Personal information
Current company: NRG Media, LLC
Position: CEO / President
Location: Stations in Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Wisconsin; Corporate office located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Place of Birth: within the signal of a 1,000 watt AM station!
Date of Birth: right after the earth cooled
Personal info: everything I know about identifying customer needs I learned from ASTA, my 8 year old Border collie
College: University of Northern Iowa, undergrad and grad school was my first radio job…Selling Radio with No list, No ratings, and No Salary, just commissions!
Favorite movies: as long as I get to eat buttered popcorn, I will watch any movie
Favorite books: anything to explain…the mystery of human behavior
Sports Team Preferences: Whatever team we broadcast on our stations!
Hobbies/Passions: Contemporary art collecting (passion),
Causes/Charities: Eradicate Cancer/ Animal welfare/Entrepreneurial development
Questions:
1. How did you get started in the business?
I was looking for a new path and a friend suggested that I try radio sales, as it would give me an opportunity to talk to many businesses and find a “real” job. So I left a salaried position with bonus and great benefits to take a radio sales position for a country station(which I later was fortunate to buy), which the sales training consisted of a drop off at a shopping mall with a rate card and directions to go “talk” to somebody about radio! I should have known I had found my career for a lifetime, when the female AE’s were given a T Shirt when they started that proclaimed them as “Ronnie’s Angels”, a very bad take off of Charlie’s Angels by a Sales Manager who thought he was Charlie! As the story goes…and the rest is history….I fell in love with the business.
2. How does business look for 2013, and is digital an income-producing part of the NRG operation?
We had a great 2012 and 2013 is shaping up to be another positive year without the political. We are forecasting to be ahead of 2012 including political. Digital is a strong component to our future growth. In 2013 we are planning for 5-8% of revenues to come from our digital initiatives….and our digital efforts have been profitable from day one!
3. What are the major differences required to run stations in small non-rated markets and larger, rated markets? And which aspects hold true regardless of market size?
There are more similarities in the large and small markets than differences. We must serve our community, listeners, and advertisers in both, and we must have a great product, we must have great people, and while that was always the case, the advent of global access to information and entertainment has provided the user with a perspective that previously was more the prevue of the larger markets. We must remain relevant to the lives of those we serve regardless of the geography. What is different is the more limited resources that a smaller market has and many times you must “grow” your own talent vs. selecting from a larger pool. It all comes down to providing Great Local Radio regardless of the population.
4. How much autonomy do local NRG managers have, and how much control is concentrated at headquarters?
I have a very simple philosophy, push decision making down to the level that is closest to the issue. My managers are in the best position to make the decision, and are encouraged to do so. At NRG we have a saying “We are from corporate and we’re here to help”…and we mean it. The Corporate office is the “Help Desk” for the markets. I am the least important person in NRG. The real success or failure of our company is determined every day by the staff in the stations…they are in the best position to know what is best for their markets. The decision making and the responsibility resides in the markets, and if the markets take that on their shoulders, then we, as a company have established a foundation of a company that can be flexible to changing conditions and able to take on new markets and opportunities at any time. When the focus of the company is to provide Great Local Radio where else should the decisions be made?
5. Is NRG looking to buy or sell stations? And are there any other special goals for 2013?
We are always looking for great stations to add to the footprint. We are committed to Radio and are looking to increase our digital and customer centered service lines as well. We know we need to do a better job at product development and improvement regardless of the delivery method.
6. What can Congress and/or the FCC do that would most help radio broadcasters?
Ensure that the playing field stays level and strive to be proactive to the needs of the industry in today’s environment.
7. Is there any question you’d like to answer that we forgot to ask?
More questions that remain unanswered….that we need to address….
* How do we track, monitor, report and price the digital products and service so that we can compete with other digital players. My fear is that we miss the opportunity to develop a pricing model that stands with non broadcasters’ delivery and not just add it on to the current metric we have for analog delivery.
* What are the greatest opportunities for radio that only radio can do?
* Do we learn from the past and focus on today’s audience and deliver a great relevant product AND (unlike in the past) becomes students of where the audience is going and take steps today to be relevant tomorrow.
* Can we quit whining, take that energy and DO SOMETHING???
