26 RADIOINK•COM AUGUST 12, 2019
He’s an example of someone who had not
been in radio who is having great success
managing a traditional broadcast team
that has transformed to be a premier local
marketing and entertainment company in
Missoula.
LaDonne Craig has done the same thing
for us in Evansville, David Engberg in St.
Cloud, Zoe Burdine Fly in Lansing, Brad
Dubow in El Paso, Karen Carey in Utica,
and thankfully I could continue to provide
you dozens of examples of our world-class
local management team who are exam-
ples of perfect managers.Radio Ink: Why hasn’t the radio
industry been able to grow revenue?
Wilson: It’s hard to say that. Townsquare
is growing revenue every year. We’ve been
fortunate to be leaders in the industry, as
it relates to revenue growth, since we’ve
come into play. We now break out revenue
by advertising, digital marketing services,
and live events. For us, you can see adver-
tising revenue is growing, as well as our
digital marketing solutions revenue.
Other radio companies are growing
profit, but what is challenging for them
is investing in the talent — that could be
on air, sales, traffic, business manager,
etc. When some companies saw declining
revenue over time, I can only speculate
they had to make personnel cuts, and
that was a negative spiral for revenue. At
Townsquare, we have been adding person-
nel to our local teams. We have our larg-
est sales force in the company ever. We
continue to add team members in all of
our divisions.I think the industry overall will be
growing moving forward. The RAB says
the industry is flat to down 1 percent, I
believe. Those companies that are adapt-
ing to the changing media landscape
and embracing all the platforms will be
successful. I see that more in the last 18
months than in the last 18 years, which is
a very positive sign for our industry.Radio Ink: What frustrates you most?
Wilson: Not much does. If something
is not going as planned, I work with the
team to resolve it. I don’t see this much,
but what frustrates me most, I would say,
is if I see a lack of passion. I want every-
body on the team to be passionate about
winning. That means superserving our
community and clients. As long as we’re
doing that, I’m not frustrated.
I see the newspapers in our local mar-
kets cutting back local resources and
reporters. I don’t see a lot of growth in TV
either, and a lot of our markets don’t even
have TV stations. As a result, our mission
has grown even more important as mar-
kets Townsquare is focused on are less
served by other media outlets in general.
So it would frustrate me to come across
someone who does not share that passion
for superserving our communities, or who
had it and lost it. I would work with them
and their managers to reignite that, and
if that’s not possible, then bring in some-
body who has that passion and energy.Radio Ink: Are you concerned about
what is going in the dashboard of
the car?“Bill Wilson is an incredible
leader for our company.
He truly cares about you
as a person, and you can
be sure he values your
opinion as an employee of
Townsquare. He believes
the best ideas come from
the employees. When
he hears a good idea,
he figures out a way to
make it a happen and
make it work. He sees
the potential in everyone,
which inspires us to do the
best job we can for him.
He expresses appreciation
for good work and
pride in leading such a
great team of people. I
appreciate Bill Wilson, I
believe in Bill Wilson, and
Bill Wilson makes me
proud to be a part of the
Townsquare Media family.
As he often likes to say,
“’#HowHighIsHigh?’”
Amy Bloxom
Market President
Townsquare Media
Shreveport, LouisianaWilson with the Utica, New York, leadership team, receipients of Townsquare’s “#HotHighIsHigh?” “Townie “ award for overall revenue growth in a market