Last week, something happened that had me reflecting on a few situations and interactions I experienced as an Urban programmer. First, I must say I have no intention of discussing politics in my weekly communication with you. God knows I’m vocal enough on other platforms. But as my father used to say, “Everything is political,” and boy, was he right.
One of the great things from my experiences was having direct communication with programmers across multiple formats. In one market, I even shared an office with the Country PD. We talked about family, finances, life in general, and—most often—programming. And what did I learn? Other than the music and the lifestyle, there’s not much difference. The old adage, “Sell the music and it will sell you,” applies to Rock, Country, Jazz, Gospel, and Urban.
Appointment listening—does that belong solely to Classic Rock, or can it work on a Jazz format? And the overly used “Play the Hits”—which format owns that image exclusively? None. It’s universal.
Now, there are some very clear differences, especially when it comes to Urban formats. I recall a situation in a market where I had to push back from a market manager who suggested ways to boost our station’s website traffic.
As I’ve mentioned in a previous article, my teams worked hard to stay ahead of management and sales mandates by constantly coming up with ideas and creating opportunities for sales. Yet one of our sister stations was consistently outperforming us in digital engagement.
At the time, stations were trying to drive web traffic, not social media. At that time, we hadn’t fully grasped the impact of Facebook and Instagram, much less how to monetize them. The big win for that sister station? A wet T-shirt contest photo gallery.
In a meeting, the market manager suggested we do something similar. “Push back” is a polite way to describe my response, because in my head, it was a strong “FOH!” When asked why I was so adamant, I recall my answer clearly: My ‘WHY.’ Because I have a sister, a mother, and female friends who would find that offensive.” While I remember exactly what I said, my tone and volume are a little fuzzy. I was clear in my head, but not sure how I said it. I just remember the room going silent. But I know we didn’t do a wet T-shirt gallery.
Another incident that came to mind involved a regional VP who commented on the music we were playing and suggested we play an older base of titles. Apparently, he had experience—at some point in his career—with a station that played The Temptations, The Supremes, and The Four Tops. No disrespect to those artists, but this was well into the 2000s, and our station was far from an oldies format.
I remember my response to him vividly. My delivery was calm and direct: “If you like the music I’m playing on this station, I’m probably playing the wrong music.” Some might think that was harsh. It wasn’t. One, he wasn’t in programming. Two, the last time he was in programming, the aforementioned artists were in active gold rotation. And three, he was out of his lane, and this was not the first time.
Unfortunately, I have more stories like these, as I’m sure other programmers do. But the number of incidents isn’t the point. The question is: What is Urban, and what is not?
Years ago, I worked at a major market station that hired a consultant who wasn’t African American. The staff was less than pleased. When someone asked what he knew about Black radio, my response was clear—as if it happened yesterday: “I know Black radio. I want to know what he knows about radio.”
In Urban radio, opinions on music selection, category architecture and imaging vary. But the basics of execution have been set by ratings methodology. Urban PDs know the culture because they live it. And that’s exactly why you hire one.
Radio is radio.
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Ken Johnson is an Urban/Hip-Hop columnist for Barrett Media. Born and raised in Washington DC, his career experiences include serving as VP of Urban formats for Cumulus Media, holding the Director of Urban Programming post at ABC Radio Networks, and programming stations in Birmingham, Boston, Philadelphia, and New York City. He has also managed affiliate relations for the Nick Cannon show, and worked as the Executive Producer of The Hughley Truth Podcast hosted by comedian DL Hughley. Ken currently runs Mean Ole Lion Media, a content creation company and podcast network. He can be reached by email at ken@kenjohnsonmedia.com.
