In the category of air talent, radio unicorns are few — those people who defy their market size while thriving in a format that doesn’t sync with their tenure. This time last year on the Barrett Media platform, we chronicled a cross-country trip to visit the world’s cutest grandkids — ours. On that trip, we were exposed to around 100 radio stations. Read about that trip HERE.
The second leg of the journey — covered HERE — ended in the heart of Missouri, where arguably the best-operated cluster of radio holds court: Zimmer Communications.
If you’re not up to speed on this blue-chip outfit, Zimmer Communications — once a major mid-market player — now operates in smaller towns across the Midwest.
The Columbia–Jefferson City brands of Zimmer Communications are led by John Zimmer, a champion of local, live radio and a true legendary broadcaster.
On the programming side, Zimmer Communications regularly assigns a content leader for each of its brands, including Barrett Media colleague Peter Thiele as their News/Talk Format Captain.
Their sales efforts reach beyond spots and sponsorships. Zimmer Communications acts as a plain-wrap agency for dozens of local clients, publishes a mid-Missouri magazine, and employs a half-dozen digital experts along with a robust Creative Services team. They have won a vast number of local, regional, and national awards — so many that if their trophy case were outside the building, it would be visible from the International Space Station.
Their team culture is admired throughout the industry. Zimmer Communications’ tenured talent are often recruited to major markets, with the answer almost always being a resounding “no thanks.”
Which brings us to one of their most loyal — Nick “Cosmo” Schudel — longtime morning anchor for their Top 40 juggernaut Y107. What makes Cosmo a Radio Unicorn is his market longevity, loyalty to Zimmer and the Columbia market, and his ability to remain relevant through decades of evolution.
Like nationally syndicated Elvis Duran — who’s 61 — or what Scott Shannon achieved as he too approached 60, and what cross-state St. Louis legend Guy Phillips accomplished, Cosmo has the knack and talent to stay connected to a much younger audience while chasing Father Time.
On a recent trip to Columbia, we shared coffee, conversation, and reflection on his remarkable career.
*Editor’s Note: Answers have been edited for clarity and length.*
Kevin Robinson: Share with us the beginning of your radio journey and what brought you to Columbia.
Cosmo: Out of the St. Louis Broadcast Center, my first job was — of all places — in Steamboat Springs. I was a 20-year-old kid who never imagined that my first apartment would be 20-some hours away. The company tried to get me to come out on a bus ride for an interview. Nope — I flew! It would’ve been a 26-hour bus trip for an interview!
I was there a year and a half for my first job. I did everything — talent on a Top 40, news, sports — and even took out the trash! It was in a little strip mall with an Army recruiter on one side and a jewelry store on the other.
Three months into the gig, I locked myself out of the station while taking out the trash. I was getting one last cigarette with the last few segments of Casey Kasem on CD and thought, “OK, I’ve got time to prep for the next morning.” But the door was locked. I had to bang on the door of the program director who lived behind the station at 10:45 p.m.! I thought for sure I was fired.
From Steamboat to Sedalia, Missouri — being a St. Louis kid, I wanted to get closer to home. I spent four years there, then got a call to northern Illinois: WDEK and Big City Radio. Big City attempted to cover Chicago with fringe signals. That didn’t work — we all got fired.
I thought, “OK, all right, son of a b***h — what do I do now?” But because I had all this experience doing 20 different things, I got a gig in Rockford at WZOK. It was a fluke. The next day, heading to Rockford, I was just going to drop my folder off in the door slot with my CD and résumé. Some remote tech from the station invited me in and asked me to wait for Program Director Scott Chase. I didn’t have an appointment, but we ended up doing an impromptu interview.
He came out of the studio like, “Who the hell are you, and how did you get in here?” We talked for 45 minutes, and a week later I was hired — got to do a “morning show at night,” and I had a blast with it. That was my goal: a morning show, and I was able to do that at night!
After WZOK was sold, I got the opportunity to come back to Missouri and launch Q103.1 in Jefferson City, and then flip the 106.1 frequency to CHRT. Then the same company that bought Rockford came into Columbia — Cumulus — and I knew the writing was on the wall.
All my coworkers were like, “What are you freaking out about?” I said, “I’ve seen this script. I’ve lived this script.” Contracts and bonus structures were ripped up. I knew where it was going. Luckily, I had no contract. I got in contact with the Zimmer folks, and my original show, Cosmo and JC — which people still talk about — went from being a night show on a Friday to a morning show the next Monday.
Kevin Robinson: Tell me about your two decades in Columbia.
Cosmo: This fall marks 25 years since I moved back here to Columbia — and 21 years on Y107! There are moments I still have to stop and pinch myself, like “Holy crap.” Now I realize that this is my spot! I’m not letting go of it, no matter who my coach is or what format tweaks come from different consultants.
It’s pretty cool here — in Columbia and at a station that believes in local talent and gives us great resources. There are very few buildings where all the morning shows hang in the hallway — talking about what’s going on, bouncing jokes off each other, brainstorming. We’ve got four live, local shows with multiple players. There’s an energy to that, and we compete with each other to keep improving.
I watch Scotty and Shags and Trevor and the other morning shows work so hard to get better and evolve their brands. I’m not getting left behind in that — they help me so much.
Kevin Robinson: What was your best day on the radio?
