In December of last year, WBEN 930 in Buffalo named Lisa Polizzi its new Brand Manager, succeeding Tim Wenger, who was elevated to Senior Vice President and Market Manager for the Audacy cluster.
It was a return of sorts for the Buffalo native. Before working in local television in various roles in the market, including Executive Producer and News Director, Polizzi began her media career at WBEN and 550 WGR in 2002.
“My love has always been radio,” Polizzi said. “That’s what my concentration was when I was in school. So coming here is really like a homecoming for me.”
Polizzi added that during her tenure in local television news, she kept her eye on openings at the venerable Buffalo news/talk station.
“I’ve always listened to the station. I’ve listened to the station every day for decades driving into work. It’s what I would have to listen to. We’re the news station of record. If I wanted my traffic, wanted my weather on my way in, and wanted to get caught up for the day, this is what I would be listening to,” she said. “I always had my finger on the pulse of what was going on in the radio world, so as soon as this job opened up — very rare — I started talking to Tim about it.”
While WBEN holds that “station of record” status, it would be easy to be intimated by the challenge of leading such an important brand to Buffalonians. But Polizzi freely admits that while she embraces the challenge, “It is a lot of pressure.”
“I want to make sure that we’re maintaining that standard, the news standard that we’ve always had for ourselves,” she stated. “I want to make sure that we’re maintaining that. I love I a good challenge. So because I was in TV for so long and I’ve been out of radio for so long, diving back in, I really wanted to make sure that we’re on the cutting edge and doing every single thing you possibly can to be the best.”
The station’s commitment to news was tested during the first few weeks of Lisa Polizzi’s tenure. In mid-January, a blizzard hit the surrounding area, dumping more than two feet of snow on the metro overnight. Due to its location on the shores of Lake Erie and not far from Lake Ontario, Buffalo receives an inordinate amount of Lake Effect Snow. In this instance, more than six feet of snow fell in a five-day period.
New to the WBEN team, Lisa Polizzi could have toughed out the storm from her home thanks to the advancements in technology. Instead, she and her dog made the trek into the Audacy studios on the north end of town not only to help provide coverage to her community but to get a first-hand look at the operation.
After spending the night at the station for a few days watching how producers and on-air hosts interacted, she liked what she saw.
“I wanted to be in the thick of it. I wanted to get back into news coverage and go into breaking news mode … I think people were a little nervous. ‘Oh gosh, she walking in and she’s already covering a storm.’ But I’m glad that’s my skill set. I thought it was great,” Polizzi shared. “I got to learn the producers and what their strengths were. They’re a great team. They’re super strong. I was really impressed with them.
“People wanted to be here. They wanted to work. They wanted to be on the air to get the information out. And when we say ‘breaking news mode’, everybody knows exactly what that means … just seeing that right as I walked in the door was amazing for me. I knew I was gonna like it, but I really love it here. That really made a big difference, having people love what they do, being around people that love what they do, and that work hard. They wanted to give the information to the people. It makes a big difference.”
In her new role, Lisa Polizzi shared she was surprised by the sheer amount of feedback she receives about the station, it’s talk hosts, it’s news coverage, and what listeners want and expect from the heritage brand.
And while it would be easy to be worn day the near-constant state of others telling her about what she’s doing right and what she could be doing better, Polizzi says she takes the opposite mindset.
“I don’t ever think of it as a negative. I think if people took the time to take the time and care enough to write me and to reach out, they do care about the station. They want to see it succeed,” she said. “They’ve been listening for probably longer than I have, some of them, and so they’re invested. This is their station, they’re invested, and they want their voices heard.
“So I appreciate it and I never think of it as a negative. I don’t agree with everything everybody says and there’s some comments I take under consideration, but I think if people are taking the time to write me, I appreciate what they’re trying to do.”
Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing daily news stories, features, and opinion columns. He joined Barrett Media in 2022 after a decade leading several radio brands in several formats, as well as a 5-year stint working in local television. In addition to his work with Barrett Media, he is a radio and TV play-by-play broadcaster. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
