Daily Revolution

It’s sad & frustrating time for the people who have a passion for radio, who made a living working in their passion, to see CEOs praised and written about, yet no one is asking these CEOs if they are doing what they preach… spoiler - they are not… and, “yes men” are enabling the ruin of local radio.

I agree with Bill Owens, CEO of Townsquare Media and Radio Executive, that “Radio will succeed if it’s Local”… but I will also ask him - why are his Townsquare Radio stations syndicating shows from other Companies? Like WCYY Portland Maine’s Alternative Station. Townsquare’s WCYY in Maine has a Boston Morning Show syndicated to it. Syndicated in from an entirely different corporation, Beasley Radio… Townsquare actually syndicates to a few more of their alleged “local” stations too… not very local.

This Is putting local talent out of work and making CEO Bill Wilson not a man of his word. Why would he go out of his way to say “local local local” and then not do that? Are these CEOs and companies surprised when they continue to stay in massive debt because they avoid putting the solutions to stay relevant into action to try and save on costs?
I recently interviewed with Townsquare, for a different station / location, but I respectfully asked why are they syndicating shows to their great local stations? Especially if they continue to say their specialty is “being local”.. not only did I not get an answer but I have not heard back.

The people who won’t ask these questions are not helping their own industry… in fact, they are quietly standing by while massively in debt corporations say they are saving it yet their actions are destroying radio. And if these yes men believe keeping quiet will save them down the road when more layoffs happen - they’re fooling themselves. Maybe they’ll speak up when a syndicated show replaces them.
If layoffs of local talent haven’t got your company out of debt over the past 15 years, maybe listen to what I’m saying and try something different. Try investing in people instead of cutting talent out of the equation.

I want the people running radio to be accountable for what they are doing to my industry, the industry I love.
And Townsquare themselves recognized my talent, they know my passion for radio and understanding of the industry. It’s how they set me up on a variety of interviews at their company.

Maybe “Higher Ups” & people who don’t like to be questioned don’t understand my other value, asking hard questions to those in power. I’m not a yes man, and the radio industry could use a bit of that right now. I’ve faced off with other powerful figures who’ve believed they were right because they said so, without looking at their actions.
I listen to a lot of radio. And study the places I would potentially work. While listening to Townsquare’s Talent in Maine, I listened to a morning show spend an entire show (which is all on their podcast) search for local talent to work & fill in the mid day shift because the over worked Morning Show is on air from 6 am - 2 pm (which is two jobs and they’re not getting paid for doing twice the work).

All the while calling other Personalities and taking calls from listeners, they talked about how low the pay was and how no one with a degree or any actual talent would want to do this work for the little pay offered.
So, there is not only the problem but the solution… from the horses mouth.
If these corporate radio leaders would stop believing cutting costs by laying off their most valuable asset (that description is the actual language CEOs use) and stop syndicating in shows as a “one size fits all” fix, maybe radio could start to charm listeners again and bring them back to listen to local radio.
It’s ironically unfunny, that the CEOs who syndicate shows - do it because a show is successful (and brings in lots of revenue) in their local market. They want that success in other markets but don’t want to pay the costs of a show, So they syndicate.
Not realizing the successful shows can be replicated locally without syndication - if you pay your people and invest in them.
You will never get gigantic success from a Morning Show that has to also do the Mid Day show and has a bunch of other work to contend with. Good shows focus on their content and prepare to entertain. Just ask your consultants if your most valuable asset, a show host, should be working two shows if the first isn’t hugely successful.

Leaders of Radio, do better. If you’re going to claim the success of an industry depends on being local - and you have the power to call those shots - do that. Because when you’re not doing what you say, it comes off like you’re allowing failure or sabotaging yourself.