WTMJ Is Brewing Success In Milwaukee

March 6, 2015
WTMJ Is Brewing Success In Milwaukee
Regular readers of NTS MediaOnline
Monthly know that we frequently like to use
this space as a platform to let you hear from
some of the industry’s best -- in their own
words. To that end, this month we check in
with Tom Langmyer, VP/GM for Journal/
Milwaukee, including News/Talker WTMJ.
He also works with the company’s other News/
Talk/Sports stations, as well with the news
product on Journal music stations. Since his
arrival in Milwaukee, WTMJ has seen a steady
TOM LANGMYER
upward growth in ratings, garnering a #1 (6+)
finish in the recent January Nielsen trends. We caught up with Tom to talk
about his career, the evolution of WTMJ and the three things he’d advise
if he could give an ‘executive order’ to all broadcasters.
Give us a quick rundown on your career to date.
I started in my hometown of Buffalo at WBEN and WGR and their FM
music stations during high school and through college. Later, I served
as OM for WSYR and Y94FM in Syracuse, followed by long runs in St.
Louis and Chicago, eventually as VP/GM of KMOX for CBS and then
with Tribune as VP/GM of WGN Radio. Over the years, I also got to work
with WNEW-AM/New York, KDKA/Pittsburgh, WCCO/Minneapolis
and others in various ways.
While much of your career and consulting has involved various music
formats, you’re best known for working with News and Talk stations
that some would call “heritage” outlets. What have you learned that
makes them different from other radio stations? And what is the big
attraction you seem to have had for them?
These stations are similar in some key ways, but they’re really not the
same. “Legendary” stations that stand the test of time have done two
things well. First, they’ve stayed true to reflecting the essence of their
markets and what’s expected of them. They actually sound like their
markets. Second, they reinvent themselves constantly, being relevant to
younger people who are growing into a need for what they do - constantly
evolving. It’s about content and it’s also about serving up content the way
today’s information seeker uses multiple platforms.
As far as the attraction of these kinds of stations? They really can’t be
pigeonholed as just “stations” or “brands.” They have a deeper purpose
and personal connection in their markets. They are important and make
a real difference on a local level, and frankly -- often on a national
level. But in the end, they’re truly local and they have unique meaning.
They’re also often the top revenue producers in their markets, when the
conventional transactional sales wisdom would say they shouldn’t be.
They produce incredible results for their advertisers, with trusted and
credible people – friends.
After eight years as GM in Chicago at WGN, you arrived at Journal in
2013, first as VP/News and Talk, then quickly returning to the VP/GM
chair in Milwaukee. What did you learn from that transition and the
time focusing on programming?
In addition to primary responsibility of the overall business, it’s also always
been very important to me to be involved in sales and programming on a
closer level. So, having the opportunity to do that for Journal allowed me
to look at our stations in a way that most GMs never do. They often arrive
at a place, assume much of what’s already there and build on that. In my
case, it’s been like a car-lover who had the chance to open the hood and
rebuild an engine from the ground up, working with every single piece so
it will run much better and faster -- before driving it.
Talk about some of the moves that have been made to re-focus and retool the station in the past year or so.
It was important to return WTMJ to its rightful place as the top News
and Talk station in the market. This involved broadening talk content
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March 6, 2015
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beyond mostly politics and shifting news away from the city police and
crime blotter to focus more on important and interesting stories and
allowing WTMJ to show its heart. It involved returning several hours
from syndication to local programming and making the station sound
more welcoming and more like Wisconsin. Wisconsinites are some of
the warmest and friendliest people and we wanted to match that. Of
course, don’t ever confuse that “friendliness and warmth” with not being
compelling and relevant! That’s a critical distinction. Our hosts and shows
are more relevant than ever because they’re about Wisconsin and because
they better match the communication style of people today.
Talk about some of the signs of ratings success you’ve seen so far at
WTMJ.
WTMJ is much more than a ratings commodity, but it’s still important
to note the station’s been trending upward for months. The Green Bay
Packers and Milwaukee Brewers are very important to our listeners
and to us, but the recent growth has come from the local News/Talk
programming we produce every day. The most recent (January) trends
have WTMJ in the number one spot 6+ and WTMJ is now tied for 2nd
25-54 (M-S 6a-12m) after moving up from 11th place over the past year
or so. WTMJ’s Morning News with Gene Mueller was re-tooled from a
structural and content standpoint. Charlie Sykes continues to be one of the
most important and influential voices in the state. Jeff Wagner’s broader
topics and unique approach have brought in younger listeners and more
women are now listening. He has some #1 25-54 wins under his belt. John
Mercure’s afternoon news program has surpassed the perennial market
talk leader. The other programming has been adjusted in ways to support
the overall mission and is growing too.
