Radio Ink
Radio Ink
Radio Ink is a radio broadcasting industry trade magazine owned by Streamline Publishing. Radio Ink serves the management community of the radio industry in the United States and in 43 Countries worldwide. The focus of the bi-weekly magazine is radio management and operations challenges facing commercial radio broadcasters. The publication is well known for its often controversial stance on industry issues, it's futuristic thinking, and it's bold challenges which have been known to reverse industry initiatives.
Each year the publication creates several annual lists, including a list of the "40 Most Powerful People in Radio" made up of a who's who in the radio industry. It also created the "Most Influential Women (MIW) in Radio" list which was turned into a mentoring program for women in the radio industy. Other lists include top managers, top radio programmers, top engineers, top African American broadcasters, and several others.
The publication was originally named "The Pulse of Broadcasting" and founded by broadcaster Tom Shovan and Alec Seymor. In 1985 radio broadcaster Eric Rhoads had been an advertiser promoting his Giant Boom Box promotional products to the radio industry. When he received no response to his advertising he flew to New York to meet with Publisher Shovan to find out why his advertising investment had failed. Shovan befriended Rhoads, shared the financial woes of the publication and got Rhoads interested in taking it over. Rhoads then met with owner Bob Sillerman and acquired the struggling magazine. Rhoads changed the name to The Pulse of Radiobecause of a class-action lawsuit against all publications named "Pulse" by Tower Records who was launching a national magazine called "Pulse." Though Rhoads owned copyrights he felt the magazine needed to sheding the image of the previous publisher, therefore he negotiated with Tower Records founder Russ Soloman allowing ample time to change the name and transition. Rhoads changed the name to RADIO INK. Radio Ink was the name of a gossip column inside "The Pulse" at the time, a name invented by Rhoads mentor and consultant Dwight Case, who suggested the magazine be renamed Radio Ink.
Radio Ink produces the annual Radio Forecast conference held each December at the Harvard Club and also produces the Hispanic Radio Conference held in San Antonio, TX, the "Roy Williams Live" conference and the "Radio Ink Internet Conference."