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That started a domino effect. WJUN
in Juniata County was next. The owner
agreed to what I was willing to pay, and
we did the deal.
When we were closing in Lewistown,
the First Media owner said, “You should
look at some of our other stations.” I said,
“These seven stations are flipping me
out.” He called me in six months, but I
had just bought WJUN.
In the summer of 2015 I was teaching
at the National Radio Talent Institute in
Pennsylvania, which is endowed by our
family trust because we (me and my dad)
believe strongly in the development of a
new generation of broadcasters. Dad goes
every year. He was sitting in the back
while I’m doing my shtick, which is fun.
I’m assigned to teach the first four
courses of the RAB Radio Marketing
Professional course, and the students
are there because they want to be sports
broadcasters or morning show talents in
Philly. So Dan Vallie tasked me to teach
a sales course to people who think there
is absolutely no reason they would ever
need it. It’s like trying to engage middle
schoolers, but I like a challenge. At the
end of the course, a few might be con-
verted.
Anyway, Dad was in the back and
started drawing circles on a map. He said,
“I do not know if these stations are for
sale in Selinsgrove and Bloomsburg, but
I know the history and previous owners,
and this is an incredible opportunity for
you if you can get them.” Two weeks later,
we bought them. We acquired that cluster
for a very attractive price.
Then Wellsboro happened. It was
owned by Cary Simpson, a legend in the
industry. We had bought WHUN from
Forever at some point in summer of 2015
or ’16. Cary originally put it on the air,
and he had been listening to what we
were doing. He called and said, “I have
stations in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, and
you are doing such cool things, why not
buy these?” We agreed on a price and
purchased WNBT.
Cary Simpson gave my dad his first
job at WMPT in Williamsport. It’s a small
world in radio, especially in Pennsylvania.
When Cary sold it, he was around 90
years old. It was neat to take a legacy
station and reinvigorate it. It had fallen
into disrepair. It was a sleeping giant. We
bought a new building and created a new
radio station not just on the air, but also
new transmitter, antenna, offices, etc. We
have had Bigfoot Country and WOGA in
Tioga on the air since June 2017, and that
cluster has tripled in billing. There is so
much opportunity.Radio Ink: What’s your plan of attack
once you get into a new station?
Cantrell: We create strong brands with
local content and programming. We
custom-program each station. As we were
doing all this, we were having tremendous
growth in the stations. The audiences
would take off. Our numbers showed we
knew how to do these turnarounds.
We thought, “Why don’t we sell these
services to businesses?” We know how to
build social media content and followings.
We know how to do logo development and
brand design, how to write radio copy. We
inherited a video department. We took on
digital and went all in. We vetted several
different companies, and the company we
partnered with is phenomenal.
When we now do an acquisition, we go
in and they say, “This is like a firehose.”
Even Jim Loftus, who ran WBEB, often
comments about how much we have
going on. And by the way, Jim Loftus is an
incredible gift for us. I still cannot believe
he is working for us. That blows my mind.Radio Ink: Give us your philosophy on
managing people.
Cantrell: I want people to work for me
even if I were not paying them, even
though we certainly believe in investing in
talent. You have to love what you do. This
is not a clock-watching job. It’s a 24/7,
you-are-all-in job.
When we go into a market after an
acquisition, we have a pattern we’ve
developed. We meet one-on-one with
every employee. We have what we call the
“dream talk.” What do you want to be,
and what do you want to do? What do you
love/hate about your job? What would
you change about working here? If you
bought the stations, what would you do
with them? There are some people who
will say, “I have never had anybody ask
me that.” They cannot even process the
question.
I read Jim Collins’ Good to Great in the
mid-2000s, and it had a great impact on“Kristin is smart,
compassionate, and
enthusiastic. It’s a joy to be
able to work side by side
with someone who has so
much passion for what they
do. One of things I love
about Kristin is that she is
an incredible motivator. As
soon as she walks into a
room and smiles, the energy
level goes up. She genuinely
cares about every one of
her employees, and they all
recognize and respond to
that. She is talented in so
many different areas. I’ve
seen her play therapist, be
a motivational speaker,
close a big sale, and greet
listeners at the front desk,
all in the same day. Kristin
is a true broadcaster. She
understands every facet of
this business and remains
true to what she has always
believed in, which is live
and local radio. If you love
radio, there no one better to
work for than her.”
JC Burton
Chief Programming Officer
7 Mountains Media
Cap City Communications