Urban Power List: Jay Stevens

SVP Programming, Radio One
Website: Radio-One.com
Multi-Market Master

“Jay really understands urban and urban AC,” says Jerry Boulding, urban editor/department manager at AllAccess.com. As he should. After two decades as VP of programming at WPGC Washington, D.C., Stevens segued crosstown to Radio One in 2007, where he oversees 53 stations in 15 markets.

Personifying the belief that knowledge has no color, Stevens began playing DJ when he was just 5 years old. His first full-time radio job out of college was with a top 40 station in Rochester, N.Y. The cornerstones of his programming philosophy: Play the hits and continually foster community involvement. “Music is the star — that’s the foundation of any music radio station,” Stevens told Radio & Records when he first joined Radio One. “Talent and community involvement come second. That makes the difference in how local your radio station is. Contesting and those types of things are just the icing on the cake. The reality is, if you are giving back to your community, your audience and listeners will be fiercely loyal to your radio station.” – Gail Mitchell