Kim Guthrie

Kim Guthrie assumes the President's post at the Cox Media Group at a particularly tumultuous time. Traditional media continues to adapt to the digital revolution and the growth of online competition, while the incoming Republican administration in Washington, DC could alter media's growth strategies. To top it all off is radio and TV's frustration with the audience monitoring process. Yet Guthrie remains optimistic about Cox's place in the media world, relying on local relationships and aggressive, credible news gathering.

Congratulations on your promotion to President. What do you feel are the immediate challenges facing CMG today?

Overall, media is in a very disruptive environment right now, because there are so many different ways to consume content. You need to stay on your toes. You have to put great content out there, then distribute it by any possible method. We still feel that strong journalism is incredibly important in serving our communities. We've seen what happened with fake news last year; it has made the credibility of tried-and-true watchdog journalism all the more important.

How do you balance all the different divisions within Cox? Is Digital becoming more important due to the advancing technology?

I'm not one who relies on one platform, like we did in the old days. CMG started off as a newspaper company; then we added radio, then TV. We've had to learn to embrace digital technology and the various new distribution means available to us. Digital is incredibly important and a great extension of our platforms for content delivery, and then helping our advertisers apply smart digital know-how as they augment and strengthen their marketing approach.

Do you see the company's divisions as separate silos, or are they all interdependent on each other for success?

It's a combination. We now have individual leaders with our EVPs of Newspaper, Radio, TV and Digital, so we run with decentralized leadership to utilize what's unique about each platform and local market. But we do have some markets where we have one leader who can leverage the strengths of different platforms. Plus, we share the best practices and are real transparent with each other. In 2009, when we formed CMG, we pulled the separate divisions under one umbrella, and it is serving us very well.

With an incoming Republican administration and a revised FCC leadership, has Cox changed its strategy regarding the likelihood of fewer media cross-ownership restrictions?

There's a lot of talk and noise in that space regarding cross-ownership. We feel pretty strongly that today's environment is different than when the rules were initially set up. There's likely going to be some changes at the FCC; we will see how it plays out.

Can the print media survive for long without more cross-media ownership?

Obviously we've had some struggles as a legacy medium, but it's really about journalism. Our company began 118 years ago with a newspaper, so that's one area near and dear to our hearts. We have four daily newspapers; what the best newspapers provide is smart, investigative "watchdog" journalism. Cox is still a family-owned business that believes journalism is critically important. We've always looked for topics our readers would be passionate about. Now that there are different ways to deliver news, information and entertainment, we're looking to grow a suite of digital products that will bring our brands to life in different formats and go deep into these hot topics.

How has the proliferation of "fake news" impacted your print business?

There are various definitions of what fake news is. Many people get their news from un-vetted sources. There's no vetting of the news you see on Facebook; no barrier to entry or post. So every story you see on Facebook may or may not be true. That just speaks to the importance and credibility of a legit newsroom with respected journalists who do investigative reports to get the real story. We believe in the importance of the role of the fourth estate; someone to hold government and others accountable.

A wonderful example of Cox's investigate news efforts was a big investigative piece we did on doctors who were sexually abusing patients. Who else was going to dig for that story and expose it? That's where real investigative journalism comes in. That was a Cox newspaper's efforts that started with one reporter. A couple of years ago, one of our local TV stations broke a story about widespread cheating in Atlanta schools - and the teachers knew about it and allowed it. That story went national. Stories like this make a difference in our communities.

One train of thought is that the deluge of fake news can cloud or distract readers from the legit news efforts.

I take almost exactly the opposite view. If anyone can post anything about anyone, no one is going to know what to believe. When there is no barrier to entry, you can write garbage and put it on the Internet. To me, nothing is funnier than someone saying, "It must be true; I found it on the Net." I mean, really? That's why I see it the other way. With all the fake news out there, you can only believe something that's coming from a credible, legitimate source. Having my roots and background in journalism, this is close to my heart.

What are your thoughts on Nielsen expanding its PPM sample for TV? Do you believe it would be appropriate to do the same for radio?

