On November 30th last year, the Radio Advertising Bureau announced the hiring of Mike Hulvey as the new President/CEO, effective at the beginning of April this year. Hulvey, who had been CEO of Neuhoff Media and was previously Chair of the RAB, was the person charged with filling the big shoes of Erica Farber, who had led the RAB for nearly a dozen years. In stepping down from the top position, Farber remains with the organization working on their Rising Through the Ranks leadership development training and the National Radio Talent System.
In the release announcing Hulvey’s hire, Connoisseur Media Founder/CEO and RAB Board Chair Jeff Warshaw said, “Mike is an excellent selection with the relevant skills and expertise to lead the RAB. He has an impressive track record in corporate management and local radio expertise. In addition, as a past chair of the RAB he has a clear understanding of the organization and what the broadcast industry requires from RAB. He has a tremendous passion for the industry which will serve us all well.”
Hulvey has a long history with the organization. As he explained, “I have been actively involved in the RAB since the 90s as a broadcaster, as an operator. And I have always looked at the RAB as a gold standard of support and advocacy for the industry, getting to know the people behind it. I was on committees in the 90s, joined the RAB Board of Directors, then the Executive Board, then became an officer. And then during the pandemic I was the Board Chair, and got to see this amazing group of people, how the industry looks to the RAB for solutions to problems or for a resource to help improve certain things.”
Hulvey said he came into the position with a three-step plan which broke things down into the categories of engagement, alignment and activation.
He explained the first step was to, “immediately engage with our membership and members of leadership from the industry. What do you need? What support do you feel like you need? Not just for today, but for tomorrow and looking ahead.”
Hulvey and his staff are also looking at, “aligning the mission of the RAB with the resources of the RAB to meet those current needs and also, more importantly, the future needs.”
Then, after that information is all gathered, Hulvey said it becomes, “a period of activation where we activate against what we’ve learned during this process.
“I think listening is the most important thing. We’ve challenged the staff to think a little differently than maybe we have in the past because times have changed. We’re actually looking at all of the services that the RAB provides from the largest projects to the smallest projects, and we’re evaluating their impact.”
Hulvey said the goal is to come up with measurement metrics for anything they can in order to make fact-based decisions about what’s in the best interest of the RAB members as everyone moves forward.
“One of the questions that I’ve asked our team is, ‘What is it that we’re doing today that’s going to be as important or more important to our members in the industry ten years from now?’ When you know something is going to be important ten years from now, how do you fine tune that and put more emphasis on it?”
While very bullish on what lies ahead for radio, Hulvey recognizes how much is different today and the need for the RAB to change with the industry. “I happen to believe that radio’s greatest days are ahead of it, not behind it,” Hulvey said. “And our industry is different today than what it was in the past, but everything is different. So, to be able to help lead the industry and represent the industry and work with an amazing group of talented professionals and 7,000 members, I can’t think of a better job.”
As part of his new position, Hulvey will represent the RAB and the industry at various events across the country and that will include the BNM News Summit being held in Washington, D.C. September 4-5. Hulvey will lead a panel discussion titled, ‘Hunting for Political Dollars’ where he will lead discussion about ways to take advantage of the 2024 political cycle and what happens in 2025 when it’s over.
“In our panel in particular we have Christine [Hoffman, SVP, Ad Sales The Daily Wire] and Julie [Talbott, President, Premiere Networks] and Steve [Passwaiter, Silver Oak Political President], who will be a part of our panel,” Hulvey explained. “One of the things that Steve preaches, and repeats is to get in there and create relationships. I’m not talking at the presidential level, but certainly at the Congressional and in the state races in their respective markets, that those relationships really do matter. But you know with Christine’s background and all of Julie’s resources that she represents, it’s going to be a robust conversation for sure.”
Another conversation the RAB is having often is about the future of the workforce in the industry. As one of the organization’s stated missions, Hulvey said finding talent for the industry in all departments is a major point of emphasis and has been for some time.
“We made a strategic decision right before the pandemic to acquire the National Radio Talent System. As an organization, the NRTS puts on weeklong programs at various college campuses. We’re in the process of planning our 2025 programs. And we’re also looking at some unique approaches that we haven’t done in the past to make sure that we’re positioning ourselves to attract that next level or that next generation of employee into the industry.
“The definition of radio may have changed over generations. I like to think of radio today as an eight-lane superhighway. And whether you’d want to be in sales on the business side, you want to see a career in promotions, you see yourself as an influencer an endorser, a sports presenter, a broadcaster, video, social media, all those things are happening in the radio space. And one of the things that the RAB has been doing is articulating that to the next generation students that these are the careers that are happening every day.”
When asked about common mistakes he sees from hiring managers in the industry, Hulvey said it starts with not looking beyond the resume.
“Find the magic inside the person,” he said. “You know the old saying that ‘you hire for attitude, and you’ll train against the skill’. You can train someone to do something. But if you are limiting yourself because of perhaps something that is missing from a resume, you may be missing a great opportunity. So, dig deep as a hiring person, dig deep with your prospects, find the magic. Go beyond the headline, if you will, and see what’s there.
“For those who are interviewing, tell your story. Sell your story. We’re in a storytelling business every single day. If you’re a seller, you’re telling the story, you’re listening for the story with the client, and then you’re helping them tell their story, which ultimately will lead to economic success for the client. If you’re an on-air talent, you sell yourself and you’re telling the story. That’s what we do.”
Hulvey then added for those that may be out looking for their first job in the industry, “Don’t discount the power of your story. Work on your story. It’s unique to you. Be proud of it and share it.”
Dave Greene is the Chief Media Officer for Barrett Media. His background includes over 25 years in media and content creation. A former sports talk host and play-by-play broadcaster, Dave transitioned to station and sales management, co-founded and created a monthly sports publication and led an ownership group as the operating partner. He has managed stations and sales teams for Townsquare Media, Cumulus Media and Audacy. Upon leaving broadcast media he co-founded Podcast Heat, a sports and entertainment podcasting network specializing in pro wrestling nostalgia. To interact, find him on Twitter @mr_podcasting. You can also reach him by email at Dave@BarrettMedia.com.
