A Message
from our CEO
from our CEO
We are deeply fortunate to work in a business that enables us to make a meaningful difference in the lives of our listeners and our communities. Our listeners turn to us in the moments that matter most to them – amidst both tragedy and triumph – and for everyday moments as well. Serving our communities has always been a cornerstone of who we are and what we do - it is both a responsibility and a privilege. Each and every year we aim to expand the impact of our work through Audacy Serves, our social impact program.
In 2021, we advanced our focused support for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion; Mental Health; Civic Education; the Environment; Children’s Health; and Veterans & Service Members. This work played out nationally through our integrated campaigns, as well as locally in our communities as our teammates responded to their own neighbors’ needs. We used our biggest strengths – our far-reaching voice and deep connections to our listeners – to raise awareness on important issues and bring people together for good.
I thank our team, our partners, and our customers for another year of strong support for our communities. I hope each of you shares a deep sense of gratification and connection to the work we do across the country to make a positive difference in the lives of so many millions of Americans.
With great appreciation for all you do,
David Field - Chairman, President,
and Chief Executive Officer, Audacy
A Message from
our Social Impact VP
our Social Impact VP
Today, more than ever, brands – and their respective brand voices – can lead with integrity and boldness. This period of transformation presents a unique opportunity to be ever more creative as we reinvigorate our business and continue adding new voices.
As one of the largest entertainment and audio companies in the country, we create and nurture authentic human connections to inspire both individual and collective action through our social impact program, Audacy Serves. We use the power of talk to save lives through our I’m Listening mental health platform, we give children a stronger voice through our commitment to children’s health, we recognize our military heros with stories of inspiration and perseverance - and so much more. We see firsthand how audio can build bridges and move people toward a greater good.
This year, our work supporting sound communities has taken on even more meaning. As we’re all eager to reemerge and reconnect, audio has moved our communities forward. Our trusted personalities and local voices have been close companions during times of both jumpy uncertainty and joyous milestones. Our live events have helped ease fans back into their communities and reawakened our shared passion for local connection and sense of belonging. Through it all, we’re reminded of the power of real human connection to inspire the best in ourselves and each other.
Thank you to all of our Audacy team, listeners, clients and partners who join together in creating this profound impact. I am in awe of all that we are able to create when we lend a helping hand and lift our voices for key issues in our communities. Your voice matters. Thank you for using it powerfully for the benefit of our communities.
In service,
Sarah Harris - Vice President,
Social Impact, Audacy
Mental Health
I’m Listening:
talk saves lives
“I’m listening.” It may be the best gift you can give someone – especially if that someone is struggling with mental health issues. We’re using the power of talk – and listening – to save lives through our I’m Listening campaign. Every day, 365 days a year, we’re using the arms of our on-the-air, digital, and events to embrace our listeners and amplify the mental health stories of artists and celebrity influencers.
In this, our fifth year, we once again flooded the airwaves with our two-hour national I’m Listening broadcast in September as part of National Suicide Prevention Month. Tens of thousands of listeners tuned in to connect, share, and hear Doja Cat, Billie Eilish, Luke Combs, Lizzo, DJ Khaled, Demi Lovato, Kevin Love, Glennon Doyle, and other influencers share their personal struggles with mental health.
Available across all our broadcast stations, this event serves as one of the largest national resources for people looking to better understand mental health, connect, heal, share, and ultimately remind each other that it’s okay to not be okay.
I’m Listening isn’t just a one-day effort, though. Throughout the year, we share I’m Listening messages on our radio and streaming stations to remind listeners that they’re not alone.
Familiar voices such as Billie Eilish, Lizzo and Kevin Love relate deeply personal and inspiring stories. We talk about critical resources for people who aren’t sure where to go for help. And our exclusive I’m Listening station creates a musical health mix for listeners, whenever and wherever they need it.
We also extended the conversations by engaging our employees through Audacy Team Talks.
These conversations – with our leaders, partners, and team – focused on the importance of caring for and talking about mental health, connecting us around our support of everyone’s mental health, inside the company and beyond.
Our continued partnership with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), the nation’s largest suicide prevention organization, added even more trusted, credible voices to help inform the conversations we lead, such as these:
On World Suicide Prevention Day, artist Normani joined Audacy’s Dave Richards and AFSP’s Dr. Christine Moutier for a candid talk highlighting the power of accepting mental health needs
Talk Saves Lives: We Can All Use Our Voice to #StopSuicide blog, shared over our national social media, amplified the mental health stories of artists, athletes, celebrities, and listeners, along with insights by AFSP medical health experts.
