36 RADIOINK•COM MAY 6, 2019
Local news is something we are extremely
proud of. We produce news in each mar-
ket and brand it with our own unique
brands — Tallahassee News Network,
Delmarva News Network, the Region
News, Mesilla Valley News. We run our
news on every station, throughout the
day, regardless of format. It enables us to
bring to front of mind what our listeners
may not be aware of. We still celebrate
listener birthdays, and we still allow lis-
teners to call in to our stations. Yes, live
bodies will answer the phone. We pride
ourselves on being as live and local as
possible.Patrick: We do a daily talk show on sev-
eral of our AMs in different markets. The
key is building real community involve-
ment and tackling controversies, not
just rehashing press releases. If I am in
town and overhear people at lunch talk-
ing about what they heard that morning,
whether they agree or disagree with the
guests and our hosts, that’s a great testa-
ment to our relevance.
We also know that local fundraisers on
the air deliver results. We should cross
the $1.5 million mark in total fundraising
for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
this spring. That’s pretty good for some
small stations in Wyoming. Touching
people’s lives, sharing information and a
laugh with them on the air, and making a
difference for the community is our goal.
This is the 100th anniversary of the
Buffalo Bill Stampede Rodeo in Cody, over
July 4th this year. We are doing a big coun-
try concert, free to everyone, just to recog-
nize the importance of the Stampede and
to say thanks to Cody, Wyoming, where
we are based. And we are passing buckets
at the concert asking for donations to St.
Jude because our community knows that
this is one of our main causes.Fuss: Our morning show in American
Samoa is a great example of live and
local. Our folks do a tremendous job stay-
ing in touch with the community. When
American Samoa was hit with a tropical
storm last year, the morning team stayed
on air all day long and then came in and
worked on air on Saturday and Sunday as
well.Perkins: For our largest station,
WQNZ-FM, we have a morning team,
one of whom has been on the air for 28
years, so we have generations of families
who have grown up listening to him. The
depth of loyalty and his presence in the
community are valuable. We have a fea-
ture in mornings, “Miss-Lou [Mississippi-
Louisiana] Must Do’s.” The feature high-
lights nonprofit happenings and events in
the area.
We frequently host organizers live on
the air to discuss their upcoming events.
We will also make room for economic
development news from a new company,
Chamber info, etc.
We are involved with many local events,
including many that are fundraisers. We
just completed our fourth year of the St.
Jude Radiothon and raised $40,124 in
two days on air. We have hosted political
forums with all candidates. So when we
are engaged on-air or in the community,
we build trust, provide entertainment,
and certainly are the go-to for emer-
gency-related anything.Davenport: One of the things we are
most proud of is an annual radio-
thon we do for a nonprofit through
our SuperTalk Mississippi Network,
which covers the state of Mississippi.
The nonprofit is an organization that
serves children and sibling groups and
provides a family and community to
children in need regardless of race,
gender, or background. Over the past
five years, we have raised a little over
$1.2 million for these children.Becker: A great example of doing great
live and local radio is taking your live
show on the road to area businesses
and community sites daily. It means
your announcers know what is going
on in your community and the sur-
rounding area so they can inform their
listeners of the possibilities. During
times of disaster, it is keeping listeners
informed of how they can stay safe or
how they can help contribute to others
in need.Goldsen: Our airstaff lives and
breathes Jackson County. We raise“We are currently
making changes to our
sales compensation
plan. For several
reasons, not the least
of which is to become
more competitive in
recruitment, we are
restructuring from
commission-only to a
salary, plus commission,
plus bonus.”— Margaret Perkins