10 Questions with ... Cisqo

NAME:Cisqo POSITION:PD/afternoons STATION:WJJS MARKET:Roanoke/Lynchburg, VA COMPANY:Clear Channel BORN:Harrisburg, PA RAISED:Harrisburg, PA

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

WWKL/Harrisburg, PA 95-96
WRBT/Harrisburg, PA 96-97
WYCR/York, PA 98-01
WXLK/Roanoke, VA 01-02
WJJS/Roanoke, VA 02-present

1. Where's the industry at now?

In my opinion, our industry needs to have a real conversation with itself. It seems that there are two realities within our business right now, one very public, the other very private. If you were to put a group of passionate programming people in a room, regardless of title, format, market size or company, and let them talk open and honestly, I think you would hear guarded optimism coupled with some very real concerns. There's a paranoia that does not allow for that discussion right now.

2. What's your take on the current state of on-air talent?

There are very talented and creative people still out there. I wish we had a better farm system in place to grow the young women and men who have shown interest in our industry. Fewer and fewer live air shifts, for starter talents, makes it tough to grow. Regardless, it's our challenge to seek out talent, get it on-air and make it happen.

3. Who's doing it right at the moment?

I think Clear Channel/Washington D.C. has done a great job integrating what happens on-air with great talent over into the Online world.

4. Has consolidation helped Radio?

I doubt you could find many folks who would say that consolidation has helped make our business stronger. Competing cluster against cluster instead of station against station has definitely hurt our competitive mojo. However, I doubt we would've seen the advances Online or with the HD rollout, as quickly, without it. Also, working for a company like Clear Channel with all of its resources and opportunities to network, with the best in the biz, is a very real benefit.

5. What do you think of HD and other delivery platforms?

Embracing emerging technologies and finding ways to have them work for our business is going to be crucial. But if there's not an equal investment in the people who will create the content that will fuel these technologies, what we'll have, especially with HD, is crystal clear ick.

6. What influences "adding" a record?

Does radio really "break" new music any longer? Maybe, but definitely not like it used to. The moment I get a new song sent to me, there's a good chance some kid down the street already has it. Various charts, sales figures and research are all great tools, but if you really listen and pay attention, audiences, especially kids, will still tell you what they want from your station musically.

7. How's life in an Arbitron world?

On one hand, there are growing "concerns" with how we measure our audiences with Arbitron. On the other hand, that same company still dictates our livelihoods, to a degree....weird. It's an interesting situation when we question the validity of "the numbers" and then turn around and justify decision making with those same numbers.

8. Going forward, what can Radio do better?

I really do believe our business needs to buckle down and invest in its people and talent. As an industry, we can't continue to cut and wonder why we can't grow. That may be naive with the current state of our business but if you show me a station today that's still excelling, I promise, you'll find, first and foremost, an investment in many talented people.

9. How important is your team?

I still believe this remains, fundamentally, a people driven business. Quality people with solid work ethic and great attitude can make all the difference. Flying towards 2009 and beyond there's no doubt that we can address all the challenges that face our business. Our first line of offense will be how we build our teams with great people.

10. Tell me about your past and present team.

Over the past four years, I've been very fortunate to work with a great team. Rich Minor, Nicky and Diaz are not just good workers, but great people. That makes a huge difference each and every day. We've been fortunate to have very supportive management, including Bill Cahill, Chris Clendenen, Tex Meyer and now, despite the bowtie, Dave Carwile. It's a blessing to have management that trusts and has faith in your team.