The NFL Draft has arrived and the Tennessee Titans are officially on the clock with the first overall selection as they hold the keys to what could be a franchise-defining moment. It’s a high-stakes spotlight that Paul Mason understands well. As Program Director of 104.5 the Zone in Nashville, Mason knows what it’s like to step into a major role under pressure—something he experienced firsthand five years ago today when he took the reins of the station during one of the most uncertain times in recent history.
“When I started, it was literally the beginning of the world shutting down with COVID,” Mason noted of his hire in April of 2020. “It was a world of doing shows remotely and meeting your staff on Zoom. Growing all the way to where we are now, and not just getting back to normal but continuing to evolve.”
Mason began his radio journey at the turn of the century at 1450 WMOH in Hamilton, OH, planning and executing a Friday night football show along with a game broadcast. His hands-on approach to crafting programming began in his humble beginnings and has taken him to several destinations across the country, including Cincinnati, West Palm Beach, and now his current home in Nashville.
“You learn something with each role you’re in and each stop you make,” said Mason. “I know I’m not the same person I was at any point in my career. We’re always changing and evolving, and I would think that five years from now I’ll have evolved even more.”
Bringing Success And Staying In The Zone
Since landing in the “Music City” of the nation, Mason has composed his own chorus of style, culture, and sound on 104.5 the Zone—a sports radio powerhouse with a live and local lineup from sunrise to sunset throughout the week, featuring former athletes, born-and-bred Nashvillians, and a vital female perspective on sports.
“We like to think of ourselves as an ecosystem for sports in Middle Tennessee,” Mason says. “We’re cheering for this with you, or we’re frustrated with you—whatever it might be, we’re part of that DNA with the fans. That’s our bread and butter. Being live and local is so important because it allows us to connect with not only fans but the community of Middle Tennessee as well.”
Mason has always had an eye for talent that speaks to all audiences, including the female sports radio listener. The Zone’s weekday lineup features Kayla Anderson and Dawn Davenport, both with television backgrounds, as key members of both the morning drive and afternoon drive experience on the Zone. For Mason, he has always felt the need to connect with as many people as possible in a passionate sports market like Nashville.
“We want everybody to feel represented on the Zone,” explained Mason. “They both bring something unique to the station that our audience wants to hear. Dawn with her background with the SEC and her ability to present topics in an entertaining way to our listeners—it just resonates and connects with our audience. Same with Kayla or anyone else on our station. We want the entire market to feel like they can connect with someone on this radio station.”
Leading On Air And Growing On Digital
Another priority for Mason is innovation and meeting the audience where they’re going. Outside of the Zone providing high-quality sports conversation on the FM band, all programming is streamed on video multi-cast to YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, and X. The brand also repurposes the video for use on other social platforms following the programming. While the concern for some brands would be that you may be taking away from the radio audience, Mason has built his understanding of giving the audience the content they want however they may want to consume it.
“Not taking away from the audience that we’ve built on terrestrial radio or anywhere else—it’s only added to it,” Mason said. “It’s just added a whole other layer, and what makes me thrilled is that I don’t feel like I’ve had to force any of this on the talent or the producers.”
Mason feels a lot of pride in the collaborative staff he’s assembled over his tenure in Nashville, especially when it comes to how they want to lead the brand’s growth in the space.
“They want to be in this space. They want to grow it. They want to make money off of it,” noted Mason. “We have just opened up so many more doors without taking away from the other things we’re doing.”
Crafting A Draft Night In Nashville To Be Remembered
104.5 the Zone also serves as the radio flagship for the Tennessee Titans, who hold the number one selection in the NFL Draft. Nashville’s football-rich culture is excited for what could be a franchise-defining weekend, which Mason has been focused on in his other role as the Operations Manager of the Titans Radio Network.
“I think being involved with both is actually an asset,” said Mason. “I feel that we have everything covered with the entire market when it comes to covering the Titans and the NFL. Just having both allows us to do that.”
When it comes to the planning and execution of what’s to come on draft night Thursday night, Mason has spent most of his time leaning on his experience and thinking outside the box on how to deliver a quality evening for the consumer—one that will live forever in time.
“It’s going to be all-day coverage with our regular weekday lineup. All four shows are going to be wall-to-wall continuous draft coverage—on air, social media, video stream, and everywhere you can think of,” said Mason. “We’ll take our video stream for that and execute that like we went on the Zone. We really kind of go for a TV presentation with the draft. We would much rather Titans fans, if they want to watch the draft, be watching our coverage and routing that back to their TV versus the national coverage. That’s actually one of our biggest viewed events of the year.”
Building A Quality Culture Leads To Success
Under Mason’s direction, 104.5 the Zone continues to be a ratings and revenue success story, while also being a leader in the digital space with a dedicated and loyal social following. The success, however, doesn’t come without its challenges, as Mason says the biggest goal is just to enjoy the ride.
“I will always want my staff to enjoy coming to work, because I feel like I get that much more out of them. I always want to empower them to pitch me ideas and be creative—to never stop the energy,” Mason notes. “It’s allowing them to push the agenda. I think empowering your people is very important to pushing things forward. If I wasn’t open to those things, then it would get very challenging. I don’t have all the answers, but I have a team of people, and collectively we can get most of them.”
Whoever gets selected with the first overall pick on Thursday night in the NFL Draft—if that selection’s first five years on the job are anything like Mason’s at 104.5 the Zone—it will be a fantastic start to an NFL career.
As the clock continues to tick down to draft night, and reflecting on his short run in Nashville, Mason says he hopes to be a franchise player for 104.5 the Zone for the foreseeable future.
“My plan is to be here,” Mason said with a joyous laugh.
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John Mamola is the sports editor and columnist for Barrett Media. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. Honored to be a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Media and honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL). Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
