Ron Carter, a 1966 broadcast communication alumnus, enjoyed a five-year career with the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company, San Francisco, before returning to his broadcast roots in 1974 when he became an entry-level sales person at KIRO Newsradio, Seattle. He was promoted to assistant sales manager at KIRO before becoming general sales manager at KPLZ-FM, Seattle, in 1978. In 1981 he returned to KIRO as VP-Sales.
In 1989 he was transferred to Kansas City, where he served as Vice President-General Manager of KMBZ-AM, KLTH-FM, and KCMO AM & FM for more than eight years. When the company acquired the competing KCMO properties in 1993 he led a team of 125 broadcasters through the cultural and organizational development issues associated with consolidation. Together, these radio stations accounted for more than 15 percent of market ratings and nearly 22 percent of market revenues.
In 1997, he was hired to manage Fisher Broadcasting’s radio properties in Portland, Ore. One of his proudest moments was receiving the NAB Crystal Award in 2002, honoring KWJJ as one of America’s top-ten stations for community service. Carter retired after a 30-year career in radio sales, sales management, and general management. Since 2004, he has worked with a colleague consulting major law firms.
Carter and his wife, Louise, have been involved with the WSU Foundation, serving both as trustees and trustee ambassadors. He has also been a member and president of the WSU’s Edward R. Murrow School of Communication Advisory Board. He has been involved in work to support the Murrow Symposium, served on a task force to study independence for the school, served on the board and was president of Missouri Broadcasters Association, served on the board of Oregon Association of Broadcasters, and served as president of Puget Sound Radio Broadcasters Association.