It’s exciting to see the benefits of putting our values in action as we help shape the national conversation on mental health – and to be trusted companions and loyal friends who know the power of talk can save lives.
CARSON DALY
I’m Listening Co-Host
DR. ALFIEE M.
BRELAND-NOBLE
I’m Listening Co-Host
The Power of Talk Comes to Life
In 2021, our expanded content and live events further connected with our audience on what matters most: our collective health and well-being.
We Can Do Hard Things Podcast: Our leading premium podcast studio, Cadence13, signed a multiyear contract extension with #1 New York Times bestselling author, activist, and thought leader Glennon Doyle for her critically acclaimed #1 podcast. Along with her sister and her wife, Doyle drops the “fake talk” and shares honestly about love, relationships, parenting, mental health, recovery, boundaries, and more.
We Can Survive Concert: Audacy returned to L.A.’s Hollywood Bowl for our eighth-annual star-studded sold out show, where fans celebrated to captivating performances by Coldplay, Maroon 5, Black Eyed Peas, Doja Cat, Shawn Mendes, The Kid LAROI, Saweetie, and Young in a Million.
The opening act pre-promotion and We Can Survive concert generated more than $800,000 in donations for AFSP, further amplifying the resounding messages of hope and healing.
We’re inspired by the way entertainers and artists have become more vocal about personal mental health challenges to provide a community for others who may be struggling. Our partnership with Audacy gives us the opportunity to use the power of music to bring people together and spark conversations about mental health and suicide prevention.
Robert Gebbia, Chief Executive Officer, AFSP.
Join the Conversation
Consumers care deeply about issues such as mental health that can affect them and those they love. So do we. Our I’m Listening campaign reaches more than 200 million people, sparking productive conversations around mental health, building trust with listeners, and, most important, helping save lives.
Supporting causes you believe in is also good for business, especially among younger audiences. Gen Z consumers in particular ncreasingly expect brands to make efforts for social good; in fact, 79 percent of Gen Z actively seek out brands that support the same causes they believe in.
We’re proud to use our superpower as audio influencers to build our community of mental health champions. Read more about how we are doing that at "Audacy Insights: Mental Health & Audio: A Powerful Mix for Saving Lives."
Civic Education
Engaging 'we the people'
to form a more perfect union
Our local news teams and personalities cut through the noise and build authentic connections within communities. We're using those deep connections with our audiences to bolster Americans' civic knowledge and give them tools to effect change in their communities.
Local Voices Help Communities Thrive
Audio can build bridges among people, prompt collective action, and bring communities together in times of crisis. Indeed, our Engaged Impressions study found that 71 percent of weekly radio listeners tune in because they feel the content is relevant to their community.
That's why we created a dedicated, centralized digital news team with more than 50 journalists in eight newsrooms across the country. As part of this, we're launching:
- Daily in-depth podcasts and on-demand audio exploring local stories and issues that most affect listeners' lives;
- An original national weekly podcast that highlights the week's most pressing story and draws on reporting and interview content from across the Audacy network;
- Original longform podcasts from local news brands; and
- Custom newsletters and in-app experiences.
We're also partnering with organizations such as The Institute for Citizens & Scholars that support youth leadership development and local capacity-building.
Connecting to Austin: Let’s Talk Prop A
We connect with our listeners on what matters most to them. This year, our Austin-based Talk 1370 and Fox 7 Austin teamed up to present "Let's Talk Prop A," a live town hall forum broadcast on radio and on social media. The one-hour program featured proponents and opponents of local Proposition A, which would have set a minimum threshold for staffing at the Austin Police Department. Audience members submitted questions using the hashtag #LetsTalkPropA.
BREAKOUT ARTICLE
Let's Talk Prop A: Town hall looks at arguments for, against Austin's police staffing vote
Connecting to Chicago: Turning a Food Desert into a Healthy Oasis
When our personalities and listeners come together for their communities, they show up, BIG TIME. This year, WSCR-AM 670 The Score's Danny Parkins launched the 24-hour "What About Chicago" radiothon, partnering with former Chicago Bears player Sam Acho and current fans to bring a permanent grocery store to the Chicago neighborhood of Austin. They raised more than $700,000, far surpassing their goal and enabling the nonprofit Austin Harvest store to operate seven days a week in an area that was once considered a food desert.
