Audacy’s “Katie & Company” stars Katie Neal and airs in thirty-two markets across the country including the company’s Seattle, Detroit, Miami, Houston, and Chicago markets, and on external affiliates via Infinity Networks.
The last one is very special to Neal. Last year, they added her hometown, Peoria, IL, to the list. It’s the one she says she still gets the most excited about. “I approach the show like I’m talking to my best friend,” she explains. “And now she finally gets to hear it every day.”
Neal got her start in radio right after she graduated from college. She was working at WBNQ in Bloomington, IL, and had a mountain of student loan debt coming due, so when she saw an opening for an Account Executive position in New York, it felt like a smart financial move for her.
She moved to NYC in 2012 to sell for WPLJ and WNSH. She sold radio for four years, had a great list of clients and made good money, but she knew sales wasn’t for her in the long run.
Over the years, she helped the production team with voicing commercials, which is how she met John Foxx, who was programming both stations at the time. He took Neal under his wing, and in 2016 let her audition to voice track weekends. That turned into a weekend live shift. She was selling radio five days a week, and in the studio on most Saturdays and Sundays for a year.
When a full-time shift opened up on WNSH, she jumped at the chance to audition. She accepted the midday position in February 2017, and by September 2020, Audacy launched the show across its network of Country stations and later to outside affiliates.
Neal says working in sales for so long has really helped her navigate the business side of her career. “I love that I get to be creative and put together a show every day. But I also know that the show needs to make money,” she says. “I hop on a lot of client calls with our sales team when they are pitching endorsements. I always tell them, ‘I know what you’re up against. Let me help.’”
“Going from one Program Director to twenty at a time was a trip,” says Neal. “In the beginning, it weighed a lot on me mentally…I went a little insane at first trying to make them all happy. But at this point, I feel very confident in our programming strategy and how we put the show together. I gladly accept feedback; I work closely with Tim Roberts and Mike Peterson, and we pivot when things don’t work. But I’ll also stand up for what I believe in and what I think listeners want to hear.”
As far as the role Neal’s show plays in the Country community, “The country community is truly special, and that includes the incredible listeners who make this format what it is. Country music is built on real stories, shared values, and a deep connection between the artists and their fans. That’s what makes this format so special to me.”
As for appealing to so many different markets, maintaining “relevant” content is important, Neal says, “It’s all about ‘Human Content.’ That is relevant content,” she says. “I cut custom local content for all of my markets all the time, which I think is very important. But I think the content that wins the most is the content that is most relatable to the everyday human experience.”
For those of you who are unaware, Audacy and “Katie & Company” just celebrated the opening of their new state-of-the-art Sound Space located on top of the Hard Rock Café on the Broadway Strip in Nashville, near the bank of the Cumberland River. It’s centrally located in the heart of Music City.
“There are no words for how much I love our new Audacy Sound Space,” says Neal. “For four years, I did this show in the closet of my spare bedroom with a Rodecaster and soundproofing I ordered from Amazon. To be in THIS room now with the best board and equipment, I am grateful for it every day!”
Neal says her most significant accomplishment in the business so far is having a job she loves to do, and her next big goal is to win a Marconi Award.
Follow Katie Neal on Instagram @katieneal, @katieandcompany and on TikTok @heykatieneal.
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Charese Fruge’ is an award-winning Content, Broadcast, and Marketing executive with over 20 years of experience in markets like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, San Diego, and Las Vegas. As the owner of MC Media, she works with radio brands and individual talent, especially young women, helping them grow their brands and negotiate on their own behalf. She is also a Voice Actor and Voice Over Talent as well as a Freelance Writer for International Broadcast Outlets. Find her at @MCMediaOnline or www.mcmediaonline.com.
