Posted by here is the story sorry on May 04, 2010 at 19:10:59:
In Reply to: good read posted by sebastian's winning formula on May 04, 2010 at 19:10:16:
: http://www.laradio.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=125:sebastians-winning-formula&catid=2:los-angeles
(January 26 - 7:28 a.m.) John Sebastian, former program director for a number of LA radio stations over the years, was feeling the pressure of consolidations and his options shrinking. Enter Midwest Family Broadcasting. �They�ve been doing radio for like 50 years and they are one of the last companies that still operate the way we used to operate,� John said by phone yesterday from Madison, Wisconsin, where he is programming �The New Q� (WWQM). He arrived last year and within months he was beating the established Clear Channel Country station. How did he do it?
�I�ve been given complete freedom, resources, and marketing research, just like real radio,� John said. �And they pretty much have no debt service.�
Wherever John goes, he taps into a lightning rod to create early awareness and success. What is the formula? �I think it is the philosophy I�ve developed over the years, which basically comes down to questioning all the traditional thinking and acting like a contrarian thinker. Back when I was a program director at the age of 21 and asking, �Why do we do it this way and getting a response like, �We�ve always done it that way.� And those are the things I felt we could question. That�s kind of led me through my entire career and I oftentimes look at things with a slightly skewed vision of the situation. It really helps to set you apart and create uniqueness. In today�s radio there are very few stations that are unique, which helps me establish a presence right away.�
When John was flown into Madison for the interview, he told them that you could take Clear Channel�s Country station and their station and put them in Birmingham, Alabama and they would be just fine. �Neither was like the idiosyncrasy of Madison, Wisconsin, so I suggested we create a radio station that mirrors the progressiveness, openness, and inclusiveness of Madison, Wisconsin. Madison is about as different from Birmingham or Nashville as France is from the United States. That was the genesis of it and we started doing things that were right to create a Madison radio station.�
John concluded: �So many of the big companies are proud of the fact they create a McDonald�s-type franchise and they are all the same across America. I think that makes them extremely vulnerable to what we used to do � research in our own gut and knowledge. I think a lot of that has been lost in the consolidated world.