The Infinite Dial

Title: President of McVay New Media

Who is Daniel? "Recently recognized by Billboard Magazine as one of the top five innovators in media, Daniel Anstandig oversees new media clients at McVay Media as well as radio stations in AC, Hot, AC, and Christian. Among the clients Daniel has consulted are Wall Street Journal, Clear Channel Radio Interactive, Regent Interactive, Delmarva Broadcasting, recording artists Jewel and Jim Brickman, Mental Floss Magazine, The White House Commission on Remembrance, International Publisher Glencoe-McGraw Hill, JonesTM/TM Century, and various AC, Hot AC, and Christian broadcasters around the country. Daniel's experience includes stints as General Manager, syndicated Program Director, and various on-air stops. In 2001, Daniel was named the '#1 Young Entrepreneur' by Youngbiz (Young Entrepreneur) Magazine. Daniel is also on the Board of Directors for Radio Conclave, a 501C(3) serving to grow the radio industry."

What would your dream job be? "At Disney, there are "imagineers," who are responsible for innovation, park modernization, and new business development. If there were an official position in the radio industry as an "Imagineer," that would be my dream job. As a consultant, I have had the opportunity to work with many clients in this capacity. My hot-button is the convergence of digital media with traditional radio. Currently, I am serving clients--primarily in the radio industry--as a programming and new media consultant. I work with clients modernizing their approach to achieving ratings and revenue. Every day, I wake up energized, enthusiastic, and thankful for the work I get to do and the people I get to work with."

Who has been your greatest influence? "I have been blessed with wonderful mentors and friends early in my career: Mike and Doris McVay, Sue Wilson, Dave Reese, Cornelius Gould, Randy Carver, Bob Weinberg. My Grandparents, Myer and Shirley, were my greatest influences growing up. When I first took an interest in radio, I was nine years old. My grandparents encouraged me to get more involved. I started working at the John Carroll University radio station when I was 12, and they never missed a show or radio station function. When I was 14, I started an Internet-Radio company with the help of my Grandfather. He helped me to sneak into "dot com" networking meetings in Cleveland and patiently coached me as the company grew. Every kid should have grandparents like Myer and Shirley--or as I called them, Pop-Pop and Grandma. Mike McVay has been a tremendous mentor. I've learned a lot from Mike about the need for continual learning, new challenges, and most importantly, diplomacy. I enjoy being surrounded by smart and ambitious people. Over the last two years, I have been blessed to work with Rockie Thomas and Sean Lozensky at McVay New Media. Rockie's sales/marketing experience and track-record as a trend-setter in new media has been a terrific addition to our team. Sean brings an eye for detail and technical expertise that has helped us build out new technology and software for clients. They have become a large part of my daily work with clients, bringing new perspectives and systems related to revenue development and technology for new media."

What is the one format that you can't believe nobody has done? "100% Community-Based User-Generated Radio."

How could radio do a better job of attracting younger listeners? "I believe that 'charity starts at home.' That is to say that if we want to attract younger listeners, that means getting more younger people involved on 'this side of the speakers'.

Radio will attract more younger listeners if we:

1. Hire some of radio's youngest fans.
2. Get more competitive and intentional about recruiting young talent, who are currently lured away to digital companies.

The problem is NOT that there are fewer young creative people. The problem is that fewer young creative people make it through the entrance door of radio. When AOR started, programmers like Tom Hughes and Lee Abrams broke the model by finding DJ's that didn't sound like DJ's. What's the 2008 equivalent of that? Spend a few minutes on popular "crowd-sourcing" sites MySpace.com or YouTube.com, and you'll see it. It's the handiwork of thousands of imaginative, personal, authentic entertainers. Don't get me wrong--there's a lot of wheat to separate from the chaff. That said, there's a lot more auditioning "wheat" than media has ever seen before. Now, more paths of expression are available to creative talent. We have to invite the most consistent performers to the radio business.

Many thanks to Edison Media Research for the privilege of placement on this year's 30-under-30, with some of the brightest young talent in radio!"