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Making Waves in Local Radio
BNH speaks with Jim Simonetti, the new vice president and general manager of Clear Channel Broadcasting Inc. of New Haven.
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Business New Haven
5/1/2000
By: Tammy Rachau
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Tell us what it means to be GM and your experience in radio.
The radio stations involved in Clear Channel Broadcasting are WKCI-FM, WELI-AM and WAVZ-AM. I've been general manager at Clear Channel for six months. Prior to that, I was general sales manager here for three and a half years. As vice president, general manager, I am responsible for day-to-day operations of the different departments we have at a radio station. I've never worked in any other medium besides radio. This year I actually celebrate my 25th year in radio. I started in radio as a morning disc jockey, and I liked the entertainment aspect of radio, as well as the community involvement.
What are some of the ways in which radio is different from other media?
No matter what new form of technology comes our way, listening to the radio is still the most preferred among all media with Americans. Radio, nationwide, in an average week, still reaches over ninety-five percent of the population. They thought television was going to take time away from radio - it didn't. They thought the Internet was going to take time away from the radio. What they are finding out is that with the Internet, people are actually listening to the radio while they're on the Internet.
What are the advertising benefits for a business of radio advertising?
One of the benefits of radio is that it is local. A business can actually identify its core target group of consumers that it wants to reach and advertise on a radio station that reaches that core group. It is very affordable. Many people forget about radio and how often it is listened to because it is free. People turn it on in the morning, they turn it on in the car, they turn it on at work, at the beach and the pool. It is on in the stores while people are shopping and in restaurants while they eat. Another advantage is in the creativity the medium inspires in the viewer. 'Theater of the mind' creativity allows a business to position itself in a larger-than-life realm.
What changes have you seen since you began working in the industry?
There is more variety and specialization of formats today then there was before. Now, you'll have a news station, or you'll have a talk station. Within music, you can have a Top 40 station or a Top 40 dance station or a Top 40 urban station. With a country format, you could have a traditional country, a new country, a rock country, a bluegrass country. So what's happened is that radio has become very specialized and niched.
Just to use our stations as an example, we have KC101 [WKCI], which plays what is called CHR - contemporary hit radio. It's primary target is women ages 18-49, and its secondary demographic target is women ages 25-54. WELI, the format is news talk, where we do a lot of local news reporting, and we have talk shows, that talk about issues, either in or around New Haven or Connecticut or nationwide. We have Jerry Kristafer in the morning, then we have Tom Scott, who does a lot of local issues. The primary audience for that station is adults, ages 35-64. Then we have WAVZ, which is basically a music station for adults 45 and older.
The other change is, in addition to the formats, what we call consolidation, where one owner can own maybe three or four radio stations in a certain market. The benefit to that is that you can share different services among your different radio stations.That is something like we have here at Clear Channel Broadcasting.
What are of the trends that you see shaping the future of radio?
I think, ownership-wise, you're going to see a couple of the major broadcast companies own radio stations, television stations, billboard companies, Internet companies, maybe even a newspaper in certain key markets and possibly even some concert venues. Right now Clear Channel has a bid in to buy SFX Entertainment, which would include the Oakdale Theater and the Meadows Music Theater [in Hartford]. There would be a synergy among all the different industries owned by one owner. For the consumer, it would be beneficial because it would allow us to mass-market better products, whether they be advertising products or artists. For the business community, it is better for the advertiser because you have advertising executives that can tap into different resources, different media. It almost becomes one-stop shopping, if you will. Where before you might have had four radio stations selling against a billboard company or an Internet site or a television station, now you've got sales forces going out looking at what better way can we sell the client's product for them. So we are expanding our horizons.
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