MAY 6, 2019 RADIOINK•COM 29
Our 2019 Panel of Independent
Experts:
Carolyn Becker, CEO, Riverfront
Broadcasting, based in Yankton, South
Dakota. Riverfront has 18 stations in South
Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa.
Steve Davenport, Chairman, TeleSouth
Media, based in Jackson, Mississippi. The
company runs three statewide networks
and has 21 stations in 12 markets across
Mississippi.
Bruce Goldsen, President/GM, Jackson
Radio Works, based in Jackson, Michigan.
The company owns three radio stations
and three FM translators in Jackson
County, Michigan.
Larry Fuss, President of South Seas
Broadcasting (five stations in American
Samoa), President of Delta Radio Network
(11 stations in Mississippi), and Managing
Member of Kaua’i Broadcast Partners (one
station in Hawaii).
Larry Patrick, Managing Partner, Legend
Communications in Wyoming. Legend
operates 23 stations and two networks
across Wyoming.
Margaret Perkins, President/CEO, First
Natchez Radio Group, based in Natchez,
Mississippi. The group owns five stations
within 20 miles of Natchez and a station in
Louisiana.
Ron Stone, President/CEO, Adams Radio
Group, based in Lakeville, Minnesota. The
group owns 21 stations and six translators
in Indiana, New Jersey, Florida, and New
Mexico.
Radio Ink: Public companies seem to
be rebounding. How is the economy in
your market(s), and how is revenue?
Stone: It’s great to see the large compa-
nies posting positive results. That said,
there is no way to know just by their
larger markets. In our markets, which
range from market number 101 to num-
ber 203, we are seeing mixed results
year over year. Overall, our company is
pacing ahead 9 percent over 2018 for
business on the books. That said, we did
not exceed prior year in Q1 in all markets.
We are seeing more dollars getting laid
in for the year, which is providing us with
expectations that the year will be strong.Patrick: We enjoyed a good 2018, with
overall revenues up about 7.5 percent.
Digital is doing very well for us. We count
it separately, and it was up some 21 per-
cent. There is optimism in the markets,
more building projects, new businesses,
and our number of help-wanted ads is
rising. There are lots of jobs here. Some
industries, like coal extraction in the east-
ern part of the state, have stabilized and
the outlook there is better. Overall, this
year seems pretty positive.Perkins: The economy in our area is
poor. We are in Natchez, Mississippi,
an unrated market approximately
60-80 miles inside a radius encompass-
ing Jackson, Mississippi; Baton Rouge,
Louisiana; Alexandria, Louisiana; and
Monroe, Louisiana. We are heavily depen-
dent on oil, timber, and agriculture.
Regarding oil, we follow the West Texas
Oil Index. When the price plummeted
from $107.26 a barrel in June of 2014
to $29.42 a barrel over 18 months and
stayed in the $30s and $40s per barrel
range for the next two years, it crushed
our economy. Prices rebounded for
about a year to the $60s and $70s, but
then dropped back to a steady $50s. We
lost 1,100 oil-related jobs. That is a very
large number for our rural area. Timber
prices have been down for a while, and
agriculture is fighting the heavy rains and
Mississippi River flooding almost yearly.Fuss: Our markets are mostly stable,
although we are seeing some local com-
panies who think they can save their way
to prosperity by cutting back on their
advertising. As we all know, that never
turns out well.Davenport: Revenue in our markets has
been growing at an annual rate of 3 percent
to 5 percent, depending on the market.Becker: There are ups and downs, but
nothing goes up forever. Our stations are
continuing to take care of their employ-
ees, communities, and clients. The rest“Radio continues to
be a great place for
advertisers to get results,
so we need to get away
from lowering our
prices and added value
and focus on writing
good commercials and
bringing customers to
our businesses.”— Carolyn Becker