Media Mogul Goes from NBC, CBS & Fox to New York’s Blake Radio

MEET NEIL BLAKE:  Neil Blake is the founder of Blake Radio, a station that plays an array of music, including jazz and R&B. Blake Radio also hosts more than a dozen talk shows on its Rainbow Soul Channel. In 2000 when Neil took $10,000 and founded Blake Radio he became one of the few African American business leaders owning and operating an Internet radio station. In addition to founded Blake Radio, Neil has worked for major media outlets like NBC, CBS and Fox.

 WMI: How old were you when you realized you wanted to be a creative business leader in the audio and visual medias? Also tell us about the moment you knew what your life path would be. What had you been doing in your life when the light went on?

NB: When I was in public school, I think around the 4th or 5th grade, I guess I was 8 or 9 years old, I had this interest in recording myself. I think my father either bought me a reel to reel tape recorder which was the technology of the time or either he had a tape recorder that he let me use… I can’t quite remember. But I do remember having this fascination with imitating the announcer that did the opening for Superman, a TV program I watched on a black & white television. I would voice over “Look up in the sky. It’s a bird. It’s a plane. No, it’s superman. Faster than a speeding bullet…” Then I would duplicate with my mouth the sound effect of the bullet, the speeding train, etc. Also my father, who has a great voice, was taking classes to become a DJ and I used to go through his study materials which had exercises for pronunciation, diction, etc.

In the early 1970’s I realized I wanted to be a camera man and director when I attended Jackie Robinson Junior High School in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. I remember in one of our shop classes we were exposed to cameras. I then was accepted into an experimental Media Arts High School at the time named Edward R. Murrow in Brooklyn, NY where I then fell in love with television production. It was a great school and opportunity which was attended by many people who work in the industry today.

Later while attending Long Island University Brooklyn Center I knew for sure that TV production and radio were my passions. I actually did not know how it was going to happen, but I knew, if given a chance, I would make it happen for myself. I was committed to making it happen. The interesting thing is that one night I had an epiphany, lucid dream or a message from God when I was sleeping. At the time I was living on 29th Street in Brooklyn, NY with my mother and sisters and that experience which was so vivid and clear to me let me know that I would get what I wanted but that I also had to use my skills and talents to uplift and benefit the black community in some way.

Ironically, a year later, after having been given an opportunity to work as a production assistant by Kevin Gouvier, an African American producer who was involved with a program called Today’s Black Woman (a show hosted by the singer Freda Payne) I got an internship at NBC on a program called Positively Black. The show was a public affairs program that featured people and topics of interest to the black community. The producer of the show was Bob Martin and I am eternally grateful to him for giving me my first staff job in the TV industry. Bob, who mentored and believed in me, offered a production assistant position to me a few months after the internship was completed. To this day Bob and I are friends.

WMI: Did you major in media relations or arts and entertainment management when you were in college? If not, what did you major in and how has your college education impacted you as a radio station owner today?

NB: I received a scholarship in Media Arts to study at Long Island University Brooklyn Center as a result of having attended Edward R. Murrow High School. Don Pitkoff, who ran the TV department at the high school, arranged for many of us in the “TERM” program (TV at Edward R. Murrow) to apply for the scholarships. I needed the opportunity because my family did not have the money to send me to a school like Ithaca College or Syracuse University. Both schools had and have great programs in areas I wanted to major in. It was, however, my destiny to go to Long Island University (LIU) Brooklyn Center. While at LIU I had the opportunity to “Make Television” from the very beginning in my freshman year. I was also a DJ, news anchor and later the General Manager of WLIU, the campus radio station. Barry Citron who was a professor in the Media Arts Department taught me television production and gave me the opportunity to direct the LIU college basketball games that aired on a local channel in New York. His knowledge and support encouraged me to pursue my dream as a television director.

WMI: How did you land the General Manager role at Long Island University?

NB: It was basically being in the right place at the right time. I had started reading the news on air and then became a DJ spinning slow jams. The general manager at the time was leaving and she thought it would be a good idea for me to run against the other candidate. I won the election and I went on to implement my vision for the station which included hiring a company to upgrade the Carrier Current system, which a system we used to broadcast around campus in the 1980s.

WMI: At times life gives us a myriad of smaller experiences to prepare us for big roles. Tell us about two to three preparatory roles you took on before you launched Blake Radio.

