I’d lived in Washington for three years before I’d ever even heard of WTOP. That was hardly rare at the time; the station was mired in the Ignore-Me Zone in the ratings, its broadcasts often sounded painfully cheap and amateurish and huge blocs of time were dedicated to airing the straight broadcast feed from the Associated Press. The only reason I even had that knowledge is because I started dating someone who worked there.
And then Jim Farley came along and everything changed.
Farley took this sleeping dog of a radio station and made it into a national powerhouse. It’s now consistently the top-rated station in this market and it’s been the top-billing radio station in the entire country at times. Farley empowered his staff and unlocked their talents in remarkable ways; whole walls in the station are covered with the dozens of major awards his staff has won; and he even convinced a series of owners to spend piles of money — a strategy that flies in the face of all commercial radio trends.
He earned the loyalty of dozens of top journalists as he nurtured their careers, to the benefit of everyone (especially listeners); and, unlike many other program directors across the country, he steadfastly did not make it all about him.
When Farley came into the picture, I thought my then-girlfriend was spinning her wheels in a potentially dead-end job. Farley (and a series of really great WTOP editors he developed) made her into a fully developed kick-butt journalist, and I’d say that even if she didn’t become my wife during that time.
Speaking of that: This wifely connection allowed me to meet Jim on a number of occasions and see how he interacted with his staff. I subsequently ripped off whole swaths of his management strategies, starting with his clear choice to avoid hiring insufferable prima donnas or people who specialized in spreading misery. He treated his troops with respect, trusted them implicitly and gave them room to screw up a bit without having to face endless wrath or second-guessing. He set clear goals and stuck to them; he believed in the discipline of deadlines and the news clock; and he knew that being in charge meant knowing how to delegate control.
The vast majority of his staff loved him and rewarded him — and more importantly, WTOP’s ever-growing listener base — with the best work of their lives. It was a remarkable turnaround to witness.
Farley more or less officially retired Wednesday with a big sendoff/soiree at The Newseum. I pity the person who has to replace him. She seems like a good, smart manager, but she has the huge disadvantage of taking the stage after Elvis has left the building. And everyone knows there’s only one Elvis.
