it’s one of WFNZ’s best clients. (Our weekly Advertiser Success Stories are sponsored by Sun & Fun Media)

This is an extended version of an article that appeared in the January 8, 2018 issue of Radio Ink Magazine. (By Jon Quick for Radio Ink Magazine) I believe the best place to find future talent is the smaller and medium markets. Unfortunately, voicetracking has taken the place of so much real live talent, but they are still out there. If you look. And listen.

That's what former WGN Chicago (and now Entercom Chicago Market Manager) Jimmy deCastro called Todd Manley when Manley worked for deCastro as WGN's VP of Content & Programming. Now Manley sits in the GM seat, running one of the most recognizable set of call letters in the country. What's his plan now that he has the keys?

Joan Mestres is a senior marketing consultant for Hubbard Interactive in St. Louis. Mestres decided running PSAs for a local charity just wasn’t enough. She got creative, stayed persistent, and created several ideas for the Greater Missouri Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. Not only did her ideas raise funds for the organization, they produced revenue for the station.