10 Questions with ... Jeff McCartney

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

SOCIAL MEDIA:

FB: @971kzht / @my995fm
INSTA: @971zht / @my99.5
TWITTER: @971zht / @my995

• WKRZ/Wilkes-Barre 1989-1995
• WKCI/New Haven 1995-1997
• KZHT/Salt Lake City 1998-Present
• KODJ/Salt Lake City
• KJMY/Salt Lake City 2017-Present

1) You've been at the stations for over 21 years now. To what do you attribute your longevity in Salt Lake City?

A lot of things but quite honestly, it all starts with the people you surround yourself with. Most of my 21 years here have been spent with KZHT. Frankie Corrigan, who does mornings was part of the original team we put together back in 1997-98, is the only one who has been here with me the entire time, but the tenures of the others are just as impressive: Jessica hosts mornings with Frankie, while AJ does afternoons. Both have been here since 2005. Katie Sommers has shared a portion of middays with me since late 2011. Elizabethany has held down nights for six-plus years now. The longer you've known someone, the greater the chance you begin to fully understand and relate to them. It's true not only of our relationship with the listeners, but my many years working with the staff. It amounts to more than two decades in the case of KZHT.

Many of our listeners have grown up with this station and its personalities. They are invested in us because we have invested in them. That starts with a relationship built on trust and honesty. When someone like Frankie spills his guts out on the air, he builds an incredible amount of equity with the audience. One of the most memorable examples of this was when he and his wife Tammy used in vitro fertilization during the birth of their son Axel. As an influencer, he shared this most personal experience with the audience. They were along for the entire ride and many of them could relate to having difficulty conceiving. That presented us with a very unique opportunity: Use our partnership with a local fertility clinic to increase one lucky couple's chances of having a child. That is what great radio is about in my mind. Over time, building an incredible bond with the audience that rivals that of the competition, other platforms included. You don't create that overnight of course, but time and consistency brings strength to the product from both a music and talent perspective. I have seen it firsthand in research studies. While we own the hit music position here; it's our talent that truly set us apart from the rest. When the morning show is out of the studio for a broadcast, listeners come out in droves to see them. You'd swear Frankie was the mayor! Consistency and longevity are two of the most important drivers of our success in my opinion.

2) We're all wearing more hats these days and you're programming two huge radio stations (KZHT and KJMY). How do you m prioritize where you need to focus your attention?

My Outlook calendar is a lot fuller than it used to be! On top of local Programming duties, I also assist John Ivey and the Top 40 team as a Brand Coordinator, so prioritizing and delegating are a must. When I first started in radio, I would put in seven-day work weeks, sometimes 12-14 hours a day. I was scheduling music, doing an on-air shift, appearances, and production and then coming back after hours or on weekends to image the station. At one point, I remember having a conversation with John Ivey about the importance of balance and trusting others to help get the job done. Not only is there another radio station to deal with but at some point, we all need to get away, to mentally disconnect and "recharge the batteries." I feel like I have a far better grip on that these days. We all pitch in. If an emergency arises and I need to move some things around, I know I can rely on my amazing #2s, AJ Carson and Aaron Salazar. They are the APD/MDs. Everyone knows the vision and strategy for their station and we stay in constant communication with each other. If I'm unavailable for some odd reason, I'm never worried about us not being on the same page.

3) The combined cume of the stations is close to ione million people. Obviously, there's some overlap listening. Is it tough to make sure that the stations are staying in their lanes?

Our goal is to have the #1 Top 40 and the #1 Hot AC. We know there is going to be some overlap, but the two stations couldn't be better aligned from a cluster perspective. KZHT, KJMY and KODJ (our Classic Hits) all complement each other and super-serve the female listening audience. 97.1 ZHT has occupied the hit music position in Salt Lake since 1997 when Frankie also started doing mornings. As the Top 40, it's a given that we have a strong base of younger listeners. But our heritage morning show gives us a rare competitive advantage: Listeners have grown up with Frankie and the morning show, so many are now in their 30s and 40s. Where the listening leaves off on one, it picks up with the other. Because of the more conservative music approach, on Hot ACs, you typically have an older more female skew of listening. The overlap in this case makes iHeartMedia/Salt Lake one stop shopping for advertisers!

4) You've got capable folks in the trenches with you ... AJ Carson at KZHT and Aaron Salazar at KJMY? What do they bring to the table?

