Media vet Stolz discusses past, future of local radio

The Communicators Club is pleased to present longtime Worcester cable-television and radio presence Hank Stolz as guest speaker for our Annual Meeting, set from noon to 1:15 p.m. on Tuesday, June 7.

Hank will discuss the changes in radio over the past 30 years and the reason he founded Radio Worcester in his talk, “Back to the Future in Local Radio.”

Hank is familiar to many as the ongoing host of “Central Mass. Chronicles” on Spectrum News1 Worcester, as well as his work on radioworcester.com. He said he founded Radio Worcester because he feared local communities were continuing to lose voices with institutional knowledge in their communities. His mission is to develop local content that is relevant for radio listeners and for those who find the content through social media.

The philosophy at Radio Worcester is back to the future, a mash-up of the relentlessly local approach of the radio of his youth coupled with the on-demand way in which people consume content today, Hank said.

About Hank

Hank Stolz has been waking up Worcester and Central Massachusetts for the past 25 years. He spent 10 years at heritage AM radio station WTAG, achieving great ratings success with his broadcast partner, Sherman Whitman. Hank then spent 10 years at WCRN AM 830, where he served as both morning show host and program director when the station switched to a talk-radio format.

Several years ago, he founded Radio Worcester, which develops programming for radio stations including WCRN AM 830, and WPKZ 105.3 FM/1280 AM. Radio Worcester also works closely with such partners as the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, Worcester Business Development Corporation, Worcester Red Sox, Mechanics Hall, and Discover Central Massachusetts on broadcast material and podcasts. Radio Worcester Executive Producer Ben White and Hank aim for good conversation with a local bent.

Hank has three daughters and lives in Worcester with his wife Patty. Read more about Radio Worcester in the About section at www.radioworcester.com.