10 Questions with ... Scott Roddy

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

Scott Roddy joined WIL as PD in early 2016, continuing a successful radio career that included programming stints with Oldies, AC and Country stations. Roddy arrived almost simultaneously with morning teamers Bud and Broadway, who had followed another show that had the daunting task of succeeding market legend Cornbread, who was with WIL for 11 years. In November of 2016, Roddy added programming duties for AC Clustermate, WARH (The Arch). Roddy's Country background includes time with Emmis WLHK/Indianapolis, and Oasis Radio group WBTU, which involved a daring and unconventional launch of the station as a Country outlet. He was kind enough to stop his busy day and chat with All Access about WIL, Bud and Broadway, the Country landscape in St. Louis, and the impact of recently winning the CMA Major Market radio Station of the year Award, which will be officially presented at the November 8th CMA Awards in Nashville.

1. Scott, thanks for taking the time for "10 Questions!" You're coming up on two years with WIL and one year since adding AC WARH PD duties for the Hubbard/St. Louis cluster - this has obviously been a great move for you.

It's a dream come true - the most humbling thing that could ever happen to my career, without question. I am genuinely grateful that Greg Strassell and John Kijowski have given me this once in a lifetime opportunity.

2. All the great radio stations have solid performers at three key levels: GM, PD, and morning show, and WIL certainly seems to have that in place. John Kijowski was in place already, then you and Bud & Broadway came around the same time - in early 2016. As I look at the station's performance, you guys appear to be "in the zone" now, eh?

With Bud & Broadway, we hired chemistry; they are such a delight, because they understand the strategic filter that's necessary to win on a live, local brand. I keep saying it, but it's so humbling, and it's such an honor. They know that we have their backs, and they have ours, conversely.

3. It seems like Bud & Broadway are connecting with listeners at the same level Cornbread did for so many years. Finding air talent that can achieve that connection is so hard right now - what makes Bud & Broadway so special?

Hubbard is the platinum standard for live and local talent, I truly believe that. In the latest trends, they're top three women 18-49 and women 18-34. I think that what it comes down to is being funny and real; they're such genuine people. Who they are on the air is exactly the same off the air, and they're the guys you really do want to have a beer with at the end of the show. John Kijowski and Danny Montana, found Bud & Broadway - big fans of theirs in Tulsa - and, when I was brought on, I heard the magic and said, "damn straight, I could sit down and have a beer with these two!" They're standup comics, they love to be on the street, they write their own material, they don't use prep services - they're genuine and real. We work with Steve Reynolds, which is a strategic dream for any programmer. Steve and I, and the show, were all in agreement that there needed to be a female voice. We wanted somebody who could be as real and connected to the community as they are. We did a big talent search, but in going out in the community as much as they do, our Promotions Director Kelly Rebal, had a phenomenal rapport with them. She could laugh and be so natural. She's also from one of our hottest zips in South County, the Southern part of St. Louis, from a little town called Arnold, and she is our listener, just like Bud & Broadway! I mean, they are all target P1s. I thought, "I wonder if Kelly could do this," because we wanted somebody who could also bring up topic of the day stories like news, with an authentic, unjaded view, just like a listener. We put her in the studio and tried a couple of bits together, and they just flowed so well. She's an absolute dream come true, because she's not an air talent - she is the listener in the studio, who just so happens to tell you every hour what's going on in the world. We all want talent with a deep sense of 'natural' wonder. 'You can't put in what God left out,' you can't fake wonder, and she is full of it - this amazing sense of wonder - and that's what made her the perfect female voice to the show. They were already hilarious, and when you put her nuanced world view in there and her sense of wonder, it's magical what the three do together! Even all the way down to endorsement spots, where else can you get a 60-second endorsement spot that's a bit? It really is a dream!

4. Staying on the topic of air talent, everyone believes we are in a critical shortage of new, rising talent. Where will we find the next "Bud & Broadway," when young content creators are excited by other 'shiny object' platforms?

