Cat Thomas discovered his love for radio at his high school station in Columbus, Ohio. After graduation, Cat began working at WFAL andWBGU while attending Bowling Green State University. After two years he transferred to The Ohio State University where he interned at WCOL–AM and worked by calling in morning traffic reports to the “O’Malley in the Morning Show” on WNCI/Columbus. After college, Cat decided to switch it up and became an Assistant Golf Pro in Orlando.
Cat still had the radio bug and accepted his first professional radio gig at Y106 (now XL 106.7) as the station mascot “Chuck the Duck.” Under the guidance of Gerry Cagle followed by Dennis Reese, Cat became Y106’s Promotions Director, Research Director and weekend air talent. After sending out sixty-four tapes and resumes across the country looking for a station desperate enough to hire him as a full time talent, Cat coerced then PD Jerry Dean into hiring him to do nights at KLUC/Las Vegas. He added MD stripes, and then soon moved to afternoon drive.
In December of 1996, KLUC promoted Cat to the Program Director position. He then worked his way to become the PD/OM for KLUC and KMXB (Mix 94.1) and then KMZQ (Lite 100.5) at CBS Las Vegas. Since Cat was not hired as the head football coach for either The Ohio State Buckeyes or the Cleveland Browns, he is still gainfully employed as the Program Director for his first love 98.5 KLUC as well as working on additional programming projects. His long tenure in the business recently earned him and the station industry honors as both were elected into the FMQB Hall of Fame while winning Career Achievement Awards in both the Program Director and secondary Rhythm station categories.
e-QB presents excerpts from the May FMQB magazine Rhythm Up Close with KLUC/Las Vegas PD Cat Thomas
On how tough is it to navigate the musical landscape nowadays so the station doesn’t become to Pop…It’s not tough at all. I never worry about playing too much Pop. I want to make sure we are able to follow the current music stream. Too many programmers worry about what they are giving up as opposed to what they are gaining. I have a saying, “Radio is easy, people just make it difficult!” You can never be afraid to take leaps to get to the right music for your station. In today’s age of digital access, programming is easier because you can get more interaction and get a quicker read on listener’s favorite songs.
On if there are there signs that the Rhythmic format is healthy again…I don’t think stations that are forced to live on Hip-Hop or Rhythm only are going to be healthy. The stations that got to the MASS APPEAL ground first, are the winners. The stations like KIIS, KDWB, KHTS, WPYO,KLUC, etc. that recognized playing the best Rhythm/Hip-Hop records with the best Pop records now own that territory, own that image, and are going to be very hard and expensive to move from that position. People have such a vast world of music thanks to the internet, so if you aren’t playing their favorite songs, you aren’t relevant. A year ago you would never have imagined KLUC playing aMiley Cyrus, Sara Bareilles, or a Jesse McCartney record, but we do! The key is to find your target demo and don’t be afraid to play the songs they want to hear, even if they seem a little bit out of the ordinary. Take a look at the Hip-Hop stations or Pop stations that are now trying to own or take over that spot against an established mass appeal station, they can’t. Do you know why? First in WINS!
On how has the station evolved on the technology front…We are not where we want to be as far as interactive, but we’re getting better. We utilize MySpace, Face Book, on-line contesting and our on-line databases. We have ZOO TUBE videos. We utilize live streaming as well as recorded videos and video emails to our databases. It’s always cool when you have your morning show doing a video email that drops in the listener’s inbox. We also are beginning to utilize text and online features and are working into station widgets, social networking, and better on-line interaction. We aren’t the best yet…I emphasize YET! But we are making strides fast.
On the biggest mistake programmers are making nowadays when it comes to reading their target audience…Discipline! You have to understand that we have more obstacles thrown in front of us than ever before: competitors, multiple levels of work, internet, streaming, contracts, financial, etc. Everyone can bitch about it, we all have, but at the end of the day when your check comes you accepted it, so deal with it. If the industry is too tough to bear, go do something else. I know many who have, I respect them for that. Is our operating world exactly how I would like it? No! Is it better than pouring cement or laying tile in 100 degree heat? Hell yes! You have to find a way to win despite everything thrown at you. Not having the discipline to accept when your audience hates things we do, will just lead you into a black hole of despair. They say that “criticism hurts most in proportion to the truth” so we have to understand how to make effective changes to our stations without getting our butt hurt. I would rather suck than be stuck in the middle. At least if we suck we know how to fix it. It’s when you are just doing OK, that it sticks in my butt! All programmers make mistakes but successful ones recognize them and correct them quicker.
On the positives of terrestrial radio…I’ve always said there are two types of people at a radio station; “people in radio” and “Radio People.” I think we’ve weeded out a ton of people in radio while losing a few Radio People. As radio begins its next growth spurt, we will be left with Radio People in radio. That is the biggest positive and as the GREAT Woody Hayes said “You Win With People!” When we play to win, there is nothing better. Once the paradigm shifts to winning first, (and it has to or everyone will be selling off stations to private owners) then collect the cash, you will find the bottom line for radio healthy again! We know how to win. I think we’ll begin to get some of the tools back so we can stop the hand to hand combat and start launching missiles again!
On the most welcome change under his CBS Radio head Dan Mason… Forward thinking! Planning for and executing our brands in a new digital age. The fact that he knows programming and the tools we need to win is a BIG comfort. It’s pretty simple, good people create a good culture that creates good radio stations.
On the one thing radio can do to ensure it remains the go-to medium of choice…Utilize our major advantage…NOW! We need to get back to immediacy. When something major happens that is important to our audience we need to be first on the trend. The day i-Phones came out we should be giving them away every hour. We do this well with music and concerts but stations that have to rely on only those items due to lack of budget will only be one dimensional.
We need to be able to tap into lifestyles as well. The continuing growth of our digital assets tells us we are no longer just a music/concert source…we are lifestyle aggregators. We need to tap into ALL ASPECTS of lifestyle infiltration. We have to touch people daily through social networks to events to trends to daily usage. We have the greatest direct source of listeners in the world and we have to continue to find ways to become a daily part of their lives. It’s easy to do. We know how to do it, now it’s a matter of having the tools to make us unbeatable. Like we tell our jocks: “They are listening…are you entertaining?”
** QB Content by Bob Burke **