Connecting to Rochester: Young Women of Distinction
Audacy supports our communities' emerging leaders. This year, our personalities from Rochester's WPXY-FM supported the Women's Council Young Women of Distinction scholarships.
Through broadcast, digital, and social spots, our team promoted the scholarship opportunity to young women who have gone above-and-beyond in their local community through both academic excellence and community service. We were proud to support the four accomplished finalists.
Connecting to Hartford: Let’s Talk Vaccines
We're helping people learn more, gain perspective, and navigate their lives. In Hartford, we partnered with the United Way to dispel fear and foster understanding about COVID vaccines. HOT 93.1's DJ Bigg Man hosted “Let's Talk About It” and “Empowering Our Youth to Speak Up and Speak Out” events a part of a series of neighborhood conversations linking healthcare providers with residents who sought trusted voices to understand vaccine information.
COVID-19 Vaccine:
Neighborhood Conversations
Our trusted local voices connect with our audiences, empowering people to exercise their right – and their duty – to participate in our democracy.
The Environment
1Thing, Countless Ways
to Make a Better World
What would happen if we each did just one thing to ensure a sustainable, healthy planet for generations to come? That’s what we’re striving to do through our 1Thing initiative: using our voice to move people to make simple changes in their daily habits to protect our planet.
On our national 1ThingUS.com hub, listeners can access resources, share what artists are doing to save the planet, and learn how to spark change in their own habits and environments.
$1 million PSA grant highlights local environmental organizations throughout Audacy communities nationwide.
$1.5 million media investment sharing 1Thing green tips with our 200 million listeners throughout the Audacy platform.
This year, volunteers from all 47 of our markets came together for our Audacy-wide 1Day 1Thing in-person volunteer event, partnering with local organizations and showing up in our communities across the nation for one day of massive impact.
Using #1day1thing, teams across the country proudly shared how they’re making our world a better place to live.
Our 1Day 1Thing video recap is worth at least 1,000 words in demonstrating the countless things participants did to improve our world, all in just one day.
I appreciate that Audacy values the same things that are important to me.
Audacy employee
Our Green Pledges are in action throughout our operations day in and day out. Over the years, our collective impact for our environment is growing!
Clean & Green:
- 99% eco-friendly supplies in our offices
- Focused use of recycled paper adds up – saving 7.4 million gallons of water
- 100% market participation in our annual company-wide volunteer day
Rather than destroying trees for paper tickets, our Beach Festival used paperless tickets, and planted a tree for every attendee.
We donated a portion of Audacy Beach Festival ticket sales to support clean energy and climate related projects through REVERB’s Music Climate Revolution Campaign.
Touch-free water stations for reusable water bottles kept discarded plastic bottles out of our landfills, streets, and waterways.
Amplifying Earth Day Conversations
A contribution to Conservation International planted 7,500 trees on behalf of the Audacy team.
On "The Morning Drive" in Washington, D.C., 94.7 The Drive's Corinna Delgado interviewed M. Sanjayan, CEO of Conservation International, about how individual action can make a big impact.
Moving People to Protect our Planet
We're connecting with people through content that resonates and helps them go deeper into their environmentally friendly lifestyles and aspirations. We engage these audiences authentically because we, too, weave respect for our planet into everything we are, and everything we do. Audacy is the place to be for brands that want to engage with environmentally conscious consumers across audio platforms.
Listen to how Juliet Bishop of Majic 95.5 KKMJ-FM made one small change to help the planet – and how that's made a huge difference locally.
We're Tuning in to What Matters. Our passion for sustainability shines through in the passion-driven audio content we team up with our brand partners to deliver, and our passionate consumers who embrace and enhance the world around us.
Connecting to Dallas & Houston: Even Radiothons are Bigger in Texas
Even in particularly challenging times, the Hispanic community answered the call to support the great efforts of the Children's Miracle Network. Dallas' “La Grande Radiothon” and Houston's “Mega Radiothon” ignited passion with our fans rallying together to raise more than $640,000 for Texas Children's National. We are so proud to join with our communities in making a meaningful difference for these children and their families through the hospital's awe-inspiring mission and life-saving work.
Connecting to Detroit: Warming Hearts & Homes
Neither rain nor snow nor dead of night stopped host Steve Grunwald of Detroit's 99.5 WYCD-FM from reaching his donation goal. In search of cold, hard cash donations of at least $50,000, he camped out on the cold, hard, snowy patio of the Ronald McDonald House in downtown Detroit during February.