Talent is everywhere! We just have push ourselves to dig. Look outside of the format - that's what I did. I'll move away from Bud and Broadway for just a second. Our midday guy, Josh JT Holleman, came from AMP in Detroit; he's tatted up, he's a Millennial, he is the most genuine, comfortable person in his own skin that I've ever met in my life. That's another cool thing about working for Hubbard - they really encourage us to look outside of your 'comfort zone.' I'm always looking for talent though. Another example is from a station that I programmed in a different market. I used to go to Starbucks every day. There was this kid at the drive thru, and he had no voice whatsoever, but he had this unbelievable connection with everybody that came through. One day I asked, "Dude, have you ever thought about being on the radio?" and he said, "No, I never thought about that!" I said, "Well, I program this radio station," and I hired the kid from the Starbucks drive thru. I started him at Overnights on the weekends and continued to move him up into daytime, and eventually, after I left, he was moved into full time nights. So, look everywhere! Podcasting is a great place to look too. If you listen to Steve Goldstein and what he preaches about podcasting - and Hubbard has embraced that with PodcastOne- we CAN find talent anywhere - podcasts, YouTube, social media. What I really listen for is great story-telling. The runner-up to my new midday guy, Josh on New Country 92.3, was a kid named David who does podcasts. He's had, I think, one radio job, and he just sounded like a regular person. He was no DJ; he was just a regular person that could tell an amazing story. I worked for Saga under Steve Goldstein, which was one of the greatest blessings of my life; I listen to a lot of talent in those smaller markets. I think most programmers listen for the great storyteller that just may need a little polish. We just have to keep an open mind and be willing to give them a chance and "polish them up."

5. I also want to ask about Danny Montana - he's been such a strong presence for WIL for a long time - I would guess, as you got to the station in 2016 as it was already a strong performer, he was extremely valuable to you.

Danny is my consigliere. He is the most strategic partner that I have ever had; he is the life blood of New Country 923. I keep him so close, and we work together so well. In my opinion, I know he gets a lot of grief because he's a "hard add," but every song that we add is a marketing decision - every song - and, Danny is fully aware of that. He picks the hits and plays the hits, and he is a critical part of the success that we've had. I am proud that he tends to be the face of the station.

6. About a year ago, you added PD duties for AC sister WARH, and you've previously programmed Oldies too. Can you share how programming another format brings perspective to your day-to-day approach on WIL?

Well, [106.5] The Arch [WARH] is an Adult Hits station, and when I was in Indy working for Entercom, I was brought in to get some focus on the Adult Hits station there, and I really fashioned it after The Arch. I was such a huge fan of what the Arch had done. Having the honor of working for Hubbard and programming two different radio stations, I use both equally to help me see the global view. These two air staffs - on both stations - are so creative. I have Spencer's Neighborhood, who does the morning show on The Arch, and we just brought in Cassidy Proctor, and it's inspiring how quickly they're growing. Everybody is family here, so having an idea that maybe comes up on The Arch or on Bud & Broadway, we all share in the creativity, and we root and cheer for each other. But, what it really helps me with goes back to that global strategic content filter, because both stations are very good at striving to filter everything through the lens of: is my content character defining? Is my content on the topic of the day? And, does it affirm we're local? Both of the station's on-air "brand ambassadors" know what they should be talking about, how they should be serving our community, and how they need to connect.

7. You have a strong Country pedigree with experience at Emmis WLHK/Indianapolis and WBTU/Ft. Wayne - both are unique brands. What did you learn during your time in those markets that continues to be helpful to you now?

I am the first one to tell you that I'm not the smartest person in the room, I've lucked out working with really smart people. I have had such great mentors at every location - on top of BTU, on top of Hank; for ten years, I worked for Susquehanna with WFMS as my sister station. I got to be close to people like Charlie Morgan, Bob Richards, Fritz Moser, and David Wood, and those are some of the smartest people in the industry. I was able to glean so much from them. I learned SO much from you, RJ, when you were in charge of KZLA, I learned how to talk to record people - I was still a baby programmer when we were at Emmis together. But,I think overall, it was learning to think strategically and to have a strategic goal for each station. The strategy at Hank - it was well-understood and well-defined. At BTU, it was the worst station in the market and came out of the gate in a very unique way. What was exciting for me at both Hank and BTU was that we were the underdogs, what I got to learn there was how to truly develop tactics to complement the strategy. I learned how to street fight a little bit. I had the great Phil Becker, who's at Alpha now - he was my Operations Manager. He really guided me and helped me to understand strategy and how to use our tools. I've been so fortunate to work with people like Chris Ackerman and John Boyne at Coleman and learn so much about strategy. With Hank and BTU, we also had phenomenal competition - you're talking about the heritage WFMS that we were against - a monster! Then, Federated Media's station in Ft. Wayne - that's a fantastic company with smart people.