Cosmo: One of the ones I’m most proud of happened just a couple of weeks ago. A 21-year-old Stevens College student, Aiyanna Williams, was the victim of errant gunfire — some guy got into an argument downtown, fired off 11 shots at random, hitting three people up the block. She played high school volleyball with my daughter.
This happened on a Friday night into Saturday morning — Mizzou Homecoming weekend. That next Monday, we scrapped an entire hour of regular programming and just opened the phone lines. No political talk — that wasn’t the time. I shared my personal feelings, and we had parents and students calling in.
After the Chiefs’ Super Bowl rally shooting in Kansas City. We scrapped everything and said, “We feel like you — hurt, confused, scared — and we’re right there with you.” It’s hard to do morning radio on days like that, but we used our platform for good.
The freedom to do that at Zimmer is great. Too often, shows don’t know how to tap into real emotions because they get so caught up in format and characters. On days like these, we say, “Screw the benchmarks and format.” Radio is for your community.
That raw emotion makes us vulnerable. I’m normally the loud, obnoxious guy on the air, and I tell myself I can’t be the softy crying on the mic — but that’s the real me.
Kevin Robinson: Audio platforms are growing around you, and the target audience is getting further from your personal perspective. What keeps you and your show relevant?
Cosmo: The number one thing is being raw and real. You’re not going to get that from anyone off the radio, no matter how good the podcast or national show is — they don’t even know where Columbia is on a map.
To continue that relationship, we go where the audience is — connected on social, especially in a younger format. I ask my 22-year-old daughter for help all the time.
We also focus on that one person — our P1. What’s their name? Where do they live? What do they do? We even have a picture in the studio — she’s named Emily. Does the content pass the “Emily filter”?
Plus, we have younger women in our building — our Advisory Panel. We ask about imaging, promos, and trends. Every local business can learn from that.
If you’re sitting in a restaurant like Murray’s next door, they know their brand and core customer. If you’re in a format outside your demo, you have to work even harder to stay relevant. Don’t use verbiage that’s not natural — I’m not going to say “squad” because I’d lose more points than I’d gain.
I can be hip and connect to the demo without faking it. I talk about what they’re talking about truthfully. I’m not going to pretend to know a show because it’s on a prep sheet. I’ve got to be authentic.
Kevin Robinson: What’s your best advice for emerging talent ready to dive into radio?
Cosmo: Be really good with your money — save your money (laughs). Do some things I wish I would’ve done. Soak up anything and everything you can. That helped me get opportunities I wouldn’t have had if I’d focused on just one thing.
When new people come to us, we ask them to teach us something we don’t know. We just hired a Mizzou grad — a producer on our talk station — who wants to learn everything. A lot of us veterans are soaking up his knowledge while teaching him what we know.
Be open to learning every aspect of the business: helping with the website, voicing commercials, producing a high school football game. The more you know, the more opportunities you’ll have.
Experience matters less than attitude. You can have 15 years and a résumé full of call letters, but if you’re not a team player — if you won’t help at the food drive or school supply drive, or show up early for the Tiger tailgate — we’ll find someone with half your experience who will.
Kevin Robinson: If you could interview or cohost your show with anyone, living or dead, who would it be?
Cosmo: I think back to David Letterman — a radio guy back in the day. One of my friends would watch Letterman, and I had no idea who that was. This guy was throwing watermelons off buildings and doing stupid human tricks. I’d love to share a mic with him — his timing was great.
I also do play-by-play locally. If I could share a mic on a baseball broadcast with Jack Buck — oh my gosh! Growing up in St. Louis, that would be incredible. My dad had a little transistor radio back when there were only 30 games on TV — it was always on. If I could share a mic with Jack Buck for half an inning, let’s go.
Conclusion
Cosmo shared that he occasionally looked at bigger-market opportunities but feels blessed to have chosen to remain with Zimmer Communications for the past two decades.
When our hour-long chat wrapped up, Cosmo said it best — with spot-on realism:
“Our brand is relationship radio. It’s what connects us. Our spouse, kids friend and coworkers. Relationships define us and it resonates with our most loyal listeners.”
In light of another big-company layoff just last week, clearly, Cosmo chose wisely.
Radio needs unicorns like Cosmo behind the mic.
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Kevin Robinson is a passionate award-winning programmer, consultant and coach – with multi-formats success all over the country. He has advised numerous companies including Audacy (formerly Entercom Communications), Beasley Broadcast Group, Westwood One, Midwest Communications, Townsquare Media, Midwest Family Broadcasting Group, EG Media Group, Federated Media, Kensington Media, mediaBrew Communications, Starved Rock Media, and more. He specializes in strategic radio cluster alignment, building lean-forward tactics and talent coaching – legacy and entry-level – personalities.
Known largely as a trusted talent coach, Kevin is the only personality mentor who’s coached three different morning shows on three different brands in the same major market to the #1 position. His efforts have been recognized by The World Wide Radio Summit, Radio & Records, NAB’s Marconi, and he has coached CMA, ACM and Marconi Award-winning talent. He is also in The Zionsville High School Hall of Fame as part of the 2008 inaugural class. Kevin is an Indiana native – living near Zionsville with his wife of 39 years, Monica and can be reached at kevin@robinsonmedia.fm.
