Jeff Warshaw: Westport’s Radio Connoisseur

With so many options for music — Spotify, Sirius, personal playlists — how do 92% of Americans listen each week?

Radio.

The good, old-fashioned way: in a car, or at the office.

And the good, new-fashioned way: streaming on a laptop or phone. Or through Alexa.

In Connecticut, chances are good that the station is a long-time favorite: WEBE 108, WPLR, the Fox, Star 99.9 or WICC.

If you’re on Long Island, it may be WALK 97.5.

They’re 6 of the 13 radio stations owned by Connoisseur Media. It’s one of the most highly regarded companies in the industry: community-minded, well-run and profitable.

And it all happens from a downtown Westport office.

On Tuesday morning, Jeff Warshaw sat at his desk overlooking the Post Road. It was 8 a.m. He’d already left his home a view minutes away, voted, and had coffee.

Jeff Warshaw, and his expansive view of Westport. (PHoto/Dan Woog)

He settled back, and talked about his lifelong passion: radio.

His father and uncle were in the business. (Wolfman Jack was one of their DJs). Warshaw built his first station — literally constructing it, in Portage, Indiana — after answering an ad in Broadcasting Magazine. At the time, the Long Island native was a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

He sold it, then bought and sold a number of distressed stations. In 1993 — still in his mid-20s — he founded Connoisseur Connoisseur Communications Partners, with a station in Flint, Michigan.

Seven years later, he sold what had become a 39-station group (in places like Youngstown, Ohio and the Quad Cities in Iowa and Illinois) to Cumulus Broadcasting. The price was $258 million.

A few years later, he started his second Connoisseur company from scratch. This time he concentrated on Connecticut and New York.

None of the original stations remain in his portfolio. Selling and buying brought him his current stable. He looks for “a strong local presence, good facilities, and good people.”

The dozen-plus stations play different formats. But all share core values, Warshaw says: community service, dedication to listeners, results for advertisers, an excellent work environment, and integrity.

Nine Connoisseur Media stations …

Under Connoisseur, WEBE and Star 99.9 — once “blood enemies,” according to Warshaw — have become different. Both are thriving.

So is WICC. Bridgeport’s first radio station, and one of the first in the state (it signed on 96 years ago Tuesday, with call letters standing for “Industrial Capital of Connecticut”), it is unlike the other Connoisseur stations.

WICC programs mostly talk radio. But — defying trends in the rest of the country, while holding true to the company philosophy — much of it is locally based.

The daytime slots are filled by Melissa in the Morning, Lisa Wexler (a Westport resident) and Paul Pacelli.

“You can hear national talk radio anywhere,” Warshaw says. “The local commitment makes us special.”

It’s more expensive. Syndicated talk show costs just 2 commercial minutes an hour.

But, Warshaw says, that’s the Connoisseur way. And it’s their way whether a station hosts talk shows, or plays music from the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s or today.

… and 4 more.

“It’s easy to be cheap. We have more people, and we pay to have them. We have more vehicles than some New York stations. We sponsor dance-a-thons, and food and toy drives.”

Connoisseur works closely with organizations like Bridgeport Rescue Mission, and veterans’ groups. WEBE’s holiday gifts to needy listeners are a particularly costly — but beloved — tradition.

Warshaw says that the format — and the budget — pay off in the end. “I’ll stack my team against any radio company in America.”

That’s not just a CEO bragging. Connoisseur wins awards — for management and ad sales.

“It’s our responsibility. We enjoy it,” Warshaw insists. “And we make money. Otherwise we’d say, ‘Just listen to Spotify.'”

On the wall in Jeff Warshaw’s office: a guitar signed by Jeff Beck, and a collage with the faces of hundreds Connoisseur Media employees. (Photo/Dan Woog)

Warshaw is bullish on the future of radio. It’s multi-platform: anyone can tune in via a dial, computer, smart speaker or app. And in an age when so many people worry about privacy, radio stations don’t rely on knowing who, personally, every listen is.

So how big will his company get? Will they outgrow their Westport headquarters?

“We’re connoisseurs, not gluttons,” Warshaw jokes. “We will do the job we think is important. But being great is more important than being big.”

The CEO moved from New York to Westport in 1996 — both his office and home, on the same day.

He came for the same reasons as many — great schools, space, a wonderful town to raise kids — and he has never regretted it.

Looking out over the Post Road — “There’s David Waldman!” he said, spotting the commercial real estate developer across the street — he has no reason to move.

He’s in a vibrant town. There are plenty of excellent restaurants. He works just a few minutes from home, and the club where he plays tennis.

Every Connoisseur radio station has a tagline: “Fairfield County Rocks.” “The Rhythm of the City.” “Long Island’s Best Variety.” “Today’s Best Mix.” “Connecticut’s Music Variety.”

Jeff Warshaw’s might be: “Loving Radio Life.”