Bob Richard did a lot of heavy lifting while running Emmis Indianapolis.
“Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.” William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part 2
People listen to a radio station without much interest in how the words and music they hear get to their ears. Management is the farthest thing from the minds of listeners as they hear Dan Dakich hammer IU for a lackluster performance, Hammer & Nigel Records latest release, a new country song, or an old favorite pop song from the 1980, but it’s a very important link in the chain between the creation of content and its arrival in the listeners’ ears.
Emmis Communications announced today a peaceful transition of power at its Indianapolis cluster of radio stations. Market manager Bob Richards will leave and vice president of sales Taja Graham will succeed him after a period that will end with the beginning of the Emmis 2022 fiscal year – March 1.
I can’t pretend to know Bob well. We worked together for a couple of months in late 2009 and shared a few lunches after that as his responsibilities grew from programming to market manager. Over the years of listening to WIBC, 1075 the Fan, Hank 97.1, B105, and Network Indiana, I’ve grown to admire Bob’s ability to shepherd the resources of Emmis into products that regularly exceed audience expectations.
These are tough times to be a good manager in media. Whether in TV, print, digital, or radio, the game is to find a way to create compelling content with fewer resources – and that means fewer people. It’s sarcastically referred to by staff as “Cutting our way to profitability!”
While staff mocks the cuts as they take jobs from co-workers and friends, it’s also extremely difficult for managers to execute these cuts. I haven’t been around as any of the many rounds of cuts have been orchestrated and executed by Bob and his staff, but I’m sure there were sleepless nights – and they likely continue.
One of the things people rarely consider when cuts are made is how many jobs were saved by managers like Bob and his staff. In the building where Bob leads, I’ve seen managers stand and shout their defenses of employees who fell onto the list of cuts. Some were saved, and others were not, but no one outside those in the room knew who was taken from the list because of a passionate defense. Some of the who were saved became the harshest critics of management after the cuts were announced.
It takes a special kind of human being to ride herd over repeated layoffs, while trying to maintain enough profitability to be a viable part of a corporate family. Bob has somehow managed to lead Emmis Indianapolis through cuts without gutting the locality of the product. In fact, WIBC and The Fan are more local today than they were when I was there. That is a remarkable accomplishment.
No one stops by Bob’s office to say thanks, but they should. He has done the work asked of him in the utter loneliness of middle management. Despite being on top of the pyramid at Emmis Indianapolis, Bob answers to corporate, just as his management team answers to him. There is no praise for a market manager – just a begrudging gratefulness among those who remain after cuts are announced.
Everyone in radio understands their turn will come, and one of the primary responsibilities of the market manager will be to minimize those episodes as much as possible by leading the staff to success in sales and programming. It’s exhausting, and Bob has done it well enough that listening to Emmis properties is more enjoyable today as it was when he took the job to run the cluster.
That’s a hell of an accomplishment for which all Emmis employees – past and present – should be thankful. These aren’t easy times to lead in media. Bob’s hard work can be heard on four outstanding radio stations, one statewide network, and a variety of digital platforms.
Now, Taja will find herself in the big chair where decisions are made. She has always been a very smart, humane, good natured, and trusting person, so I assume that will be reflected in her management. The last four people to sit in her new chair have shown dignity and agility in their leadership. Christine Woodward Duncan, Tom Severino, Charlie Morgan, and Bob Richards were capable stewards of the brands, employees, and listeners who trust Emmis to deliver a unique workplace and great content.
God’s speed and thanks, Bob. Good luck, Taja.