Everyone is still shaking their head this week over the amazing Indiana football story. Coach Curt Cignetti took a team that nobody thought could have a winning record to the national championship in just two years. Remember when a radio station could do that? As a New Yorker, the best example was Z100 under Scott Shannon.
He took a lowly New Jersey-licensed station to the top in New York in essentially one ratings book. August 2, 1983, was a significant day in radio history, as that was when it all began. Scott was the perfect man for the job.
While he came to New York from Tampa, his resume was filled with many success stories, including time with record companies. And while he did not live in New York, he studied and knew the market. His success was built not in the boroughs of the city, but rather in the suburbs, which were starved for hit music.
By the time school started in September, every high school student on Long Island and in New Jersey was starting their day with Scott Shannon and the Z Morning Zoo. Could anything like that even happen today? Could a company find a format hole in a huge market and make enough noise to go from worst to first?
Beyond the music and personalities of Z100 in 1983, a key element of the station’s success was the imaging. Here was a little station licensed to New Jersey suddenly proclaiming that they were broadcasting from the “Top-Top-Top of the Empire State Building,” but that was just the beginning.
I was fortunate enough to work with Scott at CBS-FM, and one of the many things I learned from him was the importance of imaging. He always said, “The greatest radio stations are created on a typewriter.” Sadly, that’s an area where many stations miss the mark these days.
I know programmers are doing multiple stations, have to grow revenue, and have no time to coach talent, let alone update imaging. However, as I travel this country, when I hear the exact same mediocre imaging piece on a station for two years, I shake my head. Where is the creativity? Are call letters followed by a positioning statement five times an hour really the best we can do?
Scott constantly pushed us at CBS-FM for creative and topical imaging. If something was happening in New York, it was always part of the imaging in Scott’s show. No matter the format, you can do the same with your station.
I’m always impressed with what comes out of the speakers here in Southwest Florida on WFSX, a conservative FM talk station featuring Clay Travis and Buck Sexton, and Sean Hannity. How’s this: “Welcome to Florida, where you get to keep your money, your guns, and the gender you were born with.” That statement tells you everything you need to know about what you’re listening to. Their main positioning statement is “right, all along,” which is a fantastic way to state their position to their audience as well.
If a conservative talk station can create fun and interesting imaging, imagine what could be done for a music or sports format.
How about this Saturday morning, when you have a minute and are drinking a cup of coffee, you come up with something a bit more creative than “My City’s #1 Hit Music Station.” Maybe something more interesting than “Today’s Hits and Yesterday’s Favorites.”
Some ideas never get old. Think of Scott Shannon and create a great radio station on your keyboard. It may not take you from worst to first, but it will certainly make your station more listenable.
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Jim Ryan is a Music Radio columnist for Barrett Media. In addition, he runs Jim Ryan Media LLC, a consulting company which assists major market radio brands and top talent including national radio personality Delilah. Prior to relaunching his consultancy in 2025, Jim spent 15 years with Audacy/CBS Radio, serving as SVP of Programming. Among his responsibilities included programming WNEW-FM and WCBS-FM. His career includes additional programming stops in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Houston. Jim was voted the #2 PD of 2024 in Barrett Media’s Top 20 series in the AC category. He can be reached by email at Jim@JimRyanMedia.com.
