10 Questions with ... Newman

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

Newly-promoted IHeartMedia WRBT (BOB 94.9)/Harrisburg, PA PD Newman was well prepared for his recently-acquired programming stripes, thanks to his nearly 17 years with BOB. He's handled mornings with Nancy Ryan his entire stay with the station, and doubled as MD too. But even though Newman is a market mainstay and longtime Country programmer, his radio journey has been a diverse one. He started in college radio, eventually making several moves to different markets and formats such as Pop, Triple A, and, ultimately, Country. Newman opens up to All Access about his 17 years with WRBT, the role of female Country artists, and his two cents on where the format should look for future talent.

1. Newman! Thanks for taking the time to answer "10 Questions" for us. We wanted to catch up, because you've just been named PD at iHeartMedia Country WRBT (BOB 94.9)/Harrisburg, PA. This is a great promotion after almost 17 years with the station, so you obviously know the market, the station, and the staff quite well, right?

I don't anticipate many twists, turns, potholes, or bumps in the road. Like you said, this has been my home - I've raised my children here. I know the market, I know the listeners, I know the music, I know the players - the thing I don't know is how to fill out corporate paperwork, but I can learn that!

2. You also co-host mornings with Nancy Ryan - how does your new title affect both your work day and going from co-host and co-worker to "the boss?"

That thought and question has crossed my mind. The nice thing about working with Nancy is that she and I have had a professional relationship and a friendship that I think I can say anything to her as far as work-related stuff and policies and procedure type issues, and she knows I'm not coming at her in an aggressive or tacking manner. It's just like, "Hey, look, here's what we need to do; we both have the same goal, how are we going to accomplish it? Let's make a plan." To that end, one of my programming mentors, because I've worked for a lot of PDs before - some are fantastic, some I would walk over broken glass and hot coals for, some I wouldn't cross the street to say "hello" to - Shelly Easton had such a unique way of managing, and I could only hope that I can emulate what she did. You know how there's usually a pyramid, where you've got the person at the top, then you have your assistants, then your worker bees, then all your other folks on the bottom layer? She flipped that upside down to where her attitude was, "I will not be successful unless I am serving you guys. What do you guys need from me to make your jobs easier, so that you become successful? And, by default, I'll be successful." That was such an eye-opening, refreshing way of looking at managing people and the workload. I could only hope that I can emulate that same plan.

3. In today's radio landscape, 17 years at one station is an amazing feat. I'm guessing at some point, you decided that WRBT was a station - and Harrisburg is a market - where you wanted to plant some roots. Some call it "marrying the market." Was it a conscious decision, or did that just happen?

The whole thing started out as an accident, but I quickly fell in love with the area. I realized that the format and the area were hand-in-hand and fit like a glove. And, to be honest, my wife said to me - because prior to Harrisburg, I had been bouncing around to the point where we stopped unpacking certain boxes, knowing we'd have to move again in 18 months - she said, "We have kids now; you can't be doing this to them. You have maybe a couple of more years before they get in school and start building their own lives. It's either gonna be Harrisburg or the next stop that you go to. You don't have much wiggle room, so decide where you wanna go to!" It was a lot more comfortable, and it just fit to stay here and make this my home for as long as they'll have me, and I've been lucky. If someone dangled a huge bag of money in front of me, my head would turn, but once you get there, if the situation is just horrible, that big bag of money becomes less attractive. Most people who are sane would say, "I would pay to get out of this situation." I've been fortunate in situations over riches.

