10 Questions with ... Ty Bentli

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

From a job as a "button-pusher" for KWSN, an AM news station in his hometown of Sioux Falls, SD, Bentli's radio career blossomed. Among his highlights have been hosting afternoon shows at WKSC/Chicago and KBIG/Los Angeles, and a morning show at WXRK/New York. As an iHeartMedia employee, he voice tracked a Country evening show from 2008-2012 that aired on affiliates around the country, including WSIX/Nashville, WUBL/Atlanta, KNIX/Phoenix, KAJA/San Antonio and others. His career has also included stops in Austin (KDHT), Little Rock (KLAL), and St. Cloud, MN (KCLD).

Bentley moved to Nashville in 2016 to begin hosting the nationally syndicated morning show then known as "Ty, Kelly and Chuck" for Cumulus Media/Westwood One. On January 7th, it was re-branded as "The Ty Bentli Show." He lives in Music City with wife Corri and young children Radley and Bash and, according to his Facebook profile, "is made of 73% energy drinks."

1. You're re-branding your program as "The Ty Bentli Show" this week. How does it feel to have top billing, and what can your listeners and affiliates expect from the revamped show?

It's super awkward to hear that. I've always been uncomfortable with the idea of "show" being added to my name. I love and look up to so many people in this industry that have taken that approach, but it took me some time to understand why it is so valuable.

Over the years, I learned the important strategy behind ensemble shows being called "The Bert Show" and "The Dave Ryan Show." Our listeners are increasingly distracted during the morning; it's tougher for them to focus on what is happening on-air. With them jumping in and out of our conversations, they need to know who is guiding them through the process. Bert [Weiss], Dave and Elvis [Duran] understood that as awkward as it may be to turn your name into a logo, it's an important way to let your listeners join the break without wondering which direction things are going.

The filter is always the same: The host will let you know what we are talking about, then the room will move forward. The same is true of guests. Rather than being allowed to get carried away with the characters and big personalities in the room, there's an organic awareness of cues coming from the host. This will help us drive our content with a clearer purpose within the room and for the listener.

2. You've worked in New York, L.A., Chicago, and a number of other markets. How does Nashville compare?

I am the guy that falls in love with a city like another guy might fall in love with a girl. When I left Chicago for LA, I watched "Shameless," and any other Chicago-based show, just to feel like I was still tied to a place I loved. New York had the same effect as Chicago, especially when you include the most significant moments of my life, like the birth of my first child, and my wedding to my beautiful best friend, Corri.

Nashville is just as exciting as the other cities - tons of entertainment and a real community feel within Country music. We really love it here for so many reasons. We have our own yard, not to mention a garage and hot chicken! And I am finally able to own a house, which means I can do "projects" without losing my deposit!

3. How important is it to the success of your show to have access to the steady stream of Country stars available to you here in Nashville?

I've known since my early days in Country music that Nashville and this genre are completely unique. We create true bonds with the artists, and they have been there time and again for the things that are important, and the things that are just silly and fun.

Chris Janson spun my home life efforts with big-bro-to-be Radley into a campaign where my 5-year-old ended up traveling the country and collecting over 200,000 diapers for underprivileged babies. Lee Brice scooped Chuck [Wicks] up and took him to Japan to play for troops and hand-deliver 100,000 thank you cards [from listeners]. Runaway June dropped in to just help us organize and count the thousands of cards. Carrie Underwood and Faith Hill have shared their parenting moments, and Trisha Yearwood jumped in to help me create a meal as I hosted Thanksgiving for the first time.

Nashville is unlike any city, especially when it comes to the easy way the artists and our show integrate into each other's lives. I love writers' rounds, and small shows, and surprise honky-tonk pop-ups! That only happens here.

We considered basing the show in New York, and ultimately felt like it would have been a poor decision strategically and for most of our affiliates. Country music lives here. Country music fans and listeners converge in Nashville. It is amazing to see a city with this much significance be so manageable and comfortable!

4. What qualities do you think a great air personality needs to possess?

The truth is that every character in the room is going to need to possess a different set of skills. The dynamics between those who have different personalities is what makes for interesting radio.

With our show strategy, we need people who are funny, but I also think that there is a tangible difference between someone who is vulnerable and someone who is afraid to show their true self. The biggest skill an air personality must possess is self-awareness. Own yourself!

5. You directly engage quite a bit with your listeners on social media. How do you view social media as an extension of what you do on the air and its importance to your overall success?

Social media is a true secret to success these days. It is literally a distraction to our listeners, but if we are missing their focus through the speakers, we can build our relationship with them through social platforms.

One great value to the social media interaction is our ability to test topics, like throwing it out on Twitter or Facebook before taking it on-air. This will often lead to some amazing comments to read on-air. Better yet, it sometimes leads to an amazing guest, expert, or bigger idea.

6. You've been seeking a third person for your on-air team. What are you looking for in the ideal candidate?

The most important piece is to have someone I trust who also trusts the people around them in the room. Strategy #1 is to have fun and make people laugh. We will be able to do that more effectively when the new member of our fam is comfortable confessing and expressing everything.

I want them to have a strategic mind -- helping me move breaks forward, which will allow others in the room to play a little less rationally, and give us those unexpected moments that make for great radio. But the primary need is for a cohesive unit, and I believe that starts with trust.

7. Describe your favorite on-air moment since arriving in Nashville in 2016, and what made it so memorable?

I'm a guy who loves to leap off or out of things. I love snowboarding, skydiving, and adrenaline, but my favorite moments in life are about sharing a connection. As odd as it seems, my favorite moment was the day that my wife eloquently opened up about a miscarriage that we had just gone through (and at some point in the story, we were still going through it). We learned how many others had been hiding their story or hurting and were not able to express themselves. The way that Corri was sincere and funny and caring -- it crushed me, and it also showed me how badly others need a connection. I was able to showcase why I'm in love with Corri and how special she is.

