10 Questions with ... Grant Merrill

NAME:Grant Merrill TITLE:General Manager/Partner SHOW:KUOA-A-F & KTHS-A (The Hog Sportsradio) MARKET:Fayetteville/Northwest Arkansas COMPANY:Hog Radio, Inc. BORN:9/23/81, Russellville, Arkansas RAISED:Russellville, Arkansas

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

Started out as a teenager at KARV Radio which was a textbook education for small market radio. We did everything from the morning show to sports play-by-play. I graduated from high school and went to KARN Newsradio in Little Rock for the next few years. From there I went to Fort Smith and helped start "The Sports Hog 103.1" (KHGG-FM) and caught the sports radio bug. About that time I really started to realize that you eat better when you're in sales and management. I managed Noalmark Broadcasting's stations in the Arkadelphia, AR market (Population 10,000) for a year and then moved to Fayetteville. Started "The Hog Sportsradio" on August 18th, 2008.

1. What made you decide to go into radio? Why radio?

I was one of those kids who spent late nights with a yellow Sony radio scanning the AM dial listening to stations like KMOX and WBBM growing up. I was a news/information junkie in elementary school (a.k.a. GEEK) and also had an unhealthy obsession with the local AM station KARV. I would ride my bike down there and harass PD Johnny Story and the rest of the staff until they finally gave me a board shift when I was fifteen. I always thought I wanted to be a DJ but ended up wiggling my way into news reporting, sports play-by-play, and even sales. (That was the beauty of a small town station. We did it ALL!) I found an old broadcaster's yearbook and suddenly became obsessed with the history of the industry, and have gotten into it so deep that I don't think I could do anything else. I've tried to quit and always end up coming back. Radio is the one medium that you have the flexibility to connect with your listeners and come up with the most creative ways to get results for your clients. I don't know what else I would do!

2. About what are you most passionate?

From a personal standpoint, my wife and daughter. They are my entire world, and have always been with me through the good and the bad. Unfortunately in this business, you sometimes find yourself in a stretch that doesn't offer a great level of stability, but they have been with me every step of the way.

Professionally, I am most passionate about building my radio stations here in Northwest Arkansas. Doing a start-up always has its ups and downs, and I am a tireless promoter for this project. Doing a sports radio station in the fastest growing area of the south has been a dream come true, and I am determined to make these stations a resounding success. I can promise you by now that I should be on the board of directors at U-Haul as much as I have moved, but I am passionate about providing this area with a radio station like they have never had in the past! I am also passionate about building and expanding our company as a whole. There are seventeen other stations within our company, and I am all about finding new ways to A) increase our revenues by creating group sales opportunities and B) finding new technologies and ways to make our stations run more efficiently.

3. You've launched a new sports talk station in Springdale, The Hog. There seems to be two trains of thought on what makes a great sports station, interview-heavy vs. caller-driven. What, in your opinion, makes a great sports talk station? Caller-driven, interview-filled, or some combination thereof?

I think you must have a combination of the two. You have to get the big names to come on board and you have to let people hear from the people close to "the big story" but you have to give your listeners a chance to give their opinions. Here in Arkansas, Razorback fans are passionate about their Hogs and they take a great sense of "ownership" in the program, and are certainly not afraid to let you know how they feel about every aspect of the program. If things are going wrong for the Razorbacks, you can forget whatever show prep you brought with you because every phone line in the building will be lit up. But at the same time, people want to hear from the people making news, or the media types covering that big story. In our corner of the world, oftentimes those interviews can set the agenda for what people are talking about, or generate buzz on the message boards pointing people toward your radio station. In a radio industry that is bracing for technology like the PPM (if they ever get the objections overcome) you will have to find new ways to point people to your station, and being able to alert people that a "big guest" is coming with e-mail and mobile texting technologies will be one of the many ways to do that. So the long answer to a short question is that you have to have a mix of both.

Your question asked about calls and programs, but you also asked what makes a great sports station. I think having access to the play-by-play broadcasts for the franchises in your area is also essential to the success of your station. No offense to my friends at Sporting News like Arnie Spanier or Todd Wright (All Night) but I would much rather have local play-by-play on than syndicated talk because from a sports standpoint, I am trying to build the sense that if there is a big game, you'll hear it on my station! Those sponsorships for local play-by-play be it high school, college, or professional, are a good revenue builder.

4. You are an Arkansas native and you've worked at several Arkansas stations -- what about your home state would surprise outsiders? What's the best thing about Arkansas?