4. Let's back up for a second. Where did you grow up and where did you start your radio career?

When I was in school, I wanted to be a police officer. Then, I realized they have a lot of paperwork to fill out; they can't just arrest somebody. I thought, the police people I see on TV get to do that, but they're just actors, so I then I wanted to be an actor. Then, I realized that acting is really difficult. I met with an agent, and she told me when I was 21 to cut the mullet, lose the girlfriend, drop 30 pounds, get a job in the service industry, and drop the radio thing. That was so terrifying to me that I ran back to Wilkes-Barre, PA - where I grew up - and crawled back into my studio and said, "This is comfortable. I'm still in the entertainment business, but I'm not putting myself so far out there that I'm severing ties with people I love, and I don't have to cut my mullet." I started out at WRKC, a college radio station at King's College in Wilkes-Barre, and from there, I got a job running the Larry King show and the Sally Jessy Raphael show on WILK-A. That quickly transitioned into doing overnights on 98.5 KRZ in Wilkes-Barre; I was there for about eight years. I did nights, weekends, and production director, so I got my feet wet in a lot of different aspects. Then, an opportunity came along to take an afternoon drive job in Pittsburgh for WZPT, which is now a different format. I was there for almost a year until they showed me the door. From there, I had two offers: one to go to Corpus Christi or to go to Santa Barbara and do mornings, which I had never done before. So, I chose Santa Barbara, and it was a Triple A station, Cruise 103 KURZ. I spent a year and a half there, and I would've stayed there the rest of my life, but it was so expensive to live in Santa Barbara. So, when it came to renegotiate my contract in California, it didn't go as well as I wanted. I already had an offer to come back to Pennsylvania and do Country in my hometown, so we moved back to Wilkes-Barre. I knew nothing about Country at the time, but the thing that really turned my head was when the PD at Cruise 103 told me, "You're gonna love it, and you're never gonna wanna leave it." When I got to Wilkes-Barre, I started immersing myself into the music and listened to lyrics. We were a non-reporting station, so we didn't get visits; we were kind of on the outskirts of the Nashville music scene, but that didn't matter to me. That's when I connected to the listener of the format with the format itself. Then, we had a meeting one day, and they said they're flipping the station to Rock, blowing everybody out. Around that time, Shelly Easton called me by mistake - she thought I was somebody else who had once worked in Harrisburg. So, I called Shelly back to tell her she had the wrong guy, and we had a 25 minute conversation, and she asked what I was doing Monday. She told me to come to Harrisburg and meet her face-to-face. So, we met, had some meetings, and she offered me afternoons on WRBT, and I said no, because I had a potential morning gig in Richmond, VA, but not for another 90 days. So, she said, "Fine. I'll figure out a way to put you in mornings."

5. So, tell me about your market. What's the Country life group like? How big is it, and where does its musical taste range?

It runs the gamut. In the background right now, I hear Carly Pearce ["Every Little Thing"]. I have been so wrong on certain records - I'm not a guy that likes ballads - I didn't think this record would make it, but the listeners love it, and it is on fire. They're also a Brantley Gilbert crowd. They love Kane Brown. Our Country audience is passionate and vocal, and you get a lot of - mostly guys - who will tell us 'no way' for Sam Hunt, but the ladies love him. You kinda have to walk that fine line to try to please everybody; the Country music format has absorbed the AC audience and part of the CHR audience. I think the Harrisburg market is a microcosm of America; what you're seeing in Phoenix, Minneapolis, and in Nashville, to a degree, is what you're seeing in Harrisburg. We don't have the bodies, but it's pretty much the same.

6. Talking about BOB specifically, the brand has always lent itself to fun imaging and events. What are the station's key marketing events that you're involved in?

The biggest one is our "BOB Birthday Bash" that started out as a listener appreciation concert. It's a free show. We started building it around who's a really big name that's doing a radio tour or doing a show nearby that we can get on the bill. Then, we'll put some new acts around them and open it up to the public. You come and get your tickets and make it a destination, so that's our biggest event. Our 21st birthday bash is coming up on April 21st. Year after year, it's been a challenge to put on, but we've always been able to pull it off. We've also put on baby bashes; we have a "Summer Bash," which is more low-key. Our birthday bash gets 5,000 people, and we have a venue to hold that many people. Our "Summer Bash" gets 700-800 people - it's a little more exclusive and intimate. We also have our "Boo Bash" coming up; it's a Halloween event, and we don't charge a ticket price, but we ask for donations. We also do a "Toys For Tots" show. We used to do toy drives, where we would park ourselves in front of a toy store, but that kinda ran its course. Answering the call to the most active listeners, they'll come out to a show and forego a couple rounds of drinks to raise money for the Marines. And, the Marines still do the shopping, so it was a mutually beneficial event.

7. Being in the market so long, as well as in the Country format for 17 years, you've certainly seen some musical ebbs and flows. 17 years ago, perhaps artists like Sam Hunt and FGL never would've seen the light of say in Country radio. Can you share your observations about how the music has evolved, and maybe how your market has responded to that?

