Jacobs Media Honors Jeff Smulyan And WFAN As 'Most Innovative'

Honors Smulyan And WFAN

Each week, JACOBS MEDIA honors an "innovative" member of our business. This week, they've chosen EMMIS COMMUNICATIONS Founder/CEO JEFF SMULYAN and CBS RADIO Sports WFAN-A-F/NEW YORK.

JACOBS writes, "It’s often said that success has many fathers.  The problem is that it can make it a challenge to determine who was really responsible for a great innovation.  That’s what makes this week’s RMI profile so rare; a major radio innovation that is clearly credited to one person.  EMMIS COMMUNICATIONS Founder/CEO JEFF SMULYAN is responsible for the first ever all-sports radio station, WFAN/NEW YORK. (The idea for the name actually came from the wife of its first PD, JOHN CHANIN.)

"Today, there are hundreds of 24-hour sports radio stations throughout the U.S. and the world.  But back on JULY 1, 1987, when WFAN signed on, the station’s success was very much in doubt, and the skeptics included many members of the EMMIS team."

Read the full blog post here.

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