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How has development of digital strategies been included in the evolution
of WTMJ?
Digital is critical to the evolution and success of WTMJ, specifically
mobile. Mobile is today’s transistor radio. News and talk stations must
live in that space. There’s huge potential to provide a more unique, useful
and important content experience through digital. The team at WTMJ has
built RightWisconsin (powered by talk show host, Charlie Sykes), WI
Sports.com, RadioLeague and Preps Plus (for high school play-by-play
sports). More voices, more hyper-local choices. We support NextRadio
and know that our AM’s will fight for their place in the mobile space as
well in other ways.
How do we as an industry, build the next generation of spoken word
formats and stations for the next generation of listeners (those now in
the 30-45 range)? What should we do now if we want Talk radio to
appeal to Gen Xers and Millennials?
FEATURED PHOTO OF THE MONTH
Tell us about some of the other players who have been involved in
writing the latest chapter in the history of a storied radio station.
Our leadership team is strong. Tom Sheridan, WTMJ’s longtime sales
manager, is now our DOS. He truly understands the difference between
transactional and News/Talk selling. We also have a solid GSM in Jason
Bjorson. They lead a team that keeps WTMJ in a position to be better
resourced. J. Pat Miller is our Director of Marketing & Innovation, who
builds remarkable station initiatives, advertising solutions and programs.
On the corporate side, Michael Gay worked with us and led in the
creation and development of some groundbreaking digital products. Eric
Brooks is our Assistant PD and Eric Bilstad is our Executive Producer/
News. They’re our day-to-day product leaders. Carl Moll runs our sports
networks, with talent and teams that are the envy of major markets. I work
for [Journal EVP Radio] Steve Wexler, who understands how stations
work differently in their respective markets, and he allows me to run the
stations.
Pictured at a press conference during the recent NRB convention in
Nashville are (L-R); Newly named Salem Radio Network talk host Eric
Metaxis, Salem President of Broadcast Media David Santrella and Phil
Boyce, SVP for SRN and Salem’s spoken-word formats.
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(continued from pg. 2)
We need to hire Millennials, train them and grow them. But most
importantly, we need to listen to them and understand them. What are
their sensibilities? What interests them? How do they talk to each other
versus how many radio hosts talk to their grandparents? How do they get
their information? Where do we need to go to be where they live? How
can we use real human connection to supplement their relationship with
a 3 ½ inch screen? Millennials were raised on technology, video games,
YouTube, mobile devices and video clips. Their brains are literally wired
differently because of that. They don’t have time, nor do they care to
listen to long, rambling talk about health care policy. They’re often
misunderstood, but they’re smart, well-educated and not defined by the
same standards that defined success for their predecessors. They’re our
future.
In the past couple of years there have been several pretty high profile
News and Talk start-ups that failed. Why?
Companies look at the vast amount of revenue that’s available in News
and Talk. They make the heavy investments needed to build the product
for an all-news or News/Talk station in a market. But that one station
is usually part of a larger cluster of music stations -- often great music
stations, which are already highly rated and already producing solid
earnings. So, the new News or Talk station ends up being led, managed
and sold by a music-oriented radio team that’s already in place. The new
News or Talk station tries to compete on cost-per-point business, on less
direct business than it should, and for transactional and agency dollars.
It’s often sold in combo, or requires special packaging areas that put
unwanted drag on one of the music stations, all to justify its existence.
There are usually no dedicated News or News/Talk sellers in the building,
which is a huge mistake. Often, the sellers don’t like or even listen to the
station. Effort required for results is too high. The revenue is low, costs
are high and earnings just aren’t there. So within a year or two, the staff
is fired and the frequency lives on as a jukebox.
Surely, it takes strong investment to build all-News and Talk stations,
but sales strategy and the right people to manage and sell it are often
the major overlooked pieces to building a successful operation. This is
a business. It’s not just about product and sound, it’s about sales. The
best News or Talk stations are also sales machines. Owners need to know
these stations can generate lots of revenue, and so does Wall Street. Make
no mistake: Right now, broadcast revenue is the thing that actually funds
our digital products and their development. All shell games aside, the
industry needs strong stations and the cash flow they bring to build our
digital future.
You’ve worked inside and outside of several large and small radio
companies and, as a consultant, been exposed to many others. If
you could issue an imaginary “executive order” requiring all radio
broadcasters to do just three things, what would they be?
• Be interested in your listener/user first. They know much better about
what they want than we do.
• Don’t be afraid of what you might learn from your listener/user.
Embrace what you learn then strategize and innovate based on what
you’ve learned.
• Invest personal time in training and mentoring new people with potential,
intelligence and ideas. It’s harder work, but it drives measurable earnings
results for your stakeholders. It also builds our future.
You can reach Tom Langymyer via email HERE.
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