NB:  WLIU Radio, where I worked as an on air DJ, and most importantly gained the experience in managing people after I became the GM. Other preparatory roles were at WNBC and WNYW where my roles as an intern, production assistant, associate producer, producer, associate director and director gave me the experience to work on TV productions, and, most importantly, the experience to navigate and deal with people in the “Real World.”

WMI: Steve Jobs said we can’t see how things connect in our lives until after events actually happen. After connecting events occur we can look back and see how the dots connected. Was there ever a time in your career when you didn’t see how something connected and thought about throwing in the towel?

NB: I have never thought about throwing in the towel. I have always believed that things happen for a reason. I have been handed by “life” my share of disappointments and I am sure that there are more disappointments to come. I have had a great career in television production and I feel truly blessed. Here you have a black kid growing up in the 1970’s who was poor but never thought he was… having the aspiration and drive to work in the television industry even though many around me thought I was crazy because that just wasn’t in the black communities realm of reality… making it happen despite the challenges of the industry including nepotism and racism. I have not achieved everything that I may have wanted to as of date, but I am very grateful for having had the opportunity to fulfill my dream and represent the black community in a positive way. I am a member of the Directors Guild and I have worked on all types of shows including news, entertainment and sports.

As far as BlakeRadio goes, I launched the portal in 2001. After several years, I had to re-access what I could realistically do with BlakeRadio.com without financial support, which went from eliminating most of the various music channels and video lounge that we were offering to eventually shutting down the 24hr all talk channel, Rainbow Soul, and then eventually the slow jam channel, Music Massage. I am proud to say that even though we had to take a detour, eventually we brought back Rainbow Soul in 2008 and then Music Massage which is what the BlakeRadio Network currently offers to the planet. Throwing in the towel? Not a reality for me. I will keep pushing on no matter how difficult it becomes and believe me I have had and continue to have a very challenging but blessed life.

WMI: You’ve worked at major media outlets, companies like NBC, CBS and Fox. You’ve also interviewed major artists and community leaders at Blake Radio. For example, you and your hosts have interviewed Mary Mary, Dick Gregory and Toure. What are some of the memorable lessons you learned from guests you’ve interviewed over the years?

NB: What I enjoy and have learned most from everyone, including the hosts that collaborate with me on BlakeRadio.com, is that everyone has a story. Some are willing to be more transparent than others but the bottom line is that if you really pay attention, there is something interesting and beneficial to be gained by listening to people. I am in the business of touching souls one by one. If we can make a difference in just one person’s life it is all worth it.

One of the major things that I have noticed is that everyone usually has put in the hours some way and somehow. Most successful folks have tried many, many things before getting the major breakthrough they were looking for. The thing I admire most about successful people is their drive and persistence. Persistence can, in many instances, overcome resistance, sometimes when you are least expecting it. I say keep pushing, keep pushing, keep pushing. It is also important to study, to try and to get the experience and knowledge about the things that you want to do. Like Whitney Young Jr. said, “It’s better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared.”

WMI: Blake Radio volunteers are committed to connecting with listeners. How did you develop a winning team?

NB: I am always looking for folks who have something different to say. I love presenting to the planet interesting voices and content. Rainbow Soul features hosts who love what they do, people who are passionate about what they do.

WMI: Passion for music aside, you’ve gotta pay the bills. What revenue generating strategies or platforms does Blake Radio use so it can keep playing those soulful sounds?

NB: BlakeRadio Network is supported primarily by me and donations from the listeners and hosts. We do need to figure out a way to get more listeners to support the venue financially.

WMI: A few years ago word on the Internet was that online radio station fees would soar, pushing smaller stations out of the market. What was the final outcome of this and how did Blake Radio manage to remain viable during this period?

NB: There is an ongoing discussion about fees that small online stations should be or not be paying. We pay licensing fees though LoudCity.

WMI: Are there plans to expand Blake Radio offline? If so, please share a bit about those plans with us.

NB: No there are no plans.

WMI: What’s next for Neil Blake and Blake Radio? What’s your vision for the next three to five years?

NB: Continuing to play the mix of music that is not normally heard on mainstream radio outlets and sharing information to give folks “Food For Thought” is my passion. I would like to expand the audience and reach millions more people on a yearly basis. It is my goal to make BlakeRadio Network become an income generating enterprise for both the company, hosts, artists and support systems that are needed to bring the listeners what we do.  I think our content is a great alternative to what is currently available to listeners around the world and I would love for our Network to be around and enjoyed into perpetuity.

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