Brian Check, National AC Executive Producer/Format Lead, iHeartMedia
February 10, 20203
by Fred Deane
Brian Check
Brian Check began his career in 1984 at WKRZ in Wilkes-Barre, PA, the heritage CHR which launched many successful programming careers. He had instantly shown his affection for a hybrid position as he served in both sales and on-air areas. It didn’t take long for him to leap to a major market as he next drove down the PA turnpike to Philly where he served a similar dual role at then Hot Hits 102.1 WCAU/FM. Next stop was WAEB Allentown first as Sales Manager, and eventually as Operations Manager in 1993.
In 2002, it was back to Philly (lovin’ that PA turnpike!) as PD (and eventual OM) of Clear Channel’s WSNI, the first Sunny station in the nation. In 2009, he remained based in Philly and was named RVP of Programming for eastern PA, and then was promoted to VP of Programming assuming the role that Thea Mitchum had vacated.
During the early stages of 2022, Brian was tasked with making the transition from local programming to national platforms, where he has expertly met the challenge.
Given the depth of your job scope, what are your core duties with the several markets you work with, and how extensive is your reach in each market?
I have two areas of focus in the National Programming Group. First, I’m Executive Producer for our Format Center AC stations, which are in some of our larger markets. That includes providing talent with daily AC-targeted prep and content.
Secondly, I’m the AC Format Lead for our Custom AC stations, working with AC Brand Manager Chris Conley in a variety of areas. So, I’m writing imaging, creating promotions and coaching talent, some of my favorite aspects of programming.
You have a deep-rooted background in local programming, how have you been handling the transition to the national format platform?
I have a different perspective on local versus national platform radio, which most companies have adopted these days to some degree. I’ve lived local radio for most of my career and didn’t necessarily understand how effective a collaborative national team approach could be. Now I‘m not only seeing it work, I’m also one of the practitioners behind the curtain making it work through maximizing a deeper, more meaningful set of resources than any one local station could ever afford or achieve.
How colossal of a task is it to diligently stay on top of so many markets in the localization process?
It’s a lot of moving parts, and it requires tight coordination of a huge team, all headed by Jon Zellner and Tommy Austin, who really continue to perfect the process. But my job is a creative one, so I still get to “play radio” every day, which isn’t work for me. I love it!
I have a hand in crafting how our talent, imaging and features stay on target with the AC audience filter and also how we are speaking to the local audience. It is a vast undertaking, with forty-six AC Custom stations. We still have strong, talented PDs in those markets, but many are handling multiple stations. So, I’m their eyes and ears, constantly monitoring, troubleshooting, sharing wins, giving them ideas and solutions. For example, I’m currently working on a local market’s radiothon for Ronald McDonald House. We have some great local talent to anchor it, but what we’re going to do on a national level will have more impactful results than any one station could produce.
As you help bridge the gap between local and national, are you discovering how much more receptive local communities have become?
When I started at my hometown station at 15 years old in Lewistown, PA, there were two stations in town. Think about the choices listeners in Lewistown have now, including thousands of options right on our own iHeartRadio app. They shop at Walmart, Lowe’s and on Amazon, but probably still go to some local shops where they know the owner.
So as a culture, we understand the advantages of a national brand and have shifted some of our shopping to online, but we still appreciate our friends at the store down the street. Sound familiar? If we’re able to provide the amazing depth of a national platform, reach listeners through both broadcast and digital, and still provide them with all of their local content, events and promotions, broadcast radio will remain strong and relevant.
In general, what concerns do you have about radio going forward?
We’ve seen a trend in many markets throughout the country where Gold-based formats have taken over, especially Classic Hits and Classic Rock. This isn’t slowing down in the post-pandemic world. Meanwhile, many current-based formats are struggling.
So what unique listener benefits can a CHR, Urban or Alternative station offer, whether they’re consuming us on a radio or on the app? Bob Pittman has said it many times, it’s companionship. It’s the one-on-one connection we make between the songs. They may love the music, but they still go to work and talk about what our morning team did that day. They had a crappy day at work, but we did a feel-good story on their way home that put them in a better mood. Engagement like that is one of the reasons I’m so proud to help guide the content on our national platform.
If any business is going to continue to grow and evolve, it needs to continually look outside ‘business as usual’ for fresh ideas that don’t follow the rules it has traditionally played by.
What are some essential areas radio must focus on in preserving and protecting its future?
Growing that level of companionship has to continue regardless of device or platform. Nurturing our relationship with listeners and having “larger than life” personalities that touch us, make us laugh, and make our day a little better is perhaps the most important thing we can do, and we need to make sure we make it really easy to consume.
As we create great content, we need to make sure the average listener can hear it when they want it, and how they want it. That’s a big part of the strength of iHeart’s multiple platforms.
Who was one of the most influential people in your career?
When I was Local Sales Manager at WAEB in Allentown, Jim Shea came to me and said, “Brian, you’re a programming guy. You’re not a sales manager, you’re my Ops Manager.” That was a hard one for me to swallow because when you’re the Local Sales Manager you think you’re doing a pretty good job. It took me a minute, but Jim was the one who steered me in the right direction in the long run. Programming is where my passion was at that time, and where it remains today.
