10 Questions with ... Garrett Searight

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

I began in TV, beginning as an intern at TV-44 (WTLW), a local Christian TV station, when I was 17. I actually left college early to take a full-time job at TV-44 as a reporter/producer and helped launch WOSN, their all-local sports digital subchannel. In March of 2012, I was let go due to budget cuts, and at the ripe age of 22, needed a career change. I was familiar with a few radio guys in town from my work in TV, and got hired to be a board op in November of that year. I started at the bottom, soaked up as much as I could, and worked my way up the ladder. I've voicetracked afternoons on our country station, I was the Promotions Director for a few years, but I immediately knew I wanted to be a Program Director, and a run a sports talk station. In January of 2018, I got that opportunity and continue in that role today! I also serve as the Program Director of our cluster's Classic Country station, as well as board op/producer our afternoon drive sports talk show, and I also operate our local sports vertical 419sports.com. So, I stay decently busy.

1. How did you get into radio? Why radio?

Like I said in my not so brief career synopsis, I started in TV. But I had a yearning for radio before that. Even when I was working in TV, I can remember telling my now wife that during the summer when things slowed down, I wanted to talk to the radio guys in town about coming in and learning what I could about that medium from them, should I ever need a fall back plan. Well, my company at the time decided to make that decision for me (ha ha).

Radio is so much different from TV, and in all the right ways. It's changed a little bit from when I started, but radio is all about personality and opinions. TV is virtually the exact opposite. So radio fit my personality much better than TV did. Plus, when you're fat and have a lazy eye, radio might be the better medium!

2. What are the unique challenges of programming local sports talk in a market that doesn't have pro or major college teams in its local market? What does the local talk and coverage on your station focus on -- how much of it is about relatively-adjacent market (Cleveland) pro sports, national topics, OSU, local high school sports? What are the hot sports topics in Lima?

One of the biggest challenges of running a local sports station in a small market, at least in our market, is that we're at a bit of a crossroads. Columbus is an hour and a half away. Cincinnati is an hour and 45 minutes away. Cleveland is two and a half hours away. So, it can be a bit of a balancing act. Luckily, Ohio State football is a way of life. We can talk Buckeye football on February 15th just as much as we could on October 15th. We cover high school sports in our area like they're their own professional sport, and they've earned that. There are 7 high school football divisions in Ohio, and virtually every year two state champions will be from our area. There are 4 basketball division in Ohio. Currently, the #1 ranked teams in Division II and Division IV are from our area. There are several other teams that have a great chance to make the state tournament at the end of the season. We'd be nuts to not cover that, but to also capture the excitement in those communities.

Do I wish I was in a market where we were working with major league or professional teams? Some days, absolutely. I'd love to have that challenge at some point, but there's something organic about covering high school sports and turning those kids into heroes and celebrities that's also enjoyable.

3. You experienced a major loss with the passing of Vince Koza after a long run in afternoons (and a long run before that on local TV). How much did Vince mean to the success of The Fan and how did you arrive at hiring Marty Bannister as his replacement? How did you go about replacing a market fixture, and what were you looking for in a replacement?

Vince brought instant credibility to the station. Our previous owner/GM, Matt Childers, was a bit ahead of the curve in realizing how important sports, and local sports, was to our area, when the moved the sports talk station to the FM dial. Vince also worked in sales, and brought in a great chunk of revenue for a station that people were hesitant to put their advertising dollars on. Vince worked in this market for almost 40 years. He had incredible name recognition, but also a reputation that if it was on Vince Koza's show, it was important, and it was the truth.

As to hiring Marty, the "what I was looking for" and the qualities Marty possessed are one in the same. It sort of works into what I said about Ohio State football being a juggernaut in Ohio. Marty, much like Vince, had instant credibility with our listeners, great name recognition, and a distinct voice that if you hear, you know you're listening to 93.1 The Fan. Marty worked as Ohio State's football sideline reporter and women's basketball play-by-play announcer for over a decade. He's a familiar name and voice to our listeners, and he's done a great job of not only wanting to learn about our area more, but also handling a tough situation. It's not easy to come into a spot where you're not only asked to pick up the ball and run with it after someone did it for 40 years, but after that person died after a 97-day battle with cancer. Marty has handled that like a complete professional, and I think everyone from our management to our listeners appreciates how he's done it.

4. What, to your ears, makes the best sports radio? What do you listen for in a good sports show -- what's the right balance between hardcore sports talk and, as in the national shows you air in middays, Dan Le Batard and Dan Patrick, how much pop culture and other talk?

I like opinionated, entertaining, and informative sports radio, in that order.

