ABOUT
The Story Behind the Story; McVay’s Return to Consulting
McVay joined Cumulus in August 2011 as Senior VP of Programming after heading up McVay Media for 28 years.
In the summer of 2018, he expressed his interest to President/CEO Mary Berner to return to his consultancy, agreeing to stay on until his successor was named.
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Below is a portion of a memo Mary Berner sent to Cumulus employees recapping her relationship with McVay that began as she was placed in charge of the struggling radio group.
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Three and a half years ago and two days into my tenure at Cumulus, I made my first trip to Nashville with Mike McVay. It was clear from the initial and abundant feedback from our programmers that our corporate programming effort needed a reboot. Mike agreed. So as we headed to the office from the airport, I asked him, “What would you do if you were me?” For the rest of the ride, he outlined a broad plan for change and by the time we reached our destination, I was convinced that Mike was the perfect guy to lead our programming organization. It’s always nice to be right but, given how much was at stake, it was especially great to be right about Mike.
Mike’s accomplishments since his appointment as EVP, Content and Programming in 2015 are too numerous to count. To name just a few, under Mike’s leadership of the Office of Programming, we reversed four years of ratings share declines, and saw years of ratings share growth. We are currently posting the best ratings since 2011 on some of our biggest and most important stations. Mike has helped to expand Westwood One’s programming, participating in the launch of several new shows, including the very successful The Ben Shapiro Show. Mike has also led us in increasing our reach beyond over the air listening to include smart speakers and all online listening. The “collective contests” he initiated have greatly benefitted our markets from small to large. And perhaps most importantly, his commitment to our FORCE values has driven a significant improvement in our programming culture. A reboot, indeed. Last summer, Mike told me he wanted to return to the flexibility of his highly successful consulting career. I asked, and he agreed to stay on to ensure a smooth transition and to lead the search for his replacement.
Today … McVay is operating McVay Media Consulting. He is again sharing with content creators how to develop, build and perfect content. His success rate is substantiated.
Ryan Kershner
EVP Audio Creation & Design
Ryan comes to McVay Media with nearly 20 years of production experience in the broadcast industry -- including, but not limited to:
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Producing Podcasts
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Long-form & Short-form Programming
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Imaging and Promotional Messaging
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Audio Production
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Audio Content for Radio, Syndication, Podcasting, Audio Books, Educational, Institutional Presentations and Social Media
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Talent Guidance
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Marketing Recommendations
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Audio with video options
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On-Site Equipment and Automation Programming
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Creating a program from concept to completion -- Ideation, Concept, Strategy, Coaching and Creation
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With a proven track record of managing air-talent, providing audio production to syndicated radio shows, and an outstanding ability to communicate in a clear and noninvasive manner, Ryan brings a high level of expertise to McVay Media.
In 2019, Ryan created the weekend program, “With Elaina” (Westwood One), with Elaina D. Smith, eventually turning it into the nightly “Nights with Elaina” in 2020. Prior to his exit in 2022, he was the Executive Producer of "Nash Nights Live," later replaced by the afore mentioned "Nights with Elaina" (2014-2022).
Before working with Cumulus/Westwood One, Ryan's other positions included commercial production and on-air programming with iHeart Nashville (2013-2014) . . . Producer for McVay Syndication's daily "The Donny Osmond Radio Show," the daily feature "8 Track Playback," and the weekly "Donny's Datebook" (2009-2017) . . . Production Creative Sales for CBS Radio-Cleveland (2006-2008) . . . and Production Manager for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's overnight show,"Moonlight Groove Highway" (2005).