Every once in a while, radio gives us the kind of promotion story that ought to be printed out and taped to the wall of every promotions office in America.
Zöe McMahan started at Cumulus Media Mobile as a promotions assistant.
Four years later?
She is the Program Director and afternoon personality of 97.5 WABD.
Now THAT is how you grow talent.
McMahan has been elevated to lead the Mobile CHR while moving from middays into afternoon drive, adding programming responsibility to a résumé that already includes sales, promotions and on-air work across the Cumulus Gulf Coast operation.
And somebody currently hauling station banners into the back of a van needs to pay attention to this story.
THE PERSON SETTING UP THE REMOTE TODAY MIGHT BE RUNNING THE RADIO STATION TOMORROW.
She Didnt Walk Into The Building As A Program Director
That’s what makes this so good.
McMahan’s climb didn’t begin with a corner office or a programming title.
It began in promotions.
Anyone who has worked in radio knows exactly what that can mean.
Set up the tent.
Find the extension cord.
Load the van.
Unload the van.
Find the missing prize wheel.
Smile at the client.
Take pictures.
Post everything.
Get back to the station.
Then discover somebody needs something else immediately.
Promotions can be one of radio’s greatest training grounds because you learn the station from the street level.
You meet the audience.
You meet advertisers.
You learn what gets people’s attention.
You watch which personalities connect with listeners.
You discover very quickly that a radio brand is considerably more than whatever comes through the speakers.
McMahan started there.
Then she kept moving.
Then She Learned The Money Side
During her four years with the cluster, McMahan also worked as an account executive and regional sales assistant.
This part might ultimately make her a better programmer.
Because programmers should understand sales.
And salespeople should understand programming.
THE TWO SIDES ARE NOT ENEMIES.
One creates an audience.
The other creates revenue around that audience.
A great programmer who has never spoken with a client can miss part of the picture.
A great salesperson who doesn’t understand the brand can miss it too.
McMahan has now spent time on both sides.
She knows what happens when somebody walks into a business asking it to invest money in the station.
And now, as Program Director, she gets to help make sure there is a product worth investing in.
That’s valuable experience.
Oh And She Actually Knows How To Be On The Radio Too
McMahan has also been handling middays on 97.5 WABD, while simultaneously being heard on sister Rhythmic CHR Hot 94.1 WMEZ Pensacola.
So let’s review.
Promotions.
Sales.
Regional sales support.
Middays.
Two stations.
Two markets.
And now…
PROGRAM DIRECTOR AND AFTERNOON HOST.
Zöe apparently looked at the traditional radio career ladder and decided she’d just try every rung on the way up.
This Is Exactly How Radio Should Be Developing People
We talk endlessly about finding the next generation of radio programmers.
They’re out there.
Sometimes they’re already inside the damn building.
They’re doing promotions.
They’re doing weekends.
They’re working in sales.
They’re producing mornings.
They’re creating social video.
They’re voicetracking another station.
They’re watching.
Learning.
Listening.
And hoping somebody notices they’re capable of more.
NOTICE THEM.
Give them assignments.
Bring them into music meetings.
Let them hear strategy conversations.
Teach them clocks.
Teach them ratings.
Teach them digital.
Teach them revenue.
Give them responsibility before the industry complains there isn’t anybody ready for responsibility.
McMahan’s career progression is precisely the kind of pipeline radio needs.
And Now She Gets To Drive WABD
This is where everything changes.
It’s one thing to be responsible for your show.
It’s another thing to be responsible for the station.
Now you’re thinking about every hour.
Every personality.
Every transition.
Every record.
Every promotion.
Every piece of imaging.
Every digital extension.
Every listener touchpoint.
You’re deciding what 97.5 WABD is supposed to feel like.
Not simply at 4:17 in the afternoon when you’re behind the microphone.
At 7:06 in the morning.
At noon.
At midnight.
Saturday night.
Monday morning.
THAT’S PROGRAMMING.
You’re not filling boxes on a clock.
You’re building a personality for an entire radio station.
CHR Needs People Who Live In The Culture
And this is especially important for Contemporary Hit Radio.
CHR cannot afford to become a computerized list of currents.
The format has to move.
Music changes.
Social platforms change.
Memes change overnight.
Artists explode seemingly out of nowhere.
Listener vocabulary changes.
Something nobody cared about Monday can become the biggest story on the internet by Wednesday afternoon.
CHR needs programmers who understand that the station doesn’t simply compete against the other Top 40 station anymore.
It competes against TikTok.
YouTube.
Spotify.
Instagram.
Podcasts.
Creators.
Gaming.
Every notification appearing on the listener’s phone.
That requires programmers who think beyond the transmitter.
McMahan’s cross-department experience could become a significant advantage here.
An On The Dial Perspective
This is one of my favorite kinds of radio stories.
Not because somebody got a title.
Because somebody grew.
Promotions assistant to Program Director in roughly four years is a hell of a journey.
And Cumulus deserves credit for recognizing somebody already within its operation and giving her an opportunity to take the next step.
Now comes the responsibility that should accompany that opportunity:
LET HER PROGRAM.
Let young programmers have ideas.
Let them experiment intelligently.
Let them find the next personality.
Let them identify the weird record everybody else overlooked.
Let them create something on social media that doesn’t look like corporate radio discovered Instagram last Tuesday.
Let the station have a pulse.
Let it occasionally surprise us.
Because CHR should be exciting.
It’s right there in the job description.
THE HITS ARE HAPPENING RIGHT NOW.
The station ought to feel like it too.
Somewhere A Promotions Assistant Should Be Smiling
This is the part I hope people inside radio notice.
Four years ago, Zöe McMahan wasn’t sitting in the Program Director’s chair.
She was beginning at the cluster as a promotions assistant.
Now she’s responsible for helping steer one of its brands.
That’s not merely a promotion.
THAT’S A ROAD MAP.
So congratulations, Zöe.
You’ve loaded the van.
You’ve worked promotions.
You’ve sold the product.
You’ve supported sales.
You’ve sat behind the microphone.
You’ve worked across formats and markets.
And now somebody handed you the keys to 97.5 WABD.
There’s only one appropriate thing left to do.
TURN THAT THING ALL THE WAY UP.
Because somewhere in another radio station right now, a promotions assistant is dragging a banner across a parking lot wondering where this crazy business might eventually take them.
Show them.
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