By Kevin Lee Associate Editor

A new year is just starting, but for WHIL-FM a new era has already begun.

In July of 2006, the public radio station’s search for a new general manager ended when Mario Mazza was selected for the position. Mazza arrived to begin work in October.

The 25-year-old fine arts station had operated without a permanent helmsman since the board parted ways with previous general manager Jeff Stoll in late June of 2005. Radio veteran Catt Sirten, a smooth jazz pioneer in the Port City for the last two decades, was named as interim general manager in Stoll’s stead.

Sirten’s immediate influence was widely felt, not only in the changeover of the majority of the station’s staff, but also in other ways that expanded WHIL’s presence. The station began 24-hour broadcasting in October of 2005 and added the availability of live streaming to its Web site.

Enter Mazza. The veteran of classical music stations from the Northeast Corridor eagerly threw his hat into the ring. The biggest draw? “There’s no snow here,” chuckled Mazza. Mario explained he and his wife own a house in Boca Raton, Fla. so they were familiar with the balmier climes.

Mazza came by his profession earnestly. The child of immigrants was raised in Ithaca, N.Y. where his father’s work as a stonemason was evident in the structures at local Cornell University and Ithaca College. When Mazza enrolled at Cornell, his father’s presence wasn’t far away. “I went to classes in some of the buildings he built,” he explained.

The reminders of his opportunity paid off in time. Mazza graduated with an undergraduate’s degree in communications and went straight to work. “I was already working in radio while I was in school,” said Mazza, ” so the transition wasn’t dramatic. I was one of the only people I knew who got out and went straight to work in their field.”

Mazza continued work as an announcer at various stations throughout the region until he landed as the station manager at an Albany, N.Y. station in 1978 and from there went on to Schenectady, N.Y.. He finally landed as the director of programming and operations at WNCN-FM in New York where he sought a new approach.

Mazza had worked with formats that primarily featured classical and jazz music. In the days when disco ruled the popular mindset, he saw the challenge of invigorating a public over genres often seen as staid.

“We decided to apply some commercial tenets to public radio,” said Mazza, “by using high-profile outside promotions.” The station held a contest to find “the next Victor Borge,” sponsored “record runs” – events whereby winners were allowed the opportunity to snatch free albums from Tower Records within a given time frame-and had a station personality out in the public with surprise giveaways.

His track record speaks for the success of the endeavors. During a stint in Boston, Mazza restructured formats for underperforming stations that resulted in a long-term ratings advance and upped their profitability. He took stations for the Charles River Broadcasting Company to a ratings zenith and the aforementioned New York station flourished under his watch, rising from failing status to a mainstay in the market.

His intentions for WHIL are similar.

“We’ve got two big areas we need to address here,” said Mazza, “programming and revenue generation.”

Any new directions in programming will be preceded by the results of a study by Coleman Research, a North Carolina firm specializing in spotting trends and radio “branding.” Mazza anticipates the arrival of their data within weeks.

And he sees the fine arts station’s influence and responsiveness extending beyond the Azalea City. “We’re just waiting to see what they say about reaching more listeners in the area,” said Mazza, “what we have to do bring in more people from not just Mobile but Pensacola and the Mississippi Gulf Coast.”

The other concern is a companion to ratings numbers.

“Revenue generation is vital to an operation like this,” said Mazza. “We have to put a good product on the air that is compelling to the market.”

Mazza also hopes to increase funding in other ways. WHIL has just hired a new development director and a pair of underwriting associates. Gathering corporate sponsorship will take a greater priority as well.

“This operation has great upside potential,” said Mazza. “We’ve got beautiful facilities, a good school (WHIL parent Spring Hill College) to work with and an area full of wonderful people.”

Kevin Lee is Lagniappe associate editor. Contact him at klee@lagniappemobile.com.

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