Kahn hopes to use her influence to help women
In the world of local radio, it's getting lonelier for women at the top, but Entercom vice president Julie Kahn is hoping to change that. Although she is the only Bostonian on trade magazine Radio Ink's latest list of "50 Most Influential Women in Radio," she'd like to have some company.
"I try to be a mentor," says Kahn, whose full title -- vice president/New England market manager for Entercom New England -- puts her in charge of the group's stations WAAF-FM (107.3), WEEI-AM (850), WEEI-FM (103.7), WMKK-FM (93.7), WRKO-AM (680), Providence's WVEI-AM (1440), and Springfield's WVEI-FM (105.5). "I do a lot within my own office," she says.
Julie Burke, manager of the Massachusetts Women's Forum, agrees. "She's really a believer in mentoring women and supporting women," Burke says. Kahn, a member since 2006, serves on the forum's board. "She's brought such energy and spirit to the organization," Burke says.
Kahn, ranked 31st, has been "a perennial" on the Radio Ink list, according to editor-in-chief Joe Howard, placing regularly since 2003. "She gets nominations from every corner," Howard says.
In previous years, Kahn was joined on the list (which was launched in 1999) by Jake Karger, a Boston-based
"I'm the only one who is actually operating radio stations on this list," Kahn says, pointing out that the women above her are primarily executives. (See the complete list at radioink.com, and click on "Radio Ink Lists.") "All the ones above me are corporate. The good thing is that there are [now] more women in corporate."
Kahn began her career in Chicago and was a vice president for a San Francisco radio group when she was brought to Boston by Entercom to oversee then "Star" WQSX-FM (93.7) and rocker WAAF. In 2004, she was given control over WEEI and WRKO as well. Entercom holdings grew over the next two years, acquiring Providence and Springfield satellites for WEEI and an additional signal for WAAF, the simulcasting WKAF-FM (97.7). In 2006, the group was renamed Entercom New England , and Kahn was given her current title.
Queried about her success and her lonely place on the list, she points to the rigors of the profession. "It's a very tough business," says Kahn, who turns 49 this month. Although she has both a marriage and an 8-year-old daughter, she says, "I was lucky, but I gave up a lot.
"For almost 20 years, I've devoted my life to my job. If I were younger, I don't know if I could pull off the balancing act."
It doesn't have to be that tough, she says. Asked to advise women entering radio today, she says, "I don't recommend giving up your life." What, then, would she suggest? "When you're at the office, be 100 percent present. When you come to work -- work!" Do that, she says, and "you can definitely walk out the door at the end of the day and have a balanced life."
