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10 Questions with ... Ed Esposito
April 22, 2008
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NAME:Ed EspositoTITLE:Vice President, Information MediaCOMPANY:Rubber City Radio Group, Akron, OHMARKET:AkronBORN:December 8, 1955, Alexandria, VARAISED:Washington/Baltimore; Minneapolis; Wilmington, DE and Cleveland, OH (Dad got around.)
BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
First broadcast job was in Grundy, Virginia pulling a 9a-5p disc jockey air shift; worked up to Bluefield, Virginia and Welch, WV working a country station weekdays and Top 40 station weekends. News at WHIS-TV-AM-FM in Bluefield, WV then Beckley, WV (WWNR, WCIR, WJLS); Charleston, WV (News Director WCHS-AM); Cincinnati, OH (reporter/anchor WCKY-AM). Worked for the Mayor of Charleston, WV, WV Governor's campaign and Agriculture Commissioner, then sales for family-owned manufacturer's rep firm before getting back into radio news at WWWE-AM/WLTF-FM Cleveland (now WTAM-AM and WMVX-FM) and "utility player" at WDOK-FM/WRMR-AM in Cleveland before joining Rubber City Radio Group ten years ago. News Director since October 1998.
1. How did you get your start in radio? Why radio?
Your typical high school AV geek who also did the morning school loudspeaker announcements; with a face and body type made for radio it was the next step after figuring out it was more fun being creating on the air than on the assembly line. I love the intimacy of radio; even during those "utility listening" moments it's still just the listener and us in their heads, painting pictures and emotions.
2. About what are you most passionate these days?
The community service aspect of what we do in journalism, both on-air and online. With all the gloom-and-doom the energy I see from my colleagues both new and experienced in helping our neighbors understand what's going on in our world still energizes me. It's a great reminder that what we do is important to the bigger picture. The challenge isn't in deciding what we should be doing; it's in working out the business model where everyone is recognized for doing good work the public needs.
3. As the new Chairman of the RTNDA, you're at the front lines as the radio news industry continues to face huge challenges. Among them are the corporate cutbacks of the past few years that have impacted local news operations in many markets. If you were working for one of the major group owners and corporate sent down the edict to slash the local news budget or outsource the news operations, what arguments would you make to preserve or even expand the department? Why should they not cut the news department?
There's no mistaking the irony: our industry recognizes the value of content in an exploding media landscape at exactly the time business pressures call for cuts. We won't grow our business, we won't establish our brand as a valued community resource and we won't position ourselves for new markets by slicing to the bone. The business models need to change to reflect more new opportunity. Accurate, truthful and reliable information and entertainment are still much in demand by an audience with more choices than ever and giving our listeners, web visitors and viewers what they expect is still the best business practice for growth.
4. Your cluster operates one of the most extensive and impressive local news sites in radio (and elsewhere), AkronNewsNow.com. In fact, your title is Vice President, Information Media. What have you found the benefits of devoting your resources to the website to be so far? Is there a timetable for the site to be self-sustaining revenue-wise, and how close are you to that, or is it presently a loss-leader?
The growth of the site has given our three-station cluster in Akron another radio station, a publishing outlet and on-demand video reach to a new audience. It requires patience and vision from ownership willing to invest in the future. It has also had an amazing side effect: the radio side attracts new interest from younger web-friendly prospective employees who "get" what convergence brings to the table. It has allowed us to explore new relationships with Kent State University's journalism and mass communications program, helping build the next bench of reporters, anchors and editors. We aren't self-sustaining - yet - but our original timetable was to be closer to that goal at the end of two years (it's been a year and a half) so for now we're still developing an exciting new product that is seeing growth.
5. A few radio news websites have gotten into video as well as text and audio news. Do you see that as a development that will apply to or impact radio news operations in the future? Do you foresee a time when all radio reporters will be required to shoot and/or edit video as well as getting sound?
Absolutely - and we aren't as far along as we should be. Looking at WDEL Wilmington's site, what KYW is doing with new approaches and many of the major Clear Channel stations have done (WTAM in my own market) with video is exciting. There's a learning curve to shooting and editing video and now is the time for radio journalists to embrace this fresh approach, while there's still a wide gap in viewer expectation of web video as opposed to traditional TV product. It's part of the human investment for "old guard" people like me and the great opportunity for the next generation to bring their knowledge of video to a medium - sound and radio - they may not have the chance to experience on the collegiate level. Our audience shouldn't have to see the sausage of "platform agnostic" being made but they respond when they see, hear and read it.
6. Who were and are your heroes and influences?
Murrow's vision - priceless. Among news directors in my experience: Darrell Daniels of WCHS-AM in Charleston, WV and Bos Johnson of WSAZ-TV for providing a News Director's template. Among program directors I'd rank Dave Popovich (then with WLTF-FM) and Kevin Mason (then with WQMX-FM here in Akron) high for their vision of the landscape above the treetops... Dave in particular for giving me "...it's not brain surgery." as a mantra when trying to work out problems.
7. Of what are you most proud?
The not-very-sexy community service and investigative work we do; in 2005 we devoted each quarter for in-depth reporting on Akron's race, ethnic and gender diversity and whether the community had progressed in the 11 years since our local paper won a Pulitzer for public service on the same topics. In 2007 our team examined every one of Akron's pedestrian intersections near elementary schools two years after the death of a 10-year old boy who was killed by a hit-and-run driver after he pushed his six-year old sister out of the way while both were walking to school. On the school crosswalk safety project we developed a searchable, interactive database using mapping techniques, audio and video for our web component.
8. What do you do for fun?
My wife would say spend too time on the computer. I like movies and sports, although April is usually a tough time to be an Indians fan (but they come through later in the season!) and I'm still recovering from what's his name moving the Browns to Baltimore.
9. Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without _____________.
...checking email, the web, and news broadcasts. It's pretty sad sometimes but my wife is usually very understanding.
10. What's the best advice you've ever gotten? The worst?
The best: "It's not brain surgery." - Dave Popovich
The worst: "You'll never work in the media again." - I won't say who but after he got a taste of politics he's back on the news side, too.
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