The whole reason we do this job is to make a connection. There's a beauty in everything that we share. But even greater than the roosters we adopted (to see if they'd crow after an eclipse), and the time Chuck went vigilante to track down a robber, I thrive on things like letting Chris Janson upgrade my son's tiny diaper drive to a full-fledged national campaign to help others, and opening a package of thank yous from kids in the Bronx, who wrote heartfelt notes to the troops.

8. Your thank you card program for the military was a big success last year. What was the genesis of that idea and what did it mean to you personally to get such a great response from your listeners and far exceed your goal?

It started with our mantra -- "We love our country" -- and took off with social media support and videos from stars like Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, and handwritten cards being delivered by Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, and Blake Shelton. John Rich hosted parties at his bar and joined us on the show time and again to thank our listeners for their involvement and our troops for their commitment, and Garth Brooks teared up as he read a monumental thank you letter. Letter writing campaigns aren't a revolutionary idea, but tying it directly to the "season of thanks" made such perfect sense that, in one of our show brainstorming sessions, we locked in on the season as the perfect spot to put a focus on our goal: Thank real people making real sacrifices.

From there, the big question became, "How many do we ask for?" Should we shoot for a do-able goal like 10,000 or maybe 20,000 thank yous in the first year? We settled on the big ask: 100,000 thank yous. The first weeks were slow. Little mail was arriving. Then the post office called and said, "You're going to need to bring a truck today," and the next day was the same, and the next, and the next! Year one, we collected over 150,000 thank you notes for the troops.

[In 2018,] we saw a focus from listeners who started early and organized offices, schools, troops, and churches. We decided to ship the letters directly to our building to save on constant back-and-forth to a p.o. box. Same slow start -- no letters, a couple packages, nothing. Then the post office called [and said,] "We're going to have to bring a box truck today. Is there room in the lot?"

Our official number for 2018 was 209,433 thank yous, but boxes continue to roll in! It's amazing and heartwarming. My heart is really attached to this campaign, especially as I just finished reading so many of the letters that were sent in for the troops. There are personalized thank you notes from families, classrooms of kids with such honest reverence, heartfelt empathy, and thanks from veterans to currently deployed service people. It's incredible! It's making a difference for those involved, those receiving them, and those hearing the soldiers, sailors, and Marines telling their stories.

For me, the military has a big presence in my life. My Grandpa Thede was a part of the "Army Air Force" prior to the Air Force becoming its own branch. Grandpa Jim was in the Army. Currently, my brother-in-law is in the Navy, which has shown me a close view of the impact on their whole family dynamic. Watching him as a dad, and taking that journey myself, has led to a deeper understanding of the sacrifices military families make.

9. Have you even had an interview go awry in a funny way either on your show or on a red carpet? If so, describe what happened and how you handled it.

Red carpet moments are the trickiest, because you don't always know who you're talking to (seriously!), and you tend to bobble around until someone confirms. We talked to Jon Pardi about life and went down a path that was very "Lion King"-centric. (It would be valid to say he loves that movie.)

Carrie Underwood came to hang and we started talking about kids and got on the subject of wild stuff they say. I told her about Radley (4-years-old at the time) finding out there were no grapes in the fridge and casually uttering "f*&^ing grapes." Carrie picked her jaw off the floor and told me she'd had a moment recently, after evening prayers with [her son] Isaiah, where he'd looked at her sweetly and said, "Mama, you stink." In the moment, the dichotomy of those two stories was not lost on me or the room!

Brad Paisley hosted with us on the morning of the CMA Awards, and we somehow ended up on a rant that started with a note [from] my wife alerting me that I should get a vasectomy now that we've hit our medical deductible for the year, and ended with Brad talking about his wife alerting him about her intention to build a "she shack" in response to his "he-hut."

10. What are the challenges of doing a morning show with two small children (including a newborn) at home? How much sleep do you manage to get, and when?

Well, I've started setting alarms for all major things in my day (just in case I nodded off in the Uber, on the train, at my desk, standing in the driveway) and I seriously have NO idea how parents do it. The challenge is definitely sleep! I must skip something - time with my family, time at the gym, time at work, or time sleeping. For now, the gym and sleep have been sacrificed. I think there is probably a way to get more efficient with my time, but I'm still figuring it out.

Luckily, the morning schedule means I'm a bit more flexible to pick Rad up from school after work, or go to the park before rush hour. I also go to bed before at least one of those kids every night. That's weird, right?

You, Chuck and Kelly Ford endured a horrific automobile accident in 2017 on your way to visit an affiliate. In what ways did that experience change your outlook on life, radio, and family?

Honestly, I really didn't get a huge reality check from that accident, other than acknowledging that something can go wrong. I had a couple of nights where I had to think about how badly I wanted to see Radley grow up and know his "story."

My mom taught me that family is always a priority. I am now that sappy dad who just stares at his kids when they sleep. I look forward to telling stories to Rad before bed or making Bash giggle with noises and faces that I'd be embarrassed to see on video someday. My wife and I make a video message with a little advice or story every year for their birthdays, and plan to edit it all together when they are 18 and head off to college or out into the real world.

The accident was just a tool in the chest of reminders of why I need to be patient at bedtime when Rad asks 40,000 questions. All I'm trying to do in life is work hard enough so that I can create security for my family and joy in their lives of those who listen to our show.