Hands down the abundance of natural beauty in our state would really surprise someone who has never been here. There is nothing like driving through the Ozark Mountains this time of year when the leaves are turning and you can see nothing but brilliant shades of orange, brown, green, and red for miles. The views from overlooks and points high above are stunning! I think people might be surprised at what a small world it is in Arkansas. I think I know, or am related to, someone in just about every one of the state's seventy-five counties.

5. In northwest Arkansas, obviously, Topic A (maybe A through Z) would be the Razorbacks. But what else, if anything, can a local sports talker talk about in that area? Is it all-Hogs, all the time, or is there interest in other sports topics?

One thing that has really surprised me is that in Northwest Arkansas, you would think that a majority of the people would just live and breathe Razorback sports, and for a number of people that is true. But within a ten mile radius of our studios, you have the headquarters of Wal-Mart, Tyson Foods, and JB Hunt, and as a result of those companies calling this area home, hundreds of thousands of people from all over the country have flocked to our two county area. So as you can imagine, these people don't worship the Hogs as much as we do, and they are clamoring for a national perspective. I looked no further than Dan Patrick for the early afternoon slot to fill that need, and Tim Brando for mid morning. Both of those guys delivered exactly what I was looking for to cater to what we affectionately call "The Wal-Mart Crowd". I'm not saying that we run shows devoted to hockey, but we do try to appease the needs of that Northerner or West Coast person who might feel like a fish out of water where his/her sports radio is concerned.

There is a lot of interest in high school sports here as well. We try to devote one day a week to the big matchups of interest, and try to highlight the accomplishments of our local students. In a market that is still relatively small (#134) people still like to hear their kids names on the radio and businesses like to support our broadcasts of their activities with their ad dollars. So high school sports fills that niche just fine!

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

My two mentors were Johnny Story and Tom Kamerling in Russellville, AR. They were the voices of our town, and gave me chances that I never would have had. Johnny still works for the Max Media Group and Tom is out of radio now. I still worship the ground those guys walk on to this day. The late Ray Lincoln from KARN was a hero of mine. He lived through fifty years of the radio business at stations like WOAI and WBAP, and if that wasn't enough went through a heart transplant. Bob Harrison was another one that left us way too soon. I grew up listening to him on KARN every morning. In a previous life, he was morning superstar Bob Wall on WGCI in Chicago, and his listeners up there might be surprised to know that behind Jack Buck of the Cardinals, he was one of the best baseball play-by-play guys that ever called the game. Rich Brother Robbin is a good friend, and told me in not so kind words to get my tail back into radio when I got out for a time. In the business side of things, Citadel's Jim Beard is a guy that I have unlimited respect for and loyalty to. I would be remiss to leave out Jay Bunyard who has made "The Hog Sportsradio" a reality. He has taught me an unlimited number of things since the day I met him and has my undying gratitude.

7. Of what are you most proud?

Hands down, my eighteen month old daughter Molly. At the end of the day she makes the rest of the world secondary, and is the absolute best thing that ever happened to me. Professionally, I would have to say The Hog Sportsradio and the people that work with me to make the station flow smoothly every day. (Speaking of which -- If you are a dedicated and motivated sales professional and would like to be a par... OK, I will save that for the All Access job listings!)

8. What do you do for fun?

I like to travel a lot. The Redneck Riviera is a favorite destination (anywhere basically between Mobile, AL and Panama City Beach, FL) and I love to go to Florida. I used to be widely known among my friends as the one who would go on the spontaneous road trip but it is amazing how things have to be planned when there is a kiddo in tow. We still love to go places, and like any radio geek, 60% of the fun for me is listening to the radio stations in these places. My wife found a long time ago that when we are on trips, asking me to pick a station and leave it there is pretty much useless. I have also developed a love for general aviation, and have put getting my private pilot's license on the "things to do" list.

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

...going through my regular list of publications and websites. It starts with e-mail, then it's All Access Net News, the radio transactions of the day, the industry blogs, then it's on to my local stuff like the Razorback sites, Arkansas Business, and the local television stations. I have an insatiable appetite for information on our industry, the things affecting our industry, local news, and Arkansas Razorback athletics. I do realize that to someone outside of radio, I am probably a very strange person!

10. What's the best advice you've ever gotten? The worst?

Best - "Get your tail back into radio! Now!" - Rich Brother Robbin

Worst - "Get out of radio and join us in the insurance business. It is a much more rewarding life!"