Leading Question

>>Big corporate radio dominates the Southwest Florida market, at least if you're tallying call letters; Clear Channel Communications, Beasley Broadcast Group and Renda Broadcasting stations combine to outnumber the independents by almost two to one.

But don't count indies out. The majors certainly haven't.

"[Independents] are competitors and they're really good competitors," says Caroline Beasley, vice president and chief financial officer of Beasley Broadcast Group, one of the corporate biggies. "It doesn't matter whether they're independent or not. We take everyone seriously." Naples-based Beasley owns or operates 41 stations (26 FM and 15 AM) in 10 large- and mid-size markets in the United States.

After all, when it comes to making money, a station's true muscle comes from good ratings. Larger listening audiences attract more advertisers, who, in turn, will pay more for spots. And in our region, a majority of the top-10 Arbitron scorers are independents.

The perennial list topper is WAVV-FM, which pulled in an 11.8 share during the fall survey of listeners 12 years and older (total audience measurement). It's a position that the Naples easy-listening station has held for 11 years. The middle finishers were conglomerates Clear Channel, Beasley and Renda. And spots seven through 10 in the Arbitrons went to stations owned by Fort Myers Broadcasting and Meridian Broadcasting, the other independents.

(WGCU-FM/WMKO-FM public radio station garnered second place. But because public radio does not sell commercial time, the Arbitron rating has no bearing on its revenues, and public radio does not appear on the same ratings lists with commercial stations.)

Joe Schwartzel is owner and general manager of Meridian Broadcasting, which owns four stations and operates two others in Southwest Florida. When he arrived in Fort Myers 30 years ago, several mom-and-pop stations served the community. At that time, a company could own only one AM and one FM station, Schwartzel explains. Since the Federal Communications Commission began allowing companies to own multiple stations in one market, the independents have dwindled to a handful.

Consolidation grew out of deregulation that began during President Jimmy Carter's administration because the radio business was not doing well, says Bob Papper, a media researcher and professor of telecommunications at Ball State University in Indiana.

Although many independents disappeared, the FCC's moves have been good for the industry. Strength in numbers has made businesses stronger; thus they compete well with TV and newspapers for ad revenues, says Schwartzel.

Independents might be holding their own against the larger broadcast operations, but there are challenges, mostly in operating costs, Schwartzel says. Larger companies, for example, can employ an announcer who can be heard in several markets without listeners knowing that the talent originates from another area. In addition, the big outfits can afford syndicated programming, such as the Bob and Tom or Rush Limbaugh shows, and buying equipment in larger lots can cost less, too, for the large operations.

And it's not unheard of for a conglomerate to cut ad rates to a point where independents can't compete, driving them out of business. That's one tactic Beasley does not practice. "That is not in the best interest [of the business]," says Beasley.

"It's very hard today for [independents] to make a go of it," says Papper, who conducts surveys for the Radio-Television News Directors Association.

Still, consolidation has slowed significantly over the past few years, he adds. Many listeners disapprove of large, cookie-cutter operations and favor local voices, so radio executives have cut back on acquisitions, he says.

Despite the challenges of staying independent, WAVV-FM's local connection and independence provide strength to the operation, insists general manager Jeff Alpert, whose family has owned the station since 1987. "If you're a good operator you shouldn't have a problem being an independent. You should be able to compete quite well with conglomerates," he says. "The alternative is to take one of the offers that have come along many times and cash out."

-Phil Borchmann