There's nothing better than looking at a topic, finding a viewpoint on it that might not be what everyone else is thinking, laying out why you feel the way you do, and having a caller or someone on Twitter tell you afterwards "When you first said that, I thought you were an idiot. But you know what? You're right."

Dan Le Batard does a completely different show than one I could ever do. But that's who he and his cast are as people. That's what they find entertaining. And it is entertaining. They'd be bored trying to do the show Colin Cowherd does, and you'd be bored listening to it. So why try and do that show?

But Dan also is one of the best in the business when it's time to be serious. And I admire that about him. He's got an innate ability to turn it on and be serious when the situation arises. And to get people to listen and appreciate what you're saying about a serious topic when you've played horse-around on the radio for the other 14 hours of your on-air time that week isn't easy.

I try to mix in pop culture or other talk into our show, but not as often as the two you mentioned do. I'm really big on analogies, and if you could drop a pop culture reference, that's an easy way to both connect with your audience and make a point.

5. A lot has been made about how radio in general and spoken word radio in particular has been affected by the rise of social media as an alternative for people who want to exchange opinions, and podcasts have also become an alternative. How much of a threat, if at all, do you see alternative media being to sports radio in a market like yours? Is it a threat at all, or supplemental? How can traditional sports radio can maintain or grow its position as the place to go for sports talk and discussion with the rise of alternatives?

This isn't a slam on our market, but Lima, OH tends to lag behind a bit. Trends don't unfold as quickly as they do in other areas of the country. Do I think people are listening to podcasts? Absolutely, but not at the same rate, frequency, or volume that they are in other markets.

I look at podcasts and social media as another avenue for us to branch out and reach more people. I don't see it as a threat. To me, it's an opportunity. I would compare it to digital subchannels in TV. Every TV station these days has a .2, .3, .4 that airs programming you'd never see on their big station. And that's how I view podcasts, social media, and other digital offerings. I also think it's a great place to develop new talent. Getting your reps in on a podcast or a digital show takes a lot of the heat off of being thrown to the wolves in afternoon drive.

I also believe strongly that topical podcasts work really well on traditional radio as nights/weekend programming, if produced right. I do think the difficult part about the rise of these alternatives is, our culture is becoming more and more personalized. In the past, especially in our market where there's only one sports station, if you didn't like the morning show, oh well. What else are you going to listen to? Now? You've got a million different options at your fingertips. So the challenge is creating content a mass amount of people still want to consume, but at the same time, trying to create content in a different space to ensure you're still keeping those listeners with you, your brand, and your advertisers.

6. Who are your influences, inspirations, and/or mentors in the business?

I really enjoy listening to Dan Patrick. He's never irrational, he always gets his point across in the easiest way possible, and he's the best interviewer in radio, period.

As for mentors, I've learned a lot from a couple of guys in our cluster; Both Dave Woodward and Phil Austin are long time programmers that have imparted a lot of wisdom to me, and I'm grateful for that.

But when it comes to sports radio, I haven't had a ton of mentors. I really got into radio on the country side of things, and there's so many avenues for country programmers to work together or talk programming theories, imaging, production, artist interactions, etc...and I haven't found that in sports radio. I appreciate what Jason Barrett of Barrett Sports Media is doing with the BSM Summit, and that could grow into something similar to what country radio has with CRS, but if you're reading this and are a programmer that would love to pass on some wisdom, when it comes to anything, to a 30-year old programmer who wants to learn everything you've got say, email me! (ha ha)

7. Of what are you most proud?

I'm really proud to know that I started as a board op, running high school basketball games once a week, to now running a sports talk station. I realize I'm in a small market, and I realize it's much different being a Program Director of a station in market #27 than it is in market #227, but I'm proud to say I'm a Program Director of a sports talk station, and have been since I was 28. I know many station owners, GMs, or OMs wouldn't (and frankly don't) entrust their stations to people as young as I am/were/was, and earning that respect and opportunity means a lot to me.

8. Had you not gone into radio, what do you think you'd be doing now?

In between my job in TV and beginning in radio, I worked at a rice cake factory for a grand total of two hours before I walked out the door. And I have to remind myself that from time to time when I get down and think I'm going to leave radio behind. So, that's a great question. I'm not entirely sure, and I hope I don't have to come up with a backup plan anytime soon.

9. Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without _____________.

...my phone. It's horrible. My wife and I just got back from a 5-day cruise, and not being able to use my phone was my own personal hell. And it's such a habit at this point. Even knowing I couldn't use my phone, I still took it with me everywhere, and caught myself pulling up Twitter, Facebook, or Reddit just out of habit.

10. What's the most important lesson you've learned in your career?

Hard work wins. You don't have to have the talent, the smarts, the experience, but if you've got the work ethic to dedicate time and energy to your craft, you'll find success.