AJ came into the market in 2005. He had barely hit the air at KUDD and I stole him! He was and is one of the best jocks in the country. And talk about a jack-of-all-trades! The guy does afternoons, spot production, imaging, is APD/MD of KZHT and holds down mornings with his wife Meredith on our Classic Hits KODJ. He does that show at home in his pajamas via ISDN as he gets the kids ready for school! He's a technical genius. He knows our Nexgen interface inside and out, has become a master of GSelector, Adobe Audition, and Lord knows what else. When building opportunities arise, AJ's name always comes up. It's never a question of whether or not he can do something, but at what point we overload him and he cracks! We like him too much to do that!

Aaron Salazar is a workhorse; his passion for radio is off the charts and he takes an enormous amount of pride in what we do! Jeff Cochran, our SVP/Programming and my predecessor at KJMY hired him. I noticed how much of a hard worker Aaron was prior to me picking up the station. We started working together in April of 2017. He images KJMY, does music logs, oversees our imported dayparts, works with the Production Department and does nights. He also just began voicetracking afternoons on our newest station, Easy 99.1. Aaron aspires to one day program a station himself. Getting the opportunity to work with so many great programming minds at iHeartMedia, I have no doubt that will happen sooner rather than later.

5) There are some great radio minds in the iHeart national programming office. How does all that help you with the day-to-day programming of the stations?

The combined years of expertise in that national programming office are unmatched. The people are truly our best resource and they are nothing short of radio royalty: Tom Poleman, Brad Hardin, Jon Zellner, John Ivey, Marc Chase and Tony Coles are just a few of the bright minds I am lucky enough to get to work with. If you think about it, these guys alone have been in just about every competitive situation imaginable. If the need arises, there is always a panel of seasoned programmers ready to weigh in and provide stealth support in the wake of an attack. What I love the most is that iHeartMedia is not a follower. We're always at the forefront of technology and research, pioneering and leading the way! The development of the iHeartRadio App, our leadership in the podcasting arena, or the amazing live tent-pole events like the iHeartRadio Music Festival are a few examples. As far as tools to help program the stations on a day-to-day basis? I won't speak to anything specific because that would be sharing the "secret sauce," but they're the best of the best! There is no way to put a price on the arsenal of tools and resources that aid us in daily decision making, but I will tell you that if it weren't in the family, we wouldn't be able to afford it.

We used to be just a radio company but are now the #1 audio company in America. iHeartMedia is truly a one-stop for our listeners and clients. The media and music landscape is rapidly evolving. I love being part of a company with so many bright minds and the drive to tackle the technological obstacles of the future. You know what's exciting? I am a part of this team and we're all figuring it out together.

6) You're still on the air (both stations, no less!). How important is it for you to stay involved in the capacity?

I have been both an on and off air PD during my time here in Salt Lake City. There is so much be said for remaining a part of the on air staff. Things have changed so much over the years. When I do a show, it puts me in the trenches to see things from a completely different perspective, that of a talent. Because of it, I have developed a much deeper appreciation for what they do. There are so many benefits: Getting behind the mic makes me even more detail oriented when communicating with them. Their job is not easy. Demand for those coveted talk slots has increased two fold. We are constantly trying new things, launching new integration partnerships, promoting our tent-pole events like the iHeartRadio Music Awards and implementing new initiatives. We didn't do a lot of this stuff 10-15 years ago. As a talent, I can better address concerns and offer guidance on how to integrate messaging and highlight the clear listener benefit.

7) "Local local local" has always been radio's mantra. How do you keep your station visible and involved in the community?

We take a quality vs. quantity approach when it comes to being local. It is very easy to overextend, so we are very selective in what we choose to put our support behind. Annual partnerships like those with The American Cancer Society and their "Strides Against Breast Cancer" walk. It's one of the biggest events of the year around here. Through it, they fund research and conduct studies in the fight against breast cancer. Multiply our local efforts with other markets across the nation and that currently amounts to about 155 multi-year breast cancer research grants totaling $161 million. It makes quite an impact. AJ, who does afternoons on ZHT, donates blood and platelets to the American Red Cross on a regular basis. He has developed such a great relationship with them that now the station gets involved. We conduct several blood drives every year. We celebrated Frankie's 20th anniversary with a live broadcast attended by listeners and involved the Salvation Army. This took place right before the holidays, so it was a great way to help them launch their annual kettle drive. That relationship has grown since. We supplement those kinds of efforts by building local perception in non-traditional ways. A recent example is something that started as a morning show benchmark and has grown into an enormous community service: Our "Good Vibes With Kylie" segment. With the help of the Salt Lake Home Builders Association, we award a deserving organization or individual with a construction project: Anything ranging from wheelchair ramps to full remodels for charitable organizations and people in need.

