Kristin Cantrell has been in radio since
taking a part-time job at a station dur-
ing her college days. She moved quickly
into sales and management in her 20s
and was ready to buy stations at the ageof 30. She was on the fast track to radio
success. Perhaps a little too fast.
Cantrell bombed during her first go-
around as an owner. She’ll tell you herself
that she was in over her head, undercapi-
talized, and found out quickly she didn’t
know a lot about running radio stations.
Not only was she young, it was 2000, and
the worst terrorist event in our nation’s
history was about to make everything
worse. She needed to get out of owner-
ship and regroup, and that’s what she did.
Cantrell knew she wanted to be in
radio; there was no question about that.
She reached out to her mentors and
asked for help. She wanted to learn what
she didn’t know and get back in the game.
What she wasn’t going to do was work
for her dad, the legendary Kerby Confer,
who had a strict no-nepotism policy. She
needed to go back to paying her dues and
work her way back into ownership. So she
took a job as a regional/national general
sales manager and director of training,
and then ran stations in Steubenville,
Ohio, for five years.
Due to her perseverance and love for
the business, Cantrell learned what she
needed to know and geared up for a sec-ond stab at ownership. When the chance
to buy stations in Frankfort, Kentucky,
came along, she was ready.
Cantrell overcame that original bump
in the road, stayed in the game, worked
hard, picked up the knowledge she
needed, and never quit. Today she’s a
smashing success.As CEO of Seven Mountains Media and
CapCity Communications, Kristin Cantrell
is now responsible for 25 stations (47 fre-
quencies in all, with simulcasts and
translators), and all the employees,
responsibilities, and FCC rules that come
along with that. Additionally, earlier this
year the company made a deal to pur-
chase seven stations in New York state
from Community Broadcasters. The com-
pany also recently hired former WBEB/
Philadelphia President Jim Loftus, who
was recruited to serve as COO.