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10 Questions with ... Scotty 'The Pitbull' Meyers
March 9, 2009
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TITLE:VP of Entertainment/Executive Producer/Affiliate RelationsCOMPANY:The TeshMedia GroupBORN:Long Island, NYRAISED:Long Island, NY (with a stint in Southern California)
Please outline your radio career so far:
I've always loved music. I had a mobile DJ business in high school. My friend and I launched the business because we didn't want to work at a fast food joint, and we had a blast with it. At the same time, and in college, I was a nightclub promoter in the age of great NYC venues like The Palladium and The Limelight. Prior to working at TeshMedia, I worked at Pure Records, which was a division of Mercury.
1) What do you attribute to the ratings success of Intelligence For Your Life Radio aka The John Tesh Radio Show?
John Tesh and our research department provide compelling content...period.
The program provides helpful tips on how to live your life, surrounded by the listener's favorite music. Listeners tune into the show to find out how to divorce-proof a marriage, how to keep their kids safe, how to care for their pets, how to save money, and how to a live a longer more productive life.
2) In addition to being a nationally syndicated radio show host, a television personality, and a Grammy nominated musician, John Tesh is now a top selling author. Tell us about the new book, and the feedback you have received from your audience?
Basically it's semi-autobiographical, but it also includes many self-improvement tips. John illustrates stories of how he got to where he is today and he gives listeners tips on how they can achieve their own personal goals.
John often tells the story about a research study where a bunch of senior citizens were interviewed about their lives. The number-one thing that came out of the study was that fact that an overwhelming majority of the subjects said that they wished they took more "risks" when they were younger.
The take-away from this is.... you've got to take risks in life to get you from where you are, to where you want to be.
3) How do you customize your content for your affiliates?
We offer the John Tesh Radio Show two ways...
The majority of our stations carry the "voicetrack" version of the program, whereby THEY program their own playlist, and we provide all of John's "Intelligence For Your Life" content which goes in between the songs. By offering the show this way, we've got the program on in every daypart (Mornings, Mid-Days, Afternoons, and Evenings), and on ten (10) different formats. This is the most customizable way to carry the program.
We also offer have a satellite feed version of the show that is a very conservative Mainstream/ Bright AC format.
Additionally, John is terrific about cutting custom liners, promos, etc. for our stations.
We also have many affiliates who take advantage of having John call in to their morning show every month or so.
4) John Tesh covers numerous formats and dayparts. He has been heard everywhere from AC to Country, and morning drive to nights. How does your staff use today's technology to deliver customized content to each of your affiliates?
About two years after we initially launched the program as an AC night show via Satellite, we started offering the voicetrack version of the program. In doing so, we started having stations of different formats carry the show. I think our first non-mainstream ac format was Hot AC, followed by Christian AC and Smooth Jazz, and now we even have Rock AC, Oldies, Adult Standards, even CHR & Country!
The next step in the evolution was offering the show to stations as a daytime solution. In the last six months, we've actually put the program on more stations in the daytime than the evening.
5) John Tesh was on the front lines to get aid out to the victims of the Gulf Coast after Hurrican Katrina. Tell us about your experience with the "Katrina Convoy?"
This was probably one of the most memorable experiences in all my years in the radio business. On the John Tesh Radio Show, we called upon our listeners to help us provide assistance to the victims of Katrina. One of the things we found was that the victims of Katrina didn't want to leave the gulf coast; they wanted help so that they could stay and rebuild. We ended up working with our Birmingham affiliate and we used Birmingham as our staging area for the endeavor.
We ended up having listeners donate used motorhomes, travel trailers, and campers. We also raised funds for the relief effort, and our GM in Birmingham at the time, literally went out and bought used campers with the money we raised. By the time we were done, we had a convoy of 50 motor homes and trailers heading south from Birmingham to both Slidell, LA and Long Beach, MS. The response and outpouring of support from our listeners was overwhelming. We even had one listener, who owned a cleaning supply company, donate a box truck full of supplies PLUS the truck itself! Amazing!
6) Anyone who has ever heard the John Tesh Radio Show and "Intelligence For Your Life" knows that the show is full of some very compelling content that really keeps the listener on the edge of their seat. What is involved with putting together all that research every day?
We actually have 10 full time researchers, and all they do is scour the internet, magazines, research studies, and books. That's all they do! No kiddin'!
7) What are some of the other formats syndicating The John Tesh Radio Show these days?
We cover various formats ranging from Mainstream AC, Hot AC, Smooth Jazz, Christian, Country, Oldies, Adult Standards, Rock AC, and even CHR.
8) How did you get your current job.
John originally hired me as the head of promotion for his record label, GTS records.
The original incarnation of the radio show was through an outside syndicator. Back in 2000, John made the decision to bring the radio show (we only had the 3 hr. weekend version at the time) in-house. I get the call from him, and he says "Scotty, I'm bringing the radio show in-house, starting next month. From now on, you're our head of Affiliate Relations." Having spent my career in radio promotion as a record rep, not in syndication, my initial response was "That's great!.... um... what's Affiliate Relations?".
9) You previously worked on the record side of the business. What differences do you see between syndication side and the records side of the business?
My record experience was primarily working with smaller indy labels, including when I worked at Pure Records, before it had become affiliated with Mercury. Being in the trenches on the record side, you just have to be tenacious, build your relationships with programmers, and treat them the way you'd want to be treated. The same principals apply to Syndication.
10) what do you think of the state of the radio industry today?
As everyone knows, our industry is currently in flux and is evolving rapidly. The key to succeeding in the biz is to evolve with it, be flexible, and look for opportunities that others may not have thought of before. We try to do that every day with The John Tesh Radio Show.
Bonus Questions
What do you do in your spare time?
Spend most of it chasing around my 5 year old son... also, I'm a fitness geek/adrenaline junkie. I like boxing, rock climbing, and weight training.
Who were your early influences?
My dad and my grandfather, Mr. Shallo, my high school Economics teacher, and Shihan Grant Campbell, my first Karate Instructor
Who do you consider your radio mentor(s)?
Gordon Anderson, former Epic Records Executive and founder of Pure Records, and Kerry Wood, former VP of Adult Formats at Mercury/IDJMG.
Cat or Dog person?
Are you kidding? They DO call me Pit Bull....
What is your favorite part of the job?
The friendships and relationships I've developed with my industry peers
What was your favorite station to listen to when you were a kid?
92.7 WLIR ... Loved the "Screamer of the week!"
How would you describe your first radio gig?
Well... technically, The John Tesh Radio show is my first "radio" gig... so I'd have to say, "see my answers above"
What area of your "game" do you want to improve?
There are always areas to improve.... my "game" is always evolving
Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without
COFFEE... LOTS OF IT!?
Underwear: Boxers or Briefs?
Boxers... except when at the gym, then its briefs
You just won the lotto and you have your boss on the line. What's the first thing that you would say?
Lets get to work... (I love what I do, and even if I won the lottery, I'd still keep doing it)... except, maybe from a villa on some nice island...
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