Gavin Magazine
KC PD Calls It Like He Sees It
By Kevin Fleming
Talk about an OG, Sam Weaver is one colorful character, and he’s been at the top of the Kansas City radio game for more than eight years. Currently the PD and OM of Carter Broadcasting’s KPRS, Weaver’s never at a loss for words and has a unique perspective on most topics. Rather than re-cap his illustrious career, let’s jump right in. Hold on tight! → Read the rest of the article
R&R ‘The Industry’s Newspaper’
Urban Contemporary: New PD in Town: Programming In an Unfamiliar Market
By Walt Love
It’s always challenging to start a new PD job. But when you’re new to the market, it can be a particularly tricky predicament. Long time programmer and former WQMG-FM/Greensboro OM/PD Sam Weaver, who’s faced that situation several times, offers some sage advice. → Read the rest of the article
Gavin Magazine
Urban Music Meeting: Intelligent Gut
by Quincy McCoy
Sam Weaver has done it all. He was a tremendous Top 40 jock with the legendary Bartel Radio Group in St. Louis and Detroit; he’s programmed stations in Pittsburgh, Greensboro, and New Orleans; he was the music director for country outlet US99 in Chicago. Sam is the only PD to program the nation’s oldest black-owned and oldest black-operated stations. WDIA in Memphis is the oldest operated, and KPRS, owned by the Carter Broadcast Group in Kansas City, is the oldest. Sam is a veteran broadcaster, and dedicated to his craft. → Read the rest of the article
R&R ‘The Industry’s Newspaper’
Urban Radio: Mainstream Now Flows In Different Directions: Opportunity Knocks
by Walt Love
KPRS/Kansas City PD Sam Weaver says he looks Urban fragmentation this way: “Increased employment opportunities! There was a time when all you had was mainstream Urban Contemporary radio and you had to service everybody for everything. So if you were on the air you were expected to go in only one direction-and that was Urban. Now you have a number of different directions to go and you’re still able to participate, because there are more opportunities within the format. It’s been that way in other formats for many years. Now you potentially have more areas to get into and you also may have more longevity in the business.” → Read the rest of the article
Hits Magazine
KPRS-Weaverful!
KPRS-FM and KPRT-AM Kansas City are owned and operated by the Carter Broadcast Group, headed, since 1987, by President Michael Carter, grandson of Andrew Skip Carter, an engineer who founded America’s first black radio station west of the Mississippi. Sam Weaver is OM of KPRS and KPRT, but doesn’t fit the stereotype of an urban programmer. The 20-year broadcasting veteran has programmed formats ranging from country and Top 40 to oldies and urban. Committed to serving his core audience, Weaver solidified KPRS’s positioning and strengthened its presence in the most current Arbitrends, in which the station maintained its #1 position. JAMZ VP “Ben & Jerry” Boulding talked to both Weaver and Carter about booking them on “Hee-Haw,” before realizing his head was in some wheatfield way over the rainbow. → Read the rest of the article
R&R ‘The Industry’s Newspaper’
Urban Contemporary: Using Promotional Opportunities To Win: PD gives his take on how to successfully serve the community, clients, and listeners
By Walt Love
The summer months bring out numerous station promotions. KPRS/Kansas City PD Sam Weaver shares his active station’s successful promotion strategies and why this area is so important to Urban radio. “In my opinion, you can divide promotions into three areas: sales-related, programming-related, and community relations. All three are ratings driven as far as I’m concerned.” → Read the rest of the article
R&R ‘The Industry’s Newspaper’
Urban Contemporary: Developing Young Air Talent
By Walt Love
Two PDs discuss the basics of training young personalities
Working with and developing air personalities require patience and expertise that are, unfortunately, at a premium. This week, two PDs talk about why and how you should teach and motivate and maximize talents. → Read the rest of the article
Urban Network Magazine
From the Editor’s Desk: Sam Weaver’s Programming Tips
By Sam Weaver, Guest Editor
Do you want the good news or bad news first? Okay, the good news is that programming is fun. Now the bad news: The job is not all glitz and glamour. And if that wasn’t enough, there are not many programming positions available. Rumor has it that the job requires one to possess the combined skills of a salesman, music lover, and animal trainer. Programming is an inexact science based on acquired opinion and repetition of successful theories. There are many obstacles along the way, including: Rating Service Methodology, marketing, budgets, promotions, community service, music, vacations, human error, record companies, sick leave, and the listener. → Read the rest of the article
R&R ‘The Industry’s Newspaper’
Urban Contemporary: Learning To Add: Making New Music Work for You
By Walt Love
In these days of increased product flow, smaller shares, and tougher competition, formulating a policy on adding new music is more challenging than ever. → Read the rest of the article
R&R ‘The Industry’s Newspaper’
Urban Contemporary: On Guard
By Walt Love
While the station currently has no direct challenger, Carter notes, “We keep a close eye on our market, because we’re aware that someone may want a share of our lucrative audience. We stay aware of different stations’ formatics and what they’re doing on the air. But we certainly don’t go to war with or challenge other stations about what they’re doing. Nor are we going to change format or what we’re doing, because people here know what we do, and we’ve been doing it a long time. We’re just continuing to improve our product, and right now it seems to be working.” → Read the rest of the article