It’s a well-known fact that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Sometimes, that’s how the hiring process can go when a company has a job opening. But when it comes to a sports radio station hiring a new Program Director, the road that takes you to the finish line isn’t always a straight path.
When Audacy announced in January that Spike Eskin was leaving his position as Vice-President of Programming for WFAN and Infinity Sports Network (formerly CBS Sports Radio) to return home to host afternoon drive at WIP, one of the premier jobs in all of sports radio was open and that meant a search for a new Program Director.
The process concluded with Ryan Hurley being named last week to be the new Brand Manager for WFAN and Infinity Sports Network, but there was a long and winding road that led to the hire.
For Audacy New York Market Manager Chris Oliviero, the process of hiring a new PD would have various stages.
“The first stage was personal and professional disappointment that we were losing Spike,” said Oliviero. “He was a great hire three years ago, has had a major impact and the highest compliment I’ve given to Spike is I’ve said to people even if I knew three years ago that he was only going to be here three short years, I still would have hired him.”
While it was not public yet, Oliviero knew back in October that Eskin would be leaving so there was some additional time to start making plans for the transition. Oliviero and Eskin began conversations about potential replacements and then came the public announcement of the job opening in January.
With the news came an overwhelming response from those interested in the job including internal candidates from Audacy, a company with the largest collection of sports radio stations in the United States. There were also candidates from elsewhere in the radio industry as well as other sports media companies including those from television and digital.
And there were also some, as Oliviero described, “wild card” candidates.
“There were people who were so passionate about ‘FAN that they didn’t even work in media but they thought they were good managers so they wanted to throw their hat in the ring,” said Oliviero.
With so many applicants, Oliviero wanted to give all qualified candidates the chance to interview and that took some time to the tune of a three month public search for the new leader of WFAN and Infinity Sports Network. Oliviero entered the process with an open mind and that process would include some names that he had in his mind even before the job opening was announced.
As he called it, a “break glass in case of emergency list” that he always has in his back pocket when it came to talk show hosts and Program Directors.
“I try to always have an open mind and I think that is important in this but clearly I wouldn’t have been doing my job if I didn’t have a short list,” said Oliviero. “I have deep long personal relationships with many of the top sports radio PD’s in the country so clearly there are names that I will immediately go to and reach out even if they didn’t reach out first.”
One candidate who did reach out directly to Oliviero came from the “out of the box” category of applicants. Not long after it was announced that Eskin was leaving, Oliviero’s phone rang and the call was coming from South Florida.
That voice on the other end of the line was Jon Weiner, otherwise known as “Stugotz”, the co-host of the Dan Lebatard Show which originates from Miami.
“He proactively reached out with his interest for WFAN,” said Oliviero. “He has publicly proclaimed his love for this radio station. We had really good conversations with John. It just, for a few reasons, didn’t progress to a final point but it was well worth the conversation.”
All conversations and all roads would eventually lead back to Ryan Hurley, the former Program Director at ESPN New York. Hurley was one of the first candidates that Oliviero interviewed for the position back in January. Oliviero told Hurley that being one of the first interviews was both “good news” and “bad news,” with the latter description meaning that the process was going to take a while and that Hurley was going to have to be patient.
Well, patience paid off for Hurley.
“(Ryan) was great and he was patient and we had multiple conversations,” said Oliviero. “In each conversation, we touched on another aspect of our business.”
Hurley would also spend some time with Spike Eskin along with some sales people to see if this was going to be a fit.
It certainly was a fit because Hurley checked off all the boxes for what Oliviero was looking for. He knew radio, he knew sports and being that he was from Long Island and was a graduate of Hofstra University, he knew New York.
Oliviero appreciated the fact that Hurley moved up the ladder at ESPN New York from producer all the way to Program Director.
“I love those stories,” said Oliviero. “To me, that’s a reflection of someone who is a good quality person who works for a company that recognized that. During the process, there were many many people who I respect in this industry who proactively on their own reached out to me and really said if I had the opportunity to hire Ryan, that I wouldn’t regret it.”
And now Hurley takes over the PD duties and he will do so with new lineups already set in place by Eskin. It’s a chance for him to settle into his new office and take a closer look and listen to what’s going on at WFAN and Infinity.
It’s actually the perfect situation for a new Program Director or Brand Manager.
“I think it’s a great job meaning you come into a situation where there is a level of consistency, there is a level of comfort so that allows Ryan to kind of take a breather,” said Oliviero. “Things aren’t on fire meaning he has to get in here and immediately tackle certain things. It allows him an ability to step back, learn the players and start to be strategic about it.”
However, that strategy will not change the direction that WFAN and Infinity are heading. All of the candidates were told during the interview process that the new PD would continue to execute the strategy already in place but would also be able to leave their mark on that strategy.
Kind of like adding a few wrinkles to the playbook.
“If we were a football team, we are a throwing offense,” said Oliviero. “We are not looking to become a running offense. We want to throw the ball better and we want to score more points. Try more trick plays. But we’re not going from a throwing offense to a running offense.”
Three years ago, Spike Eskin had big shoes to fill when he replaced the legendary Mark Chernoff. Three years later, Eskin turns the reigns over to Ryan Hurley who brings a terrific resume and strong work ethic to the 10th floor at 345 Hudson Street.
Back in January, Audacy New York trusted the process in finding a new Brand Manager for WFAN and Infinity Sports Network. Chris Oliviero and company have now placed their trust in Ryan Hurley.
Peter Schwartz writes weekly sports radio features for Barrett Media. He has been involved in New York sports media for over three decades, and has worked for notable brands such as WFAN, CBS Sports Radio, WCBS 880, ESPN New York, and FOX News Radio. Peter has also served as play by play announcer for the New Yok Riptide, New York Dragons, New York Hitmen, Varsity Media and the Long Island Sports Network. You can find him on Twitter @SchwartzSports or email him at DragonsRadio@aol.com.
