Brandon Ison is stepping into a bigger role at the Worldwide News Network. The network elevated him to Vice President of News & Operations. He now oversees the radio news operation that launched earlier this year.
Ison takes over for Lee Harris, who exited the role in August. Harris had brought him to the network after CBS News Radio ceased operations.
Ison didn’t hesitate to share how he feels about the promotion.
“I couldn’t be much more excited to have this opportunity,” said Ison. “I started out at an independently owned cluster in 1996. To be back in an environment where the owner walks the halls and has the same love and passion for the game as I do, it’s truly incredible. Just having that makes it easy to put in the long hours that are necessary to accomplish our goals.”
A Vision Years in the Making
Ison had imagined a network like this for years. Then CBS announced it would close its radio news operation.
“I already had a vision of how a news network could operate,” said Ison. “I had attempted with previous employers and other allies in the industry to get something going for the better part of a decade. When CBS announced in February that they were folding their radio news operation, my heart just really sank. People close to me were reaching out, asking if I was going to launch something on my own.”
Meanwhile, Harris soon announced plans to launch a radio news network built to replace the top-tier services of CBS News Radio. Ison reached out immediately.
“The longtime vision that John Catsimatidis has had for a Worldwide News Network is nearly parallel to the vision that I’ve long had,” Ison said. “We’re really in sync on this. It’s no opinion, no spin, reporting the facts with journalistic integrity from trusted sources in a balanced and responsible way. That allows our listeners to digest and better understand the world as it is when they wake up each day.”
Lessons From a Cow Pasture
Notably, Ison’s path started long before the network existed.
“I started out as an overnight country DJ at 16 years old in Yakima, Washington,” the Worldwide News Network executive shared. “We were broadcasting from a trailer in the middle of a cow pasture next to a train track. I come from an all-hands-on-deck environment. Each of us possessed the skills to be the engineer, the IT person, the street team, the producer, and the writer. It was a well-rounded, no-excuses situation that has stayed with me throughout my entire career.”
That background also shapes how he manages people. Most of his staff came from CBS, so he leans on trust.
“My leadership has always been, people come to me and say, ‘Hey, I’ve got this idea,’ and I just say, ‘Do it,’” said Ison. “If it doesn’t work, then we just move on. We continue to grow that way, which has been very valuable. Everyone here knows that they can be themselves. I think trust is a key word.”
What Comes Next
Now Ison turns his attention to growth. First on his list is building out the network’s content.
“We’re most excited to be in the process of building out the network in terms of content, contributors, and correspondents,” Ison said. “We’re working with our affiliates and potential affiliates on what their needs are as far as content goes, creating that content. Now we’ve developed a unified delivery system to get that to them. That’s a major step for us.”
Meanwhile, the upcoming election gives the network an early showcase.
“In-house, we’re dubbing it our true coming-out party,” the Worldwide News Network executive shared. “It’ll be the first day that we launch our special report system, with election coverage reports going out on the bird at 15 and 45 every hour. We’ll be fully staffed that night with personnel dedicated to election coverage. We’ll also have a variety of political experts on hand to help break down the vote.”
Even so, Ison says the workload hasn’t weighed on him.
“I’ve been working 20-hour days for five months straight, and it’s not felt like that,” said Ison. “It’s been a very natural and organic fit for me to be here and be doing what we’re doing. To this day, I’m still really excited about what’s to come as we continue to build it.”
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