John Hogan

As CEO of the largest radio group in America, John Hogan is always under the spotlight. Even as Clear Channel stations attract the largest listening audience, every move the company makes is analyzed by Wall Street, scrutinized by consolidation critics, and counter-programmed by rival radio groups.

Nevertheless, Hogan has aggressively led Clear Channel Radio through a tumultuous economic climate, making the tough decisions necessary to keep the company afloat. Over the past year, to survive a period of lowered revenue, the company has downsized its staff and led the way in voicetracking and nationalized air personalities and news hubs. At the same time, Clear Channel took the lead in downsizing on-air clutter with its "Less Is More" campaign.

Yet Clear Channel faces even more challenges, from the use of more expensive and as-yet unaccredited PPM methodology to new direct-format for its Top 40 flagships in the nation's largest markets.

If the pressure of all this is getting to him, he doesn't seem to show it. As you will read below, John Hogan is not taking any of it lying down.

Do you believe radio as an industry has hit the bottom of the current recession, or are you concerned that one or more radio groups may not survive this current crisis?

Yes, but there are groups that will not 'survive' the current economic challenges.

And if that comes to pass, do you expect Clear Channel and the remaining groups to get bigger by snapping up the available properties, or will new parties enter the industry while some stations simply go dark and stay dark?

Clear Channel Radio will opportunistically look at every opportunity to acquire additional assets, just as we have for years. Good signals in good markets have always been appealing to us and that is no different today.

What do you see as being the key to radio's turnaround -- an improved economy in general, a better radio product, or an emphasis on non-broadcast revenue sources such as websites?

The key to Clear Channel Radio's growth is continuing to change to meet consumer and advertiser needs, exploiting every distribution platform available and populating same with the best programming available.

What kind of percentage sales growth will you be satisfied with by the end of the year to illustrate a decent turnaround for Clear Channel ... and for radio in general?

We certainly expect to outperform the radio industry, but our focus is really on transforming our company so we are best prepared to emerge from this downturn better, faster and stronger.

Where do you think Clear Channel will generate the most revenue in the future -- through more on-air spots, online revenue streams, HD radio?

I expect we will increase in all streams.

How will Clear Channel's leaner sales staff (with more clients per rep) maintain adequate face time to build stronger relationships with clients against rival sale reps, not to mention find the time to go out and generate any new business?

We do not think of them as "leaner" but as "better" ... and by being better, they can and will do more. The fact is, we are giving better sellers more and better resources and products to sell and strategically deploying them is far more effective and productive than the "face time" mentioned. Advertisers who want results, high-quality service and solutions to their problems will want Clear Channel Radio sellers, products and resources more than "face time."

It seems that the new operational process, with more nationalized dayparts and regional news hubs, is now in place. What's your response to those who describe Clear Channel's operations as something like a TV network, with your stations being local affiliates that offer sporadic local content?

The "response" will be in the ratings.

If Clear Channel PD is airing national personalities such as Elvis Duran in the morning, Ryan Seacrest in middays, Randi West in afternoons and Billy The Kidd at night, exactly how many songs do you expect that PD to locally schedule ... and how does he/she schedule local music when so much of the day is devoted to nationally-based programming?

Actually, the right question here is: Are Clear Channel Radio programmers focused on their audiences, how to engage with their community, developing talent, aligning all stations and digital assets in a cluster to the best advantage for their listeners and advertisers? And the answer to that question is an emphatic "yes."

The company has made a point about maintaining localism. Outside of public service announcements and local news bumpers, how do you see that being accomplished? Who do you expect to be manning any public service or client remote?

Clear Channel Radio has made a commitment, not a point. Our stations are airing a variety of long-form community-issue programs, new music programs and political programs. In addition, we have local community advisory boards in every market we serve. The presumption that we would be unable to man events is baffling. We operate station clusters that, generally speaking, employee dozens. if not hundreds of people. We have ample resources to fully engage with our listeners.

It seems that CBS is unveiling a new Top 40 format in more than one market to challenge Clear Channel's current supremacy. In the old days, people believed that direct-format competition made for better radio on both sides. Considering the current situation, do you feel that such a move is a risky venture that generate a war of attrition in terms of increased marketing and promotion budgets, and in fact hurt both parties?

Look at L.A. cluster ratings to see who has been hurt...

Clear Channel and Cumulus have signed on to the new Nielsen diary monitoring, which will only be conducted once a year. How effective will it be for your sales reps to sell ratings data that are over six months old?

We would rather sell accurate, reliable, large sample data gathered once a year than expensive, inaccurate, methodologically suspect data produced more frequently.

What would you like to see in Nielsen's reported electronic measurement than would be different than the PPM?

For starters, we'd like to see a gathering device from this century ... In a world of smart phones and PDAs, using a pager is beyond embarrassing.