Mr. Marconi, Are You Listening?

I walked into the WLNK Studio last week to inform Max, Todd, Sheri and Bob that they had been nominated for a Marconi Award. It’s hard to win the Marconi Award, named after the Radio inventor and Nobel Prize winner Guglielmo Marconi. The NAB Marconi Awards is given annually to the Outstanding On-air Personality recognizing Excellence in Radio.

I was carrying the plaque they send when you’re nominated. It’s a familiar 8×11 piece of grouted wood they send out annually for 50 years. They recognized it at once. Upon the ‘big news’ I was surprised to see that they weren’t as excited as I thought the news would bring. It was apparent that this was a routine occurrence, so I asked how many times they had been nominated. Simultaneously Sheri said ’10’ and Bob said ‘9’. This is amusing. Not because they don’t know or care how often they’ve been nominated for Radio’s Oscar.  But how could the Marconi not have awarded this show for so long? It doesn’t make sense. Most of the time when you are recognized for your achievements there’s a criteria that defines that distinction. The Bob & Sheri Show has achieved every conceivable level of success in our business. The Bob & Sheri Show has impacted benevolent endeavors; charities; civic causes and concerns; and families in Charlotte for almost 30 years.

I’ve been in this business my entire career and I have worked with the best people, best shows and best companies in our industry. I have been fortunate to spend the past 30 years in broadcast management primarily in New York, Michigan and Carolina. I have managed local radio operations, Regions and rep firms and I have never met a show like The Bob & Sheri Show.

Most folks know that Bob and Sheri are a morning radio network show which is based at WLNK in Charlotte. They’ve been holding down that position for a few decades. WLNK is one of the finest radio station in America. It broadcasts at a maximum power of 100,000 watts covering central Carolina. Our industry defines the station as playing Contemporary music which by definition means it changes a lot. And over time, there’s been a lot of change at our station and in our business. The one thing you can count on is the morning show never changed. You can depend on it.

Morning radio in Charlotte is very competitive. There are several syndicated shows which originate from Charlotte to many other towns around America. That’s unusual. It’s a very good radio town with a rich radio history. WLNK parent Entercom also owns Sports/WFNZ and News/WBT in Charlotte. WBT signed on in 1922 as one of the first radio signals in America. The point is that this market is extremely competitive and brand equity is almost required to compete. Bob and Sheri have dominated ratings and reviews at the top longer than any show in their format in America today. I’m sure that’s important to the Marconi Award.

They’re very good at this. In order to be great in Radio it requires about 100 things to happen simultaneously and you need talent. Many times we are able to measure our success by our client partners and our listener response. One of the inherent obligations The Bob & Sheri Show assumed was doing good for the community. This show has raised millions of dollars making a difference in their communities. Their commitment to causes like Veterans services and Literacy is overt and they continue to demonstrate change for good, but the connection to the people is much deeper than the charity work.

The show continues to move with the times. The music changes and GM changes and the imaging changes and the sound changes. The show endures this change because it fosters change.  This show has been successful longer than any other show in our business because they connect with people. The BnS listener family is as loyal as any I’ve seen. In marketing the connection between Sports and Music with the consumer can be very powerful. This is more powerful than that and I have figured out why. This isn’t a demographic group. It’s a family of friends. Bob and Sheri’s audience is not an age group, they’re a lifestyle. This show interrogates life without taking it too serious. This show laughs a lot, but also cries. This show is most certainly about people’s lives; showing compassion through the journey; the absurd and arbitrary struggle of life; and more than anything else, mental health. Sheri Lynch’s personal quest to out the stigma of mental health will endure far beyond the amazing run this show is having. When I listen to the show they are inviting me into their home to sit on the couch and nothing is taboo. I contend that Sheri Lynch and The Bob & Sheri Show cracked open the social customs that suppressed discussion of mental health issues more than any other. This is the first show to do that and they still do it every day.  Marconi…..all due respect to all winners, but who else has impacted our society like this with our medium?

No one reading this has an understanding of the impact that The Bob & Sheri Show has on our community and society. This show will be critically lauded for years. We’re all living history right now. Bob yielded to Sheri as a one chair (lead voice in a duo) long before there was a cause or a movement. He knows what works with people not genders. He understood this before maybe anyone.  Bob Lacey identifies, captures and understands societal shifts and feelings for a living. He learned early on that he is able to take them, see what those feel like, and then tell the rest of us what we’re feeling. He is a genius and belongs in the Hall of Fame. Working around this guy is an extraordinary experience. Women’s empowerment is a cause they care about because Bob and Sheri helped pioneer it in our business and that needs to be said on the record. Mr. Marconi, are you listening?

It’s the show’s subject matter that makes the biggest difference. Bob and Sheri have never felt ‘too edgy’ or ‘not hip enough’ because they’re largely helping dictate that. This show is Pop culture personified….but with a multi dimensional, free thinking, contemporary, healthy soul. Sheri manages a very large business. I think the most impressive thing about this show has been their ability to lead and adapt for so long. Not just in ratings. The audience has loved The Bob & Sheri Show with consistent regularity over a long period of time, but they’re also leading in other ways. Technological advancements in our business are fierce and require knowledge, understanding and a lot of resources. It’s so very difficult to become proficient in our craft today due to the technological influence on content distribution. The Bob & Sheri Show has led on this throughout. They have been ahead of this the entire time and continue to provide quality content through many different methods of distribution (like this!). That’s called innovation Mr Marconi;)

I’m honored to work with this show. To see the power of their message motivate a behavior in the marketplace that can help make a difference. To acknowledge the mountain of good over the years of service. The selfless dedicated hours to others with a hope of connecting and continuing to deliver a positive message. We do not need awards to see that. We’re all living it and to be a part of it is quite amazing.

It’s hard to tell the folks at Marconi that their credibility is in question, but the facts are mounting.

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