Wayne Jones Joins Clear Channel Media & Entertainment in Albany
Wednesday, June 11th, 2014
Since joining Clear Channel Media and Entertainment in Albany in early April as general sales manager, Wayne Jones has been learning the ropes of a new market, new company and new community. He moved here from a larger market, Dallas, Texas, where he worked for a much smaller, privately held company.
"I moved into a larger role in the largest media and entertainment company in the country. There are a lot more systems and resources with Clear Channel than I had before," Jones said.
"It takes some time to become knowledgeable on it all, but luckily we have a terrific sales and support team here in Albany that really knows the lay of the land."
Providing a Megaphone to the Community
Clear Channel owns five stations in Albany including 96.3 WJIZ FM for Hip Hop and R&B, 97.3 WGEX FM for Top 40 and Pop, 98,1 WMRZ FM for Hip Hop and R&B, 100.3 WOBB FM for Country Music and 960 WJYZ AM for Christian and Gospel.
"We have the top stations in the market and do extremely well here," Jones said.
"Our goal is to be the megaphone to the community; we want to inform our listeners about whatever is going on in the community. We have a great sales staff now and we're looking to bring in a new team member in the future."
Clear Channel Media and Entertainment owns and operates 840 broadcast radio stations, serving more than 150 markets throughout the U.S. With 245 million monthly listeners in the U.S., the company has the largest reach of any radio or television outlet in America.
Learning How to do Business in Albany
Jones was born in Fairbanks, Alaska and moved to the Dallas area as a child. He grew up in Corsicana, a small town south of Dallas, and lived and worked in downtown Dallas for Service Broadcasting before moving to Albany. Jones is still adjusting to the tempo of southern Georgia.
"I'm having to work on my Southern hospitality because I'm used to getting right to business after a minimum of small talk," Jones said.
"Here people talk a hundred times more about their kids and weekend plans compared to Dallas. I'm doing better and slowing down a little bit."
Jones also has noticed a difference in wardrobe from what he was used to in Dallas. There, people wear suits on a daily basis.
"I was suited and booted for work in Dallas and have a pretty sizable investment in my suits," Jones said.
"But I've been told that a lot of people don't wear suits here. I'm still trying to figure out what I should wear to work if I'm not wearing a suit. For now, I'm still in suits."
Other than small talk and wardrobe issues, Jones is adjusting well to life in Albany and appreciates the strong sense of community here.
"Albanians are seriously into their city and trying to encourage growth here. That's great to see and a real asset to our community," Jones said.
More information on Clear Channel Media and Entertainment is available at www.clearchannel.com. More information on the Clear Channel stations in Albany is available at www.wjiz.com, www.973hitmusicnow.com, www.kissalbany.com, www.b100wobb.com, and www.wjyz.com.
