A year off from radio was more than just a possibility for Jeff Rickard. In fact, earlier this year, it looked likely that he was going to take time away from the business to spend time with his family. The decision was going to be totally his and he was at peace with it.
After a five-month tenure at WEEI in Boston as the station’s brand manager, Rickard decided to leave and return to Indianapolis. The decision wasn’t made because he hated his new job or found it incredibly difficult, it was made with his family in mind. He wanted more of a work-life balance.
“I really liked working with the people that were there,” said Rickard. “We were all on that train ride together. Boston is an intense sports town and I loved that part of it. I love the passion the fans have. I think maybe the biggest thing for me is where I am in my life with my family and the type of company that I want to be a part of. No one did me wrong and there were no big moments of, oh my God this is terrible. I was just at a point in my life where I wanted to make sure I had some work-life balance.”
It was late-January and Rickard was out of the radio business. A strange place to be for a guy that had enjoyed an incredible career as both a host and program director. But as he pondered the possibility of taking a year off, another opportunity approached. Sports Radio WFNZ in Charlotte was interested in Rickard for an opportunity as Program Director. Soon, Rickard was meeting with Vice President and General Manager Marsha Landess. Then the two met again. And then again for a third time.
“The thing that attracted me to Charlotte is that it’s such a young, growing, diverse city, which is the vibe I like to be a part of,” said Rickard. “Honestly I was at a point where I was going to take a year off and hangout with my kids. I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to catch my breath for a minute. This opportunity came up and I started to talk to Marsha Landess and I liked her vision for things.
“We visited three different times before we came down here and we decided it was going to be a really good thing for us. I love Charlotte and I love my Vice President and General Manager, Marsha. She is fantastic and it’s the very beginning stage but I think there’s a lot of potential at this station.”
By mid-May, Rickard had been hired as the new program director at WFNZ. Unlike his stop in Indianapolis, the new job didn’t include a daily radio show on the air. Some might think that Rickard has really missed being on the air, and at times he has, but he’s also enjoyed the freedom that being off the air has provided.
“It’s been a nice break and I tell people I don’t miss it, but when I have done some shows it’s like jumping back into a familiar spot again,” said Rickard. “I can see myself continuing on with that but it’s been a nice break, just to watch games and feel like, ok, I need to figure out what tomorrow’s show is going to look and sound like, which you do anyway. It’s been a nice break, but either way I’ll be fine.”
So is Rickard back regularly behind the mic, something we can anticipate seeing at WFNZ? That’s a bit complicated and depends on how the current midday slot at the station is filled.
“We are looking for a midday show right now,” Rickard said. “We have it down to about four finalists and depending on how things break, I may or may not be one of the hosts there and I may be doing a one or two hour show on the station. I’d like to hire the next voice or voices of that daypart for the next decade, so I’m taking my time and being real careful.”
The Charlotte market isn’t different from Rickard’s two previous stops in Boston and Indianapolis, in that the NFL rules the content. However, the station is the flagship for FC Charlotte, a new MLS team in town the station is helping get off the ground. With that being said, how does WFNZ manage content between the NFL team in town and the MLS team the station supports?
“It’s like anyplace else where the NFL is king and we’re going to spend all day today talking about the Panthers losing to the Giants,” Rickard said. “We’re going to do mostly NFL but this region is a real hotbed for UNC, North Carolina State, Clemson, and App State is right down the road. College sports certainly get their fair share of run. I’d say it’s probably 60 percent NFL, 30 college sports, and 10 percent FC Charlotte. We do a lot of FC promotion during the breaks because we’re the home of the broadcast and this is their inaugural year so we’re doing our best to get the word out for the team we’ve invested in.”
Hiring Rickard and his track record of improving ratings was a really smart move for WFNZ. There’s proof in the resume he knows how to get the most out of a station, while also finding a way to mesh with others in the building. That’s a lethal combo.
The secret of getting better ratings at a station may not be a one-size-fits-all response. It could be very situational, depending on what exists inside the walls. Rickard likes to use the same system when trying to diagnose what should be next for a station.
“For me, the first thing I like to do is get a real sense of who the people are at the radio station and what makes them tick, from traffic to promotions to producers,” Rickard said. “You have to figure out what that sweet spot is and figure out what makes that station go. You try to do a lot more of the good stuff and a lot less of the bad stuff.
“I think it’s just being real with people and getting them on the same team and playing to the strengths of the people that you have and always look to improve. I look at it no different than if you went in as the coach of a sports team. You’ve got to find out what your talent is like.”
There’s an instant level of respect from a host when they see what Rickard has accomplished as both a programmer and on-air talent. That probably helps when it comes to air checks and critiques with hosts. Whether it’s fair or not, sometimes it’s just easier hearing it from someone who’s been on the air before and has sat in the same seat you’re sitting in.
“I think when we sit down to do listening and coaching sessions, or sessions where we’re all trying to figure out the best thing to do, I think everyone I work with gets the sense that I have been where they’ve been and sat in that chair knowing I just gave a really good 20 minutes and I still have three hours and 40 minutes to go,” Rickard said.
“I’ve got to make the three hours and 40 minutes just as entertaining as the 20 minutes. Meaning, they know they can identify with me because I’ve been in that chair and I know the pressures they’re going through. I know what it’s like to prepare a show, when a show goes great, when a show doesn’t go as well as you planned, I just know what they’re going through.”
Trying to get accustomed to a new market has gone well for Rickard, but he’s had to do that while looking for hosts to fill a midday show, and now, a signal change at the station. As of 12:01 Monday morning, 610 AM is no more for WFNZ after 30 years. Earlier this year, WFNZ moved its FM frequency from 102.5 FM to 92.7 FM, which has been a much stronger signal.
“I think the decision was made that we had gotten a bunch more powerful and clear signal at night on 92.7 and we decided not to get 610 rated and for those that were still listening to us on 610, we weren’t getting any credit for that,” Rickard said.
“It’s just the natural way things are going these days. It seems like every year, there’s another heritage AM signal that’s losing out to a clearer FM signal. As a guy that grew up on 850 KOA in Denver, it’s tough to see from that perspective, but I just don’t know how much sense they make from a business perspective anymore.”
Rickard is proud of what he’s accomplished in his many career stops, but you won’t find him spending much time looking back at his previous stops. Instead, it’s all about his current stop in Charlotte and enjoying the perfect work-life balance that best suits him and his family.
The two-year anniversary of his sudden heart attack is next month, and fortunately, he can look forward with a ton of optimism about his life in and away from radio.
“What happened two years ago, made me heighten my sense of paying more attention to my family. That’s still the most important thing in my life. It doesn’t mean I’m not hyperfocused on what I do. It doesn’t mean I’m not writing promos, reading emails at 8:00 at night or 6:00 in the morning, I still do those things. I just try to make sure that the time I do have with my family that I’m incredibly present with them.”
Tyler McComas is a columnist for BSM and a sports radio talk show host in Norman, OK where he hosts afternoon drive for SportsTalk 1400. You can find him on Twitter @Tyler_McComas or you can email him at TylerMcComas08@yahoo.com.
