A Stellar 40 Year Career

Barb Richards started in radio right out of high school in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Five months later she was on the same path most jocks take when they want to advance in radio - she moved to a larger market looking for fame and riches. She spent the next 8 years of her life moving from bigger market to bigger market, winding up in Cleveland in 1983. When the station changed format in 1984 she was fired. To add a little stress on to that, she was 7 months pregnant. Richards and her husband decided to move back to Fort Wayne, have the baby and plot out their next move. That's when she heard from WFWQ, better known as MAJIC, back in Fort Wayne. When her son was only 7 weeks old, she was back in radio working at her hometown station. After nearly 30 years with the station, most of them as PD, Richards announced this month she was retiring from radio. We spoke to Richards this week about her career, how programming has evolved and being a big fish in a small pond.

You've been with the same station for three decades. Why?  
Richards:Fort Wayne was home for me so that was part of it.  But the main reason was that Sarkes Tarzian is a great company full of great people. I learned so much, I moved up from nights, to morning drive and music director. I did promotions for many years, and then became PD. The company allowed me to grow, gave me consistent opportunity and education,d so there was no reason to leave.  I had the best deal on the planet. I was able to do so much through those years. I always used to say I was running a major market radio station, it was just in a small market! I would have put our air staff and promotions up against anyone and I know we would have won.  Yes, we were that good! 

Why did you decide to stay in a small market your entire career?
Richards: Because I like being a big fish in a small pond!  I had done a large market (Cleveland) and was pretty invisible. I came to Fort Wayne and immediately became a star! I could make an impact here with what I was doing on the radio and in the community.   You can really leave a legacy in a small market and that became important to me.
Why are you retiring from Radio?   
Richards: Mostly because I was bored.  Radio doesn't do the things like we did before---we don't have a guy on the street in the morning show, we don't do major promotions anymore because of lack of staff, and the loneliest place in the station is the on-air studio!  The focus is on what we need to do to get the buy and while I understand that and did it successfully for many years, I still wanted to continue to impact my community.  I was not going to move from this market, my husband has a great job and two out of three of my kids are here,.  I could not go work for another radio company because of my contract and due to the fact that I really didn't want to work for anyone else in the market. I was too well branded with Majic.  I have been very high profile here in the community and had been on the lookout for something I could do full time that would hit my hot buttons.  This job was it---still could deal with music, concerts, artists plus market a beautiful facility.
How has being a PD evolved over the years? 
Richards: Well this is a tough question because I think every radio station or group handles their PD position differently.  We are a small company so I could make a lot of decisions and had a lot of flexibility   Bigger companies dictate more with group contesting, imaging, music selection, etc. Through my tenure. I got to program just ONE station! I never could figure out how some PD's can program 3, 4 or even more at a time! That to me is the biggest change for PD's. You are responsible for a chain!
What are you most proud of from the time you've put in at the station?
Richards: Most proud of the mile long prayer chain we delivered to Columbine one week after their tragedy. We started the morning after the shootings inviting people to write on a slip of construction paper a prayer, a note, whatever and  we connected as a huge paper chain.  By the end of the first day, you couldn't get into my office because so many people had dropped off chains.  We had to get a private jet to fly us out there.  And when we hung that chain from tree to tree, we held hands with the families of victims and prayed.  A moment I will never forget.   A part of the chain is in the Columbine Museum.  I've helped to raise over $1.2 million dollars for our Children's Hospital through our radiothon.  I won the Bob Lind Award from the Children's Miracle Network for my dedication to the Children's Miracle Network and John Scheider presented to me. That meant a LOT. Being consistently in the top 3 ratings and billing in the market for most of my tenure at the station! Giving away bigger then life prizes, like 25 cruises for two where we actually shut down the phone system in the city due to the volume of calls.  Creating a series of 6 CD's with Sweetwater Sound here in Fort Wayne where there was no cost to us and 100% of the sales were donated to charity.   And working a gazillion hours for years and still raising three wonderful, productive, NORMAL children who have grown into wonderful adults. And oh yeah, I got to meet and hang with JON BON JOVI! 

What advice do you have for others thinking about getting into radio and becoming a PD? 
Richards: It's a very difficult road to get into radio, much like it was when I first started out and had stations that did not want to hire a woman! You will get rejected a lot. But if you have the talent, stick with it until you find someone that hears that talent. Try to find a mentor in the business. Be ready to work long hours that will never seem long because you love it so much If you want to become a PD, observe all you can from others, go to every learning convention you can go to. Take some leadership classes. A lot of PD's are good on air and know programming but they are not a leader. A PD should be a leader for their air staff and for the community. 

What will you be doing?
Richards: I am the Marketing Director of the historical Embassy Theatre, built in 1928.  It's on the National Register of Historical Buildings.It's beautiful. We are a 2500 seat venue.We book concerts such as Alice Cooper  who was here last week and next week we have Steely Dan.We host the Broadway Series, and originate some programming ourselves as fundraisers. Plus the venue is very busy with weddings and receptions in the lobby and the attached hotel that was built at the same time as the theatre. We just announced a $10M Capital renovation campaign to expand. I've been there about a month now and it's pretty cool.

Barb has also been writing a monthly column on consultant Doug Erickson's site ericksonmedia.com about her transition out of radio and into another career at this stage of life. Seems to have hit a lot of people's hot buttons from the first article http://www.ericksonmedia.com/blog/radio/1243-starting-over.html so she decided to keep updating. She says, "It's hard to start something brand new and take a leap of faith and I think a lot of people are facing that right now. Its been interesting to see people's responses."

Reach out to Bard to congratulate her on her 30 plus years of service to the Fort Wayne community and to barbrichardsfortwayne@gmail.com

(7/26/2013 6:28:23 AM)
Awesomesauce!!!

