It was a year ago that Leo Baldwin arrived in Indianapolis to oversee programming at two key Radio One stations, WNOU (RadioNOW 100.9) and WHHH (Hot 96.3). Baldwin brings both programming experience and a fresh perspective that have both stations sounding better than ever. He understands the wants and needs of the Indy radio audience. Now with the right team in place, the stations are sure to remain as the market’s leading choice when it comes to music and entertainment!
Leo Baldwin has quietly become one of radio’s next great programmers. In a business that at times is desperate to find fresh programming talent with innovative ideas, Baldwin has taken control of two important Radio One stations in Indianapolis where he oversees programming at both Mainstream Top 40 WNOU (RadioNOW 100.9) and long time Rhythm/Crossover WHHH (Hot 96.3). Both stations sound more focused than ever and are a force in the Indy market. Leo has been battle tested having programmed through some pretty aggressive radio wars including his last stop at WRDW (Wired 96.5)/Philly. He helped re-brand Wired as key competitor in the Philly market, a long ways away from his days as Director of Programming in Honolulu where he oversaw many stations including KDDB and KQMQ. Nowadays, Leo couldn’t be happier working in tandem with SVP/Programming Jay Stevens to help keep Radio One a major player in one of its most important radio markets.
You’re celebrating a year overseeing two of Radio-One’s coveted properties in Indy. What’s been the most challenging part of the job since your arrival in the market?
There had been some recent turnover at the stations and WHHH was without a PD for several months. The first few months I spent getting both stations back in order all while hiring a MD/Afternoon person for WNOU and a APD/Midday person for WHHH. And oh yeah, this little event called The Super Bowl was coming to town. To be honest it was a blur for the first six months, but the staffs came together and we have been able to create a synergy in these hallways that hadn’t been here before.
You’ve made some personnel changes over the last year and now have a great team in place. How important is having a solid support staff to help you meet the expectations of both ratings and revenue?
The people you have around you are extremely important. I knew when I walked in the building that a strong team was already in place, but there were a few spots we needed to shore up. With the additions of Stick and Crash on WNOU and Quay on WHHH I feel like we addressed those.
You helped build quite a brand in Philly. How critical is branding and making sure the staff really buys into the goals you want to achieve?
A lot of people took to the notion that with PPM, branding was no longer important. That people were either listening or not and that PPM would measure that. Listeners still need to know what the station stands for, what to expect from it and what drives it. That’s the part that makes your station sticky to the listeners and makes them loyal.
How vital has the digital space become in helping with brand extension and generating revenue?
I’ve always called it the fifth daypart. The website is where listeners can and should go to get all the content that we can’t fit on the air. The web and all the social media outlets are also a great place for our personalities to continue to show the listeners who they are and what their personalities are all about. Revenue wise, this has opened up an entire new stream for all radio companies to be profitable on. Almost every proposal now has a digital aspect attached to it whereas that was something we use to give away, clients know the importance of it and are now willing to pay for it.
Top 40 has been in a pretty healthy music cycle for an extended period of time. What’s your read on the format’s outlook going forward and how have you navigated the Pop/Dance cycle on records that typically don’t test in Indy?
I feel like Top 40 is strong and will continue to be so. The Pop/Dance cycle will eventually slow down. In Indy we really go on a song by song basis. We’ve had great success with several of these titles and others have just not hit here. We take that cue from our listeners; they let us know pretty quickly which tracks they are or are not into.
Triple H is a heritage “Rhythm/Crossover” station that’s always been a key player in the format. What challenges do you see in navigating a “Rhythmic/Hip-Hop” format in a pretty pop oriented world?
WHHH has had a great year. The audience for this format may be smaller in Indy but they are passionate and very loyal to this radio station. Having personalities on the air like Jay Rio (8 years) andDJ Wreck 1 (10 years) creates a very familiar base for our listeners, they feel like these guys are part of their family. I heard a listener the other day that came in to pick up a prize say, “I grew up on Wreck 1.” That means something to the listeners.
Do we as a medium over utilize research or is it that necessary in today’s business world?
Research is a great tool and we are lucky to still have it. That being said, it should be one of the many things you look at when making decisions. I never allow myself to get paralyzed by the information (paralysis by analysis) and I always at the end of the day listen to my gut. I would tell other program directors to pay attention to what’s happening around you. If a record rep brought any of us “Gangnam Style” and played it for us in the office we would laugh them back to their rent-a-car. But once that video hit and it became a movement overnight, you have to be ready to jump on those and ride the wave. If you’re waiting to put that in callout to see how it tests, you’ve missed it.
What is it like working with Jay Stevens and the Radio One family and what makes them different than other radio companies you’ve been a part of?
Where do I begin? The biggest complement you can give to someone in radio is “they get it” and Jay Stevens definitely does. He is a radio guy and the passion he has for this business rubs off on everyone in this company. Radio One doesn’t just invest in their stations, they invest in their people. The tools Radio One gives all of us put this company and their stations in great opportunities to succeed. The General Manager here, Chuck Williams, offers incredible support to the staff and through his leadership great things are on the horizon for us.
PPM has changed the radio landscape in many markets. What’s the biggest challenge for radio moving forward in this digital measurement landscape?
The greatest challenge is sample size. I truly believe PPM is a better measurement than Diary, but with any product there is always room to improve. I believe Arbitron works very hard on continuing to make this measurement as accurate as possible.
What should up and coming talent who want to elevate their careers to the next level know to better prepare themselves for that next step?
Getting back to PPM, I think a lot of people over corrected and the “personalities” suffered. The point of PPM was not to make people stop talking it was to make them START talking about things the listeners care about. My advice to the up and comers is, dive into your market, find out what people are interested in, be where they are, be about what they are about and live it with them.
What one area do you think radio is really missing the big picture on and could better improve itself in terms of helping the medium to reach more people?
I know digital is important, but I think there is a fine line between offering people a place to get more from your product and sending them away completely. If the message continues to be “go there for this, we don’t have it here, it’s someplace else” pretty soon listeners might start to agree with us. We need to continue to prove to our listeners, who are in actuality our customers, that the product they want and love is us.
What would you say to people who continually say the “radio isn’t important as it once was” or “radio is dead?”
The rumors of our demise have been greatly exaggerated!
[eQB Content By Bob Burke]