Country artists and inspired listeners helped Steve crush his goal by raising $95,000, sending him back to his warm home after four nights
Connecting to Pittsburgh: Happy Birth Days
This year our four Pittsburgh stations committed PSAs to support the March of Dimes and raise awareness about the risks of pre-term births, drawing special attention to the increased pre-term birth rate and health risks for women of color.
Connecting to Greenville: Big Things for Little Ones
Big things happen when people come together for the good of others. Audacy stations in Greenville, South Carolina, united again this year in the Upstate Radiothon – raising $160,000 for Prisma Health Children’s Hospital. Funds raised support comfort and supportive care items for more than 400,000 pediatric patients each year. Over the past 14 years, Audacy Greenville has raised $3.5M for the Prisma Health Children’s Hospital.
Connecting to Cleveland: Raising a Rainbow of Relief for Kids
Star 102 WDOK-FM’s “2021 Rainbow Radiothon” in Cleveland raised more than $250,000 for University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital. Since 2003, the annual event has raised more than $4.7 million.
Connecting to Portland: Making Medical Debts Disappear
Nick Steele and Kristen Flowers, married morning show co-hosts at 99.5 The Wolf KWJJ in Portland, Oregon, helped erase more than $3.5 million in medical debt for families in the Pacific Northwest. The event was inspired by a $250,000 medical bill the couple had received when Kristen was hospitalized for 24 weeks while pregnant with their daughter, Lilly. The couple partnered with RIP Medical Debt for the four-day “Nick & Kristen’s Medical Debt Payoff” event in November.
“We are beyond humbled by the generosity of the Pacific Northwest,” said Kristen. “This $3.5 million will help so many people who have been struggling for so long. No one should have to worry about paying their medical debt or debts for their children’s care. We are thrilled to help ease that burden for them.”
By using the power of our voices to lift up and protect the most vulnerable children in our communities, we're tapping into our fans' generosity to offer hope and quite literally change the lives of families in need.
Supporting Our Own Audacy Heroes: Sharing Stories on Audacy Team Talks
We're creating more space for our internal team members to share and reflect on their military experiences, heartaches, and triumphs via our Audacy Team Talks platform and intranet. This Veterans Day, our own Jack Murphy, and Rod Rodriguez of Connecting Vets shared their stories of how their service led them into a career creating content especially for veterans. Check out more stories from some of our veteran team members here.
Phil Briggs, Host, Eye on Veterans, Audacy Washington, D.C.; Navy Veteran
Karson Tager, Host, Mix 104.1 Audacy Boston; Army Veteran
Bill Weston, Account Executive, Audacy Greenville; Army Veteran
Connecting to Local Veterans:
If Not Me, Then Who?
Since 2011, our Philadelphia team has partnered with the Travis Manion Foundation to empower veterans and families of the fallen to find an increased sense of community, fulfillment, meaning, and purpose during and after their military service.
In partnership with the Travis Manion Foundation and Tito's Handmade Vodka, we highlighted If Not Me, Then Who? moments celebrating local veterans through audio profiles.
Connecting to Seattle: There’s No Place Like Home – But This is Close
Friends of Fisher House Puget Sound work tirelessly to meet the needs of military families throughout Washington. The organization offers a “home away from home” where families can stay – at no cost – and support their loved ones who are receiving specialized military hospital/VA medical care. We are honored to assist our veterans and active military personnel in the Seattle area, and have raised more than $1 million to date.
99.9 KISW's The Mens Room morning show and Elysian Beer teamed up with listeners to support veterans.
Connecting to Denver: Supporting the Whole Family
The fourth annual Veterans Day radiothon supporting Project Sanctuary raised more than $58,000 to support military and veteran families as they heal through restorative retreats intensive therapy, counseling, and family-unit team building programs.
99.5 The Mountain's Dave O'Brien proudly supports veterans.
We (my wife and I) both grew up knowing that when one family member serves, the entire family serves.
Dave O’Brien, Morning Show Host,
99.5 The Mountain, Audacy Denver
Connecting to Virginia: The Faces of Military Life
We worked with The Inside Out Project and the local business community to create one of the world's largest military installations. Faces of Courage: Hampton Roads pays tribute and honor to the area's more than 420,000 active-duty members, veterans, and families. This powerful exhibit captures their unique bonds, sacrifices, and range of emotions with the hope of promoting a more compassionate community.
Active-duty military members, veterans, and their families become the art in Virginia's Faces of Courage - Inside Out Project.
By connecting veterans and service members with vital resources, and raising funds to honor the fallen and support military families, we are proud to serve those who serve us.
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