Interesting is one word. Realizing, from my personal view, that when I think I finally have a handle on this is what we're about, I get side-swiped. So, it keeps me on my toes. For example, I remember the day I heard Steve Holy's "Brand New Girlfriend." I pushed myself away from the desk, ran into Shelly's office, and said, "Holy crap. This is a freakin' hit." I've only had a few other moments like that. Justin Moore's "Somebody Else Will" - holy crap, this is a freakin' hit. I don't think I'm some kind of guru; I think it's just as obvious as the nose on your face. The Band Perry - I sat there and went, "Nope. Not gonna make it." I thought The Harters were gonna be The Band Perry, and that didn't happen. I thought they were fantastic, and for whatever reason, it just didn't connect. There have been so many awesome acts that have come through. Remember Pinmonkey and Bomshel? I thought they were fantastic. There have been so many talented artists who I have seen come through that I rooted for and thought that they deserved success. Then, there have been other acts where I'm like, "I respect you for getting this far, but I don't hear it." I don't think I've been wrong more than I've been right, but I've been wrong a bunch! And, those are the ones that surprise me. I'm not disappointed, I'm just surprised. For example, Sam Hunt and Chris Lane; I didn't quite get those guys at first. I understand them now, but not at first. Even Sam Hunt - when he was on radio tour. During his song, he was talking, then he started hitting the chorus, and I was like, "Okay, I get that," but it took a second! Then you have your Justin Moores, and your Midlands, and I'm more attracted to those artists.

8. Since you mentioned Midland, I sense a light movement toward more traditional artists seeing success - Jon Pardi and Luke Combs are two other examples. Do you think traditional music will be more a texture sound for Country, as opposed to driving the sound of the format?

I believe it's coming back, maybe not all the way back to the other side of the spectrum, but it's getting a little more right of center. I think there needs to be a balance between the Pop-sounding stuff and the traditional-sounding stuff. Even so much as we as a radio station, we still moniker ourselves as Harrisburg's New Country, and we do have a lot of newer artists on our playlist, but we're starting to reevaluate some of our goals and recurrents, and we're bringing back Toby Keith and Brooks & Dunn every once in a while. We're trying to reinject the traditional sound into our station, because we are a Country format. Shelly had said to me years ago that it has always amazed her - to a degree - Country music, as a format, has almost apologized for being who they are, and I think she meant that, where if Bon Jovi winked at us, we would run to Bon Jovi and ask, "Oh, are you gonna do a Country record? This will be great!" or, when Gwyneth Paltrow kinda blinked her eyes, because there was a movie involved. If Coldplay tomorrow came out and said, "We're gonna do a Country album," we'd be like, "Great! Come on in!" Why do we feel, as a format, that we need validation from the Pop world or the Rock world? We are a powerhouse! When I worked at KRZ, we got a plaque that came from Radio & Records Magazine, and it broke down the average quarter hour shares of radio stations across America, and KRZ was the #1 average quarter hour share across all formats across America, but every other station was a Country station. At the time, I looked at that and went, "Country is a freakin' powerhouse." And, we still are. It doesn't matter your skin color or your background - if you listen to the lyrics of 75% of Country songs, they're gonna speak to you.

9. Here's a question we ask everybody; there's a noticeable shortage of female presence in the format, and everybody defaults to blaming radio that. I don't agree, but what would you say to that criticism and the lack of development on the female side, compared to the glut of young, new male artists you see come across your desk?

Stephanie Quayle did a radio tour yesterday and came through, and she has a new song coming out called "Selfish." It's sultry, and it is unique. In a lot of the female songs that you hear, they've been wronged, they want revenge, they feel like their guy needs to be put in his place. This was coming at it from an angle like, "Hey, I just want to be selfish and I want you to myself for a night." And, she said - and I agree - there really hasn't been a song like that from a female perspective. That being said - and this is my own little theory - if we're a female-driven format, and we're targeting women ages 25-54, those ladies, in my opinion, are going to be attracted to Michael Ray, Chris Lane, Sam Hunt, Florida Georgia Line, and Chris Stapleton. The guys are gonna follow the ladies. Just like opening a night club; you're gonna wanna attract the ladies, and the guys will be there, but you wanna get the women in, just like Country music - we wanna get the women in, and they'll go to see Justin Moore, LOCASH, Thomas Rhett, Jason Aldean - they'll go to see those guys. They're attractive, young guys who can sing. Keith Urban, Brett Eldredge - they're singing songs that they relate to. Then, you put a woman onstage, and I think, a majority of our female audience kind of build up a wall. Take Miranda Lambert - she positioned herself as relatable. Girls wanted to be her friend and have a drink with her. But, all the other male artists, [the female audience] went to them because they're attractive or have a good song, or both. So, for a female audience to be able to penetrate that wall is very difficult. If we're targeting women in that age group, the female artist needs to build a bridge to say, "Hey, I'm not here to take your man. I'm not here to make your man come to my shows so that he's dreaming about me while he's going home to you later. I'm here as your friend. I'm here to sing songs that are about you - we're sisters." I think maybe that it's either a perception thing between the audience and the artist, or it's that gap that hasn't been bridged. Look at Maren Morris - she seems to be doing a pretty damn good job. At her live shows, she wears provocative clothing and has been criticized on Twitter about it and has stood up for herself and will cut her hair when she damn well feels like it, she's a bad ass chick. I think the badassery relates to some of our female audience members, and she's - one way or another - bridging that cap. I think Miranda did the same thing. Kelsea Ballerini is the one I scratch my head about; I think when she came out with "Dibs," it was a relatable song on a level that the female audience understood, but no one was intimidated. She didn't come across as someone who was gonna be a threat to them - she came across as someone who could be their friend.