8. Let's discuss St. Louis as a Country market. What do the listeners there gravitate towards in terms of music style?

It's a very contemporary market, first and foremost. There's a huge appetite for new Country, with acts like Thomas Rhett - I think he's so good for our format, quickly blossoming into a core staple. The appetite for new Country here is very, very strong.

9. The market also has two very strong, mature Country brands. What ends up helping WIL build such a gap between the two, especially this year?

We never, ever underestimate our competition. I have a very deep respect for what they do. I think there are a couple of significant game-changers; I think that having the honor of working for Hubbard, who really does invest in the tools to get the strategic job done - I think that is very important. We are live and local, which is very important. This [Missouri] is the "Show Me State" - you DO have to 'show me' here. It's not a market that's quick to embrace change, and that's why everything that we do - and we really strive for this - we have to trade acceptable for excellent in every facet of the operation. Be it in the street, be it in the imaging, be it in the song selection - we must be excellent, because we have such great competition here with very, very smart people, and that's always difficult, because I'm uber competitive. But, I genuinely like the folks that are in this market.

10. Since you have a history with the format - what are your thoughts on Country music right now? The music is wide open and broad - the format is mass appeal and used by younger listeners more than ever. Where is it headed from here, in your opinion?

That is the trillion-dollar question! We are finding our voice again and this is an exciting time. I think of Thomas Rhett rounding the corner and becoming a core artist - I keep going back to him, because he's true to our format. This is always a hard question, especially in sound bite form. You have the traditionalists, which is who I am at heart, but getting those 18-34 numbers, it can vary so much from ear-to-ear and market to market. I think that we're starting to turn a corner though, where we once again have our own, big core artists. I think some people would say that Country, within the last couple years, has had its challenges, the same with other contemporary formats. Finding our core sound again-that isn't disposable-is so important to us. On the traditional front, when Stapleton won so many awards last year, we saw all of the artists get so excited about that, so you almost have this feeling that we may be returning to that traditional sound. You get the vibe that artists are behind it and into it. I think Luke Combs and Kane Brown - with the right songs - have that contemporary, yet traditional sound. I'm very excited about Midland, too; traditional sound, contemporary lyrics. From a radio standpoint, it's trying to find that compatibility match in making those marketing decisions for your stations - it's feeding our followers what they truly want. When it boils down to it, a hit is a hit, right? So, when it's something with such appeal and not a complete throwaway - "Die A Happy Man" - huge freaking song for us- is a great example, I think we'll see a strong resurgence of our format. I want that so bad, because I'm in love with the format, and it's the trillion-dollar question.

WIL is the 2017 CMA "Station Of The Year For Major Markets" - congratulations on that! Can you share what that means for the staff, the company, and you?

This affirms to me that Hubbard is the platinum standard for live and local entertainment in our industry - I believe that. I think this is a testimony to Hubbard's dedication to our local communities. It starts with the vision of Ginny Morris, then Drew Horowitz, Dave Bestler, Greg Strassell, and John Kijowski - I think they all believe in what we're doing, and they believe in serving our community. Honestly, I'm so humbled by the award - what it means to the New Country 923 Home Team is almost hard to put into words. The entire team did this. If you heard the submission, you heard from our first impression representative at the front desk to our Promotions Director Rachel Cook, to Bud and Broadway with Kelly, to JT, to Danny Montana, to Bo - we are so grateful. I really do think it goes back to Hubbard's credo - we really do believe in making local connections with live, relevant talent.