Does anyone think it would be good to have a smaller sample? No, everyone wants a larger sample, but that's not the only issue. They still haven't demonstrated a good way to collect or capture headphone listening. At one time they seemed to be fairly down the road with the creation of the SDK, which was supposed to capture headphone listeners - but they scrapped it after three to four years of development. And there has been nothing new on another headphone methodology. It's outrageous. Maybe they should figure that out before solving the sample problem. They have a long way to go because they're still missing a lot of audience for both radio and television.

So what can Cox or radio as an entity do the prompt Nielsen to solve that issue?

Be a loud voice and share your displeasure. Do you listen to your smartphone with earbuds or headphones? Who doesn't? What good is it when every time a PPM user listens to radio on a smartphone with earbuds, nothing is captured or counted, yet we pay millions to Nielsen for better measurement? Why should we even develop an app for smartphones if we can't get credit for the headphone listening?

What's your view of NextRadio - and how important would it be to get Apple and other phone manufacturer enabling the FM chip?

I like the idea of an FM chip, and it's good news that AT&T and Sprint opened theirs phones by enabling it. It's pretty smart technology, especially when you realize people are losing their unlimited data plans -- the FM chip does not use a data plan to listen, similar to a FM radio.

It's also a pretty smart idea when you think about dealing with catastrophes. I lived in New York during 9/11 and I couldn't place a call on my cellphone because the call circuits were busy. How will people get emergency information when they can't use the phone in a crisis situation or they cannot get online with wi-fi? The FM chip can provide an incredible service to the public in those circumstances.

How do balance the "live and local" angle that radio has historically promoted with the prevalence of voicetracking and syndication?

There are other companies that really lean on syndication and voicetracking, but we don't use it that much. It ties into the fact that we do all of our research locally. I remember a Rock station on Long Island that could play Billy Joel because he tested well there, as he's a Long Island native. But if you went across the Long Island Sound 15 miles to another Rock station we used to own in Connecticut, WPLR -- and the WPLR listener generally didn't want to hear Billy Joel. You've got to do local research and trust those who live in the markets where they program their stations. The same goes for TV stations and newspapers; we're all for local news, reported by local people, who have local contacts and even local accents. If you water down your radio and TV station with a lot of syndication and out-of-town voices, you make them too generic. Serving local communities is a big strength of Cox; we're devoted to a local presence and being connected to our local communities.

What's your view of alternative content creation for radio, in the form of podcasting and digital-only programming?

We're looking at every way to get our content out there. We do a fair amount of podcasting; a lot of "best of" content that we repurpose throughout the day. That's something Nielsen has gotten right - counting it if the same content is consumed over the next 24 hours. This is supported by our apps, so our listeners can take our stations with them wherever they go. They don't have to be in the car anymore. There's lots of exciting ways to get our content out there, and you'll see Cox at the forefront of trying new ideas here.

What new fields is the Cox Media Group looking into - such as concert promotion, music streaming or video services?

We're already doing lot of those things you mentioned; we're constantly trying to transform the business as we strive for growth. Like other businesses, we're looking for different ways to try new things and make bold decisions. We do things a bit differently than the biggest radio groups because we're a privately held, family-operated company that doesn't have to answer the Wall Street bell every quarter.

It sounds like you have no desire to do an IPO and go public.

We were a public company at Cox Radio until 2009, when the Cox family took the radio company private, so I have been on both sides of the equation here. I prefer being private, where we can do things that make sense for this business long-term and not worry about impressing investors every quarter.

What are your overall thoughts for the future, in terms of 2017 and beyond for the radio division and CMG in general?

Cox will continue to be very optimistic about the radio side, which we feel is an important part of our portfolio. I'm excited about our stations being members of their communities. We're very excited about the journalism we do.

Personally, I spent my enter career in media. I started off as TV news reporter, then I spent many years in the radio business, from being a Sales Manager and a Regional VP to running the radio group for four years. I've been over on the TV side for seven years, so I have a lot of experience there, too. And in college, I worked at a printing company during the summers so I have some exposure in print as well.

So I start every day, looking forward to getting out of bed and coming to work. I'm very excited about the opportunity to lead this group, to try some new things and move the company forward.