Dan Bennett makes his mark in Texas

by Abby Davis

At the age of 10, Dan Bennett, ’76, would ride his bike to the corner of 10th and Filmore streets to gaze through the windows of WREN Radio in Topeka, Kansas.

Now, Bennett is the regional vice president at Cumulus Media, overseeing seven radio stations in Texas. After 52 years of accomplishments, Bennett’s successes come from a positive attitude and a determination to help people pursue their goals.

Bennett’s career began at WREN Radio when he was 16 years old and in high school. During this time, he worked part-time on the weekends as a DJ. Years later, as a sophomore in college, he was moved up to the afternoon show and became a fulltime employee. Bennett continued working full-time at WREN while attending Washburn as a full-time student.

“I would take classes in the morning and then get to WREN by one o’clock in the afternoon to work,” said Bennett. “When you have to do both, you learn time management.”

Around graduation time, Bennett met his wife, Rosy Parris-Bennett. Together, they decided to leave Topeka to pursue careers in a bigger city. By late 1983, holding the general manager role of his station, Bennett and his wife left for Dallas.

“We said whoever got the job first, the other would follow,” said Bennett. “As luck would have it, she got the job first, so I followed her. Once I got in the door, everything happened in a positive way.”

For the last 39 years, Bennett has been working at Cumulus Media’s Dallas/Houston stations. As the regional vice president, Bennett starts his day bright and early by getting to his office at 6 a.m. One of the most important things he does is handle the money. Bennett’s proudest career accomplishment has been helping the Dallas/ Houston market become Cumulus Media’s biggest market for revenue for the entire company.

“For revenue and cash flow, we are bringing in three times what the number two market in the company does,” said Bennett. “So, we are a real big part of our company.”

Bennett credits this success to his employees. While tracking sales and generating revenue are an essential part of the job, Bennett finds significant value in helping people become better at what they do. He uses a people-based management style that is built on a foundation of mutual respect and trust. When Bennett decides to retire in the future, he is confident that his employees will be able to fill his shoes.

“I always viewed that my job is to try and help employees be better at their job and improve as an employee to the point where I can promote them,” said Bennett. “Every employee we hire, I try to learn something from.”

Jim Quirk, a senior account executive, began working for Cumulus Media at the age of 21, starting only six months before Bennett. Throughout their time working together, Quirk has come to know Bennett in the professional sense, as well as personally. Quirk highlights the unique career path Bennett took – beginning with radio programming and later transferring to upper management – and describes Bennett as a focused and fair leader of Cumulus Media.

“One thing he does that people are amazed by is he’s not afraid to roll up his sleeves and do the dirty work,” said Quirk. “He can be very demanding, and he expects a lot, but he is enormously fair and has a lot of empathy too.”

Bennett believes in the good that media can bring to people. Last year, Bennett’s radio stations raised $2.2 million for various charities.

An article by Tom Stephenson published in D CEO Magazine outlines many of Bennett’s major awards and milestones within his time at Cumulus Media.

“I have each of the stations do things to help the community,” said Bennett. “I get a lot more satisfaction by helping other people achieve their dream or goal and seeing someone else win.”

The importance of giving back to the community is rooted in the way Bennett was raised, as well as a few unfortunate life events. He recalls a time when his wife was financially burdened by the death of her father in the middle of college, and how she would have never made it through without the help of scholarships. Now that the couple is financially well, they put away money every month into a scholarship account to give Washburn students the opportunity for continued education.

“It’s about giving back because I’ve been there at one point and the scholarship money really helps people,” said Bennett. “What is really cool about the students of Washburn is that every year, the students write us letters – and we keep them.”

Bennett speaks to many schools in the Texas area and was excited to speak at the 2023 Mass Media Keynote Speaker Event where he was presented with the Non Nobis Solum award, which is Latin for not for ourselves alone, a mass media alumni award given to those who have made a lasting impact in their communities through their media careers.

One focus Bennett made in his speech is what it takes to get a job –drive, worth ethic, and positivity.

“Whatever your dream is, you can get there from here, meaning Washburn,” said Bennett. “You can get just as good of an education at Washburn as you can anywhere else, and I’m living proof.”

Bennett encourages students to reach for their goals. He believes having confidence and a positive mindset is essential. One last piece of advice from Bennett is to stay away from negative people.

“If somebody said, ‘do you want to be 22 again?’ I would say sure, but only if I could take my 68-year-old mind with me, because you learn that negative people are just bad news that will keep you from your dream and your goal,” said Bennett.