WTOP GM Has Some Advice For The Radio Industry

Outgoing WTOP and Federal News Network (WFED) President and General Manager Joel Oxley offers some advice to the radio industry in a new Radio Ink interview: Radio needs to sound more local. Too many stations, he says, could have been anywhere in the US. His fix for a changing industry starts with doubling, even tripling, how local they sound.

Oxley also said radio stations cannot cut and paste content from one platform to another, and that they need to be experimental and willing to fail fast. He commented, “You must be relentless in your pursuit of constantly being compelling. That’s really what it’s all about.”

Oxley announced earlier this year that he would retire at the end of 2026. He has been with WTOP since 1992 and became General Manager in 1998, overseeing the station during its transformation into one of the country’s most successful all-news radio operations.