11-5-13
Entercom's Weezie Kramer is one of the most successful women in the radio industry today. In March, Entercom created a new position specifically for Kramer, station group president. She now oversees the operations of all 121 Entercom stations and reports directly to president and CEO David Field. In July she was named the 19th Most Powerful person in radio by Radio Ink. And, in September she was awarded the 5th annual MIW Frances Preston Trailblazer award by the MIW Radio Group. Kramer was the first woman to chair the RAB board, and currently serves on the RAB?s Executive Committee. RAB President and CEO Erica Farber says, ?Weezie is an exceptional leader and manager ? striving for excellence in everything she does, motivating and leading the Entercom team, and above all, she is always curious about our business and how to innovate and help it grow. She knows this business from the ground up and personifies the definition of a great broadcaster. The RAB is very lucky to have her guidance as an Executive Committee member and past chair.?
Kramer is on the cover of the current issue of Radio Ink magazine where she discusses her love for the radio business, her rise to the top and how she single handedly started a girls golf team at her high school in Kentucky (Kramer's friends say she is a scratch golfer today). Here is an excerpt from our cover story interview with Weezie Kramer.
Weezie Kramer has been with Entercom since 2000, after spending 15 years with CBS in Chicago. Dick Rakovan hired Kramer at WFYR-FM. ?She was the most gifted sales manager I had ever worked with,? he says. ?I had no doubt she?d become the radio executive she is today. One of her first moves was to hire Sheila Kirby, to whom Weezie passed on many of her skills.? Kirby, who is now the senior vice president for sales development at CBS Radio, agrees with Rakovan?s assessment, calling Kramer a trailblazer. Says Kirby, ?She possesses the unique ability to anticipate, understand, and execute against what is coming next. Throughout her career she has led with incredible intelligence and humor while never asking anyone to do anything she?s not willing to do herself.?
What?s your philosophy on how to treat people?
I treat people with respect, even when something is going down that?s not so great. I think they end up saying,
?That?s good.? They may not like what I do or what I say, but they know it?s real. I think that?s probably where I connect with people. I also tend to manage more with humor. I think people like that. People need to laugh a little bit. This is supposed to be fun. I see more people with a downer look.
I feel that a big part of my job is to bring energy into the room. I may not be the youngest person in the room anymore, but I will tell you, I?ve got a ton of energy. I believe you can energize a team when they feel a part of it, and they feel that leadership is transparent and they know what?s going on. If we can make their jobs feel a little more rewarding and we can do a better job showing them why radio has a great future, guess what, we can have fun at our jobs. It?s OK to laugh. It?s OK to have a good time. I don?t know that I will have a problem making tough decisions, because I?ve made so many tough decisions in the last few years. Some of make them make you sick to your stomach, but ultimately, they are for the greater good. I hope that when we make those decisions, they are made with integrity and honesty, and you treat people the way you want to be treated.
What are your expectations from the people that you manage?
I want people to give it their best every day. I want them to stretch in what they do. For the managers, there are two things that I want them hyper-focused on: revenue, and what they can personally do to drive it, working through their teams, and culture, making sure the people in their organizations feel valued, that their opinion matters, that they are making a difference, that they have the tools and materials to do the job, and that they are part of something that is bigger. If we can do those two things, I think we will be great.
What frustrates you the most about the radio industry?
I think probably the same thing that frustrates everyone else. We are our own worst enemy. We attack each other, slugging around for a small slice of the pie. If we could work more as one and speak with one voice, and focus our energy on growing the 93 percent of the revenue we don?t touch, we would be better off. Easier said than done. We are a zillion different owners and a bunch of franchisees. That makes it hard. I do think that we have gotten better. We still care more about beating the guy across the street than taking a piece from some other section of the ad space.
We hear from your friends you are a scratch golfer.
A lot of people know I play golf. People think I am a far better golfer than I am. I have a low handicap that I can?t play to, because I am a weekend golfer. If I didn?t work, I could play golf every day. I am like one of these weird people that could go to a practice range for four hours and feel like it was four minutes. I just don?t ever get to do it.
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To congratulate Kramer on her tremendous success in radio, ping her at WKramer@entercom.com
(11/5/2013 3:00:39 PM)
"Patent Infringement Suit Filed Over HD Radio"
"A Delaware company has sued a large number of radio broadcast groups alleging patent infringement for using its technology for their HD Radio broadcasts."
http://www.radioworld.com/article/patent-infringement-suit-filed-over-hd-radio/222177
Let's make it a good one!
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