 |
No. 42
Tom Poleman
President of National Programming Platforms
Clear Channel Media and Entertainment
Twitter: @TomPoleman
Radio Activator…
Tom Poleman oversees Clear Channel’s music and event marketing, label and artist relations, on-air talent development, digital programming and network of format-specific brand managers. (Not bad for a former DJ whose industry career humbly began at Cornell University’s student-run radio station WVBR-FM Ithaca, N.Y.) In New York alone, where Poleman is based, Clear Channel stations monopolize four of the top five spots in Arbitron’s latest Portable People Meter ratings tally of listeners aged 6-plus (December 2011). Prior to assuming his current position, Poleman was PD of Clear Channel’s flagship mainstream top 40 station WHTZ (Z100) New York beginning in 1996. After a heavy reliance on alternative rock in the mid-’90s hurt the station’s identity as a mass-appeal music destination, Poleman spearheaded its return to ratings dominance. One listener during Poleman’s early days of programming Z100? Lady Gaga (see No. 84), a New York native. “This was the first live show I ever went to,” the singer said as she beamed to fans from Madison Square Garden’s stage as she closed Z100’s Jingle Ball in December. “I used to listen to [morning host] Elvis Duran every day on the radio and imagine how one day he would be introducing my songs.” Power to the people.
Order the special edition Billboard Power 100 issue, printed on glossy stock with lavish original photography (available now).
What do you think of the 2012 Billboard Power 100? Sound off in the comments area of the Letter From the Editor page, where the criteria is explained.
« PREVIOUS: Peter Edge/Tom Corson | NEXT: Chip Hooper »