10. You've done mornings successfully for a long time. Another concern that many have is where the next wave of talent is coming from if younger, talented content creators may not see doing a radio show as cool or the biggest, broadest platform to showcase their skills. Where is the next Newman coming from?

That's an excellent question that almost couples one of my philosophical arguments that I've had as far as music is concerned. I've realized Country music is a 25-54-year-old demo, and we're targeting women, but if we stick with that age group, eventually you flush yourself out and become an Oldies format. You need to regenerate your audience, just like you need to regenerate your talent. The radio business is scary, because when I came up, I did overnights for three years, then I had opportunities to stick my toes into our aspects. That environment doesn't exist anymore. Even internships have started to dry up because of paperwork. We're all in a situation where nobody just does their four and hits the door. Nobody that I know wears one hat anymore; everybody has multiple job titles and duties, and we're grateful to work in an industry like no other. What we used to have - and I mean four or five years ago - I've had interns who have come through the morning show and have gone on to be PDs at other stations. They're morning show people in other stations in other formats - they've graduated almost through the radio college. I think we need to start looking at a couple comedians, musicians, maybe some people outside of the communications world that never in a million years thought this would be an option for them. They can learn the mechanics - I mean, I'm no genius. If I can figure it out, they can learn that aspect of it! But, I think it'd bring a breath of fresh air into an industry that is gonna have to - very soon - reinvent itself to compete with all the other streams of entertainment that are available at the touch of a button in a little device in your pocket. And, how do you bridge that gap, again to where you pull out your phone and have Netflix, Hulu, iHeartRadio, Pandora, Spotify? Why is somebody gonna put that down and turn the actual radio on in their car? How are you gonna attract them? You need to provide a level of entertainment that you can't get anywhere else. And, I think maybe, we need to start considering, as an industry, to start pulling in people who have nothing to do with the radio business, but bring something else to the table. Like, they're hysterically funny or are unbelievably intelligent. But, can they communicate their intelligence in a way that your average Joe Schmoe is gonna be like, "Oh, wow! That was pretty cool. I never thought of that!" I've also said a million times, if I put a blindfold over your eyes, and ask if you've listened to this song, can you tell me what station is playing this song without looking? You can't. What's going to differentiate stations from one another is the content between the songs. I've always disagreed with the "less is more" mindset. What's the point? You can run a sweeper and have a voice guy from Timbuck 22 dropping in. If we begin to expand a little bit and not be so afraid, people will tune in for content. If they've heard this Rascal Flatts song 25 times in the last week, they'd be like, "Okay fine, I'm down with it," and they're gonna punch out. But, if you have somebody on the air who is talking about things that are relatable to that audience... For example, I went to my mailbox last night that was addressed to me, so I threw it in the car and forgot about it. When I got to work, I opened it up, and it was my wife's Halloween costume, but it was addressed to me! So, I'm sure that's never happened to anybody else. When you see a package with your name on it, do you open it up, or if you see a package with your wife's name on it, are you entitled to open it up? Because, if the two become one when you're married, isn't what hers, yours and vice versa? It's a conversation. I had so much show prep that I could've went with today, but instead I talked about the package in the mailbox. You can have guys who are microbrew masters; there's a story there about how beer is actually cheaper now than it was in the 50s based on economics. Whatever is relatable and it's content, people are gonna listen. It doesn't have to be a song all the time.