You GO girl!!!

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A Stellar 35 Year Career

As we reported yesterday Maureen Lesourd was let go from her most recent job in the radio industry. For Lesourd it's been a 35 year run and she does not plan to call it quits now. Her career began in the traffic department of WJLK AM and FM, an accidental job, when the position she applied for with the Asbury Park Press was already filled. Lesourd learned how to write commercials and read meters at her new job and that was followed by her getting a position at WHN in New York City. Last night we caught up with Lesourd and peppered her about her three-and-half decades working in an industry she says she still loves.

You say you love this industry. The changes going on do not bother you?
Well on the positive side, I'm a great believer that there really is no growth without change or some risk. I've always embraced the willingness to reach outside of my comfort zone to learn new things and grasp new innovations that are impactful to the business. What is concerning are the recent dramatic cut backs industry wide. I do contend that maximizing talent and positions is wise consolidation, but I wonder what the long term effect will be on our products and customer service if we overload our people with more work than can be handled with due diligence. Ah yes, the challenges of every manager today is to work through that, find new ways to measure and keep people motivated in the process.
What would you consider some of your biggest successes?
I'm proud of the many great stations and business units I've managed and honestly, what has made them successes are the people. I love building teams and driving business. Many come to mind, but WRQX in Washington, DC was especially rewarding because it was my first GM job. When I got there it was a struggling CHR with low ratings and margins. I built a great team with Jim Robinson as our GSM and Lorrin Palagi as PD. Research supported a couple of format opportunities. HAC was fairly new at the time, but we really believed it had greater growth potential than the format corporate had signed off on. I recall aggressively petitioning corporate and they supported us...although I knew Norm Schrutt would have creamed me if we were wrong!...so we flipped to HAC as Mix 107.3, hired Jack Diamond and Bert and grew it into a monster station in the market and highly profitable for the company.

WYCD in Detroit is another. We shared similar ratings with our competitor at the time, but only one Country station got the buy, so I decide the only way to beat them was on the street. It was my hope they'd flip the format if the revenue wasn't there; so I hired Deb Kenyon as GSM and we built a great sales force. A year later, they changed format. Then when I became Market Manager for the cluster, I made Deb DOS where we grew the revenues to be the #1 cluster in the market. WQCD in NY was another. We woke up the market from a sleepy market competitor as a niche Jazz station to a mainstream Smooth Jazz by tweaking the format and executing a strong marketing plan led by Russ King.. We took a share out of the AC and bite out of market revenues. KRTH in LA is another great story...it's all about Jhani Kaye. 

What was the pressure like working in some of the big markets in America?
There must be something in my DNA that helps me manage pressure. I balance my business and personal life which may be a large part. That said, the top line success in a big market is always a focus for broadcast companies. It can make or break a year depending upon it's value to the company portfolio. A costly mistake or a revenue blip can have disastrous impact overall, so it's critical to embrace new revenue streams and audience building initiatives and technologies, plan strategically and be disciplined regarding expenses.
What is it like to be under a microscope on nearly a daily basis?
For some people accountability may be considered a daily microscope, but if a company is highly leveraged, the price to pay is greater scrutiny from above. I set a high bar for performance and hold people accountable. I've also learned from some very good supervisors along the way who have held me accountable how and what to anticipate. Plus I work to have a good relationship with them and an open dialogue,which typically fosters an understanding of how to best work with them. That's not to say I haven't had a bad year; I have, but I think healthy communication and mutual respect can make the phone calls less intense. The more leveraged a company is of course, the price to pay is greater scrutiny from above and of course, we've seen more of that in recent years. I don't think I've ever been under a daily microscope, but I know me and I know that's not a culture I would enjoy.
 
What is your fondest memory in radio?
Oh gosh, there have been a few that bring a smile to my face, but I'd have to say it was landing my first sales job at WPLJ in NY. I wanted to stand out from the crowd, so I drew a picture of me and wrote a poem as one of many many follow-up letters to Marc Morgan, the GSM. I interviewed there several times because he never hired anyone without radio sales experience. The poem did it and I got the job.
What would you like to do next and where would you like to do it?
Identifying, coaching and leading talented people is my strength, so I'll always naturally gravitate to leadership positions. As has been my passion, I want to be more than an employee, but be an active participant in the growth and new initiatives of a business.
Name 3 people in the radio industry you most admire and why?
I've never actually met him, but I've known of his career since his PD role at WNBC a number of years ago, but I'd have to say Bob Pittman is one. I attended his session at the NAB this year and was completely inspired by his knowledge, enthusiasm for diving into new technologies and growth areas for his company and most of all for his "all industry", not just for Clear Channel, commitment to foster positive change. I'd like to meet him. 

I admire and appreciate people who have ventured out of the traditional radio environment of working for companies to embark upon new businesses that are brand extensions of radio. Women like Tracy Gilliam, President of Topline Matters was my GSM at KRTH who started a busy company serving stations sales research and marketing needs and Mary Beth Garber. I was in LA when Mary Beth was selected to lead SCBA; well she did more than that, she revived it and built it into a most notable organization.

Also in this category is Daniel Anstandig, President of Listener Driven Radio and my former client at the Network. He's under 30 and is the creator of a terrific crowdcasting platform for radio stations to activate their listeners on-line and on-air participation through social networking.

Finally, I know they are no longer in radio, but they will always have my sincerest admiration....Tom Murphy and Dan Burke, formerly the Chairman and COO, respectively, of Cap Cities/ABC. Two incredibly fine men and and great leaders.

Reach out to Maureen at Maureen Lesourd mo_lesourd@yahoo.com

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