The recent Labor Day holiday marked twenty-seven years hosting mornings for Elliot Segal at iHeartRadio Rock 101 WWDC in Washington D.C. — better known as DC 101. After that many years of sustained success, plus already being inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame, you might think he would be resting on his laurels. But Segal remains as passionate about doing a great show today as he has ever been.
“I love hockey and I always remember a buddy of mine who played saying something to the effect of how he didn’t know what’s worse, never winning a Stanley Cup or only winning it once,” Segal says. “Because once you win it, all you want to do is have that feeling of lifting the cup one more time.” That sums up Segal’s mindset almost three decades into hosting mornings in one of the country’s most competitive markets. Indeed, he’s hoisted the ratings cup many times, but he wants more.
The Difference Between Change and Evolution
Over the length of his career, you might think his approach to hosting a morning show would have changed. However, Segal draws a distinction, preferring to think of it another way. “What happens break to break and day to day has evolved. I don’t like saying it’s changed because there wasn’t a moment where it was, ‘we need to do something different.'” Importantly, he is glad the show has developed over his career. “Radio styles evolve over time, and they should. That’s healthy,” Segal says. “People’s lives change, perspective grows, hopefully for the better. I don’t want to be doing the same show I was doing 27 years ago. None of us would have grown.”
What hasn’t changed, or evolved, is the central tenet of his show. “Everything that we do is listener focused,” Segal says. “Not just from an interactive standpoint and a participatory standpoint, but in the sense that listening is the number one thing that’s important to me — growing an audience, serving an audience, and interacting with them.”
That listener-focused approach shows up in the show’s ratings profile, of which he is understandably proud. “I love that our adult numbers are big. It’s not a male-driven show. It’s not a female-driven show. It is a person-driven show.” While that may be less common on rock stations, which tend to lean male, it makes sense for Segal. He learned under two legendary Top 40 talents — John Lander and Scott Shannon. “My energy is very Top 40,” he says. “And it was never a male-dominated show. I wanted anybody to be able to listen.”
The Difference Between Funny and Entertaining
Much like he prefers to think of his show as evolving over time, he also prefers to see it as entertaining rather than funny. “Entertaining can be funny. It can be serious. It can be sad,” Segal says. “I do think you want to lean toward being funny — people’s natural desire is to have fun. But I don’t think that’s the sole element.” If somebody said they really liked the show because it’s entertaining, that matters just as much to him as somebody saying it’s funny. “I do want us to have fun, and I do want people to find laughs during the show. I mean, it’s fun for us. Who doesn’t love laughing?,” he says. “But I don’t think that’s the sole element.”
A big part of what drives the show’s entertainment factor is Segal’s curiosity. “Lander was probably the most curious person I’ve ever met. So, I learned a lot of that from him, but I think that probably also existed in me somewhere,” explains Segal. “I love hearing from somebody who’s had a life experience that I haven’t or offers a different perspective than what I, or anybody on the show, may think.” This type of interaction with the audience keeps the conversation and the show moving forward. That means incorporating a lot of callers.
“If I bring up a story and somebody’s experienced it, that’s way more interesting to me than my guessing what it’s like. If it’s somebody who can add something new, I’m interested in what they have to say,” Segal says. “Getting to hear somebody’s story or somebody’s experience or somebody’s heartbreak is interesting to me.”
The Difference Between Producers and a Team
When it comes to curiosity, Segal isn’t alone. “Everybody on the show is pretty curious by nature,” he says. This includes long-time co-host Diane Stupar-Hughes, Producer Tyler Molnar, and Second Producer Krysten Warnes. But be careful assuming anything about how the team works — titles can be deceptive.
“To say Diane does news and entertainment is a slight to Diane. To say Tyler is the producer of the show is a slight to Tyler,” Segal says. “Everybody’s a prep machine. Everybody’s an idea machine. Everybody is as much a behind-the-scenes person as they are a performer on the air. They all have the freedom to interject, to improve the quality of the show, and they’ve all earned it.”
Much like in Segal’s beloved sport of hockey, everyone is focused on the team. “Everybody has the same mission every day. To put out the best product that we can. No matter where it comes from, no matter who says it, no matter who does it. Everybody’s on the same page and pulling for each other,” he says. “And trust me, I’ve been around shows where that’s not the case.”
The Difference Between Interaction and Community
While a high volume of phone calls is a hallmark of many radio shows, Segal sets himself apart by enjoying meeting the audience. “I love being around people. That part’s great.”
For example, he recently hosted a magic night with area magicians performing. “It was so much fun. I love magic,” he says. “We learned that there happen to be some very talented magicians in D.C., so we decided let’s do a magic night.” He partnered with a sponsor who has a brewery with a private speakeasy room. Listeners had to win their tickets from Segal in the morning. The result was approximately one hundred people having drinks and watching a magic show. “It was a great night. And it was built out of the idea that I love magic, which led to the question, what can we do?”
This underscores Segal’s willingness to create opportunities that include spending time with listeners. He does Tiki Takeovers at a friend’s Tiki Bar with bands like The Head and the Heart and Switchfoot. Additionally, if no bands are available, he’ll just host a happy hour.
“I don’t want to call it a glorified meet and greet, but it’s a glorified meet and greet,” he says with a laugh. “We get access to things I hope I never take for granted. And I’d much rather go watch a band with a hundred people who are all there for the same reason, than go do it alone.”
The variety of types of events and bands is intentional, to help deliver on the idea of a show for everyone. “I hope there’s something for everybody. It’s the same way I approach doing the show in general. I hope that the listeners trust us enough to know that if what we’re doing right now isn’t for them, something is coming that hopefully is.”
The Difference Between Pain and Healing
While he remains steadfastly focused on the audience, Segal realizes not everybody in the industry has that luxury. Many hosts are facing the need to focus more on revenue than ratings. “I don’t feel a pressure of, oh my God, I’ve got to generate revenue. I am first and foremost about the audience. Generating revenue for the company will always be important for me, but the audience always comes first.”
He credits that ability to focus on the audience to his situation. “I’m very blessed to have a market manager that understands the way that I think, and that by doing it that way, we can generate a lot of revenue, which we do. But I’m also smart enough to know that not everybody’s my market manager. At some point I’m a line on an Excel spreadsheet and somebody could wake up and decide, ‘he doesn’t generate enough revenue, so goodbye.'”
Unlike many in radio who love to pontificate about the industry’s state and how it can be fixed, Segal won’t second-guess the decisions being made by people like iHeartMedia Chairman and CEO Bob Pittman or Cumulus Media President and CEO Mary Berner. “It’s very easy for me to sit here and go, well, here’s what I would change. But I don’t sit in that chair.”
While he doesn’t think the industry is doomed, he does think radio has to hit a breaking point before it can rebound. “There’s an old expression — at some point you have to break the bone and heal. I hope we’re close to breaking the bone.”
In the meantime, his suggestion for other people in radio is to not get discouraged. Keep doing your best to create a great product. “Don’t just do it for money. Find a way to be successful and the money will follow.”
That’s why after twenty-seven years hosting mornings, Segal is still striving to do a great show every day. He’s following his own advice, working harder, and focusing on the audience. But he knows things aren’t perfect in the industry. “I don’t feel bulletproof, but I’m not going to sacrifice the audience being the singular most important thing to me, in hopes that whoever’s looking at a spreadsheet doesn’t call my number.” Segal says. “So, I hope the bone breaks soon. And if not, I hope whoever does mornings at DC 101 next loves it.”
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