8) Obviously, social media is a huge part of what happens these days. Does your staff have specific responsibilities in that regard?

Our mission as a company is to be everywhere our listeners are. That includes a very active social media presence. We ask that our staff be post on a daily basis, but what they post is more important than how much. There are countless examples of that "one thing" going viral and spreading like wildfire. You've got to be smart about what you post. Spamming has become such an issue that platforms like Facebook and Instagram have been improving safeguards in place to protect their subscribers. We have some of our own: Just as we filter on air content to appeal to the target listener, the same holds true for social media interaction.

9) What is the one truth that has held constant throughout your career?

The magnificent power of radio in times of crisis! When a disaster or an emergency strikes, people turn to radio. We saw it during hurricanes Katrina, Maria, Irma and Harvey; the recent California wildfires and the floods we experienced here in Utah in 2015; when the Northeast has been hit by blizzards and winter storms, and just about any other critical event you can think of. Radio is as strong a medium as ever, even up against other platforms. Salt Lake-Ogden-Provo was an over-saturated radio market long before the external competition came along. Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music and others don't stand a chance against the personal connection and companionship that radio provides. Proof of that is not just isolated to the airwaves. Case-in-point: We recently had a shooting here at one of the malls. Our local team sprang into action faster than the TV stations in town. This time was no exception and we saw evidence of it in digital metrics. Our numbers more than doubled in the month of January because of it. That is difficult if not impossible for those non-traditional competitors to duplicate.

10) Who would you say that your mentors have been?

Going back to the beginning, I was 10 years old when I got a tour of 98.5 KRZ in Wilkes-Barre from Jim Rising and Mark Sinclair. Mark was my idol. The biggest voice in the radio business! He went from the "air chair" to "hair chair." He now lives in Harrisburg, PA and does women's hair for a living! Mark was the one who inspired me to get into radio. It was cool becoming Facebook friends with him a few years ago. KRZ was always so larger than life to me. I loved listening to everyone on that station: Jumpin' Jeff Walker, Jerry Padden, Jay Daniels and Jefferson Ward, to name a few. It was ironic that years later in 1989, I got to work at the very station that gave me the radio itch. Ken 'Doc' Medek will always be one of the most influential people in my career. I made a demo tape in my bedroom and he gave me my shot. Then in 1995, I got a call back from Scott Shannon and Mike Preston who were consulting KC101 in New Haven at the time. I spent two-and-a-half years soaking up everything I could from two of the most amazing programmers ever. The real Jeff McCartney (as I call him), the ex-programmer who came into my life when I was at WKCI. Our connection inadvertently came through Scott Shannon, who had given Jeff his name in the mid-'70s and then gave it to me 20 years later. We've been a close friends ever since. Then there was having the opportunity to work with Guy Zapoleon before he just retired at the end of the year. I got a lot of quality time with him the past few years and he has taught me so much about the fundamentals of programming. Lastly, I couldn't leave out John Ivey. Professional growth is extremely important to me. I've been here 20+ years now. We've talked several times over the years about me moving up into a bigger market. I'm immobile for the moment due to family reasons, but I know when the time comes, I just have to say the word. In the meantime, he made me one of his Top 40 Brand Coordinators. So I get to play a bigger role in things while I am still anchored in here in Salt Lake City.

If someone were visiting Salt Lake City for the first time, what would you make sure that they saw?

Food is always at the top of my list! The Red Iguana! It is a world-famous stop featured on Guy Fieri's "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives." Market Street and The Oyster Bar will always be one of my favorites. They fly in their seafood daily and the steaks are to die for. You'd have to catch a Jazz game, of course. Some might be awestruck by the mighty LDS Temple. For me, it has always been about the mountains. Sure, you can do the Park City thing. But until you hike up one of the trails into our majestic Wasatch or Oquirrh mountains, you haven't experienced what is "God's country."