National Geographic. Disney. WWE. Now, Brad Dancer is bringing over 20 years of experience in programming and corporate brand strategy to WSHU.
Dancer was named general manager of WSHU in July, joining the region’s NPR- affiliated radio station.
“The general manager of WSHU oversees all radio station functions, including programming, production, membership marketing, news, journalism, and all of our NPR and community relationships,” said Dancer.
Licensed to Fairfield, WSHU-FM (91.1 FM) serves the Connecticut and Long Island areas with award-winning reporting, a variety of podcasts and a fresh take on classical music.
Source: Daniel Passapera
Brad Dancer, general manager of WSHU Public Radio pictured in WSHU.
Dancer, an experienced media executive joined WSHU in July 2024.
“My mission here is to get people to use what they know and think about how we can change for the future,” said Dancer. “We’re in good shape. Public radio is in a difficult position across the United States. WSHU, because it’s part of Sacred Heart and because of its really strong listener base, we’re actually in pretty good shape.”
Owned and operated by Sacred Heart University, the station is funded by listener support and individual donations.
“I’ve always believed in public radio. There are very few places for pure, free press,” said Dancer. “It’s to be a voice and a reflection of the community we serve.”
Dancer got his start at Purdue University, where he studied film and biology. He later received his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Maryland Global Campus.
He said, “I’m sort of a math/science nerd as well as a storytelling/content nerd. I did a little bit of both, was able to sort of mix those together and start doing more strategic things, more content programming, more content and marketing strategy.”
Over the course of his career, Dancer has contributed to some of the industry’s largest players. At National Geographic, he served as the Executive Vice President of Content Strategy and Data Insights, helping transform an aging brand in a new pathway, with a bold, premium content focused vision.
“We cut the hours in half and started spending. Instead of $800,000 an hour, we were spending four, five, six million dollars an hour in programming,” said Dancer.
During his years at Nat Geo, the company picked up its first ever Oscar win for Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi’s award-winning documentary Free Solo.
The documentary chronicled one of the world’s greatest athletic achievements, profiling climber Alex Honnold in his death-defying first ever free solo ascent of Yosemite National Park’s El Capitan.
Instagram’s launch in 2010 sparked another major change for the brand, as the company ceded control of social media to the photographers themselves. With 280 million followers on Instagram, the company is now the third most followed brand account in the world.
“Try and experiment, have fun and go along for the ride,” said Dancer. “One thing I learned at National Geographic is the people who want you to experiment and innovate are the people closest to you. All the fans and the members of National Geographic wanted us to keep trying new things.”
After nineteen years at National Geographic, Dancer moved to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) during the heat of their merger with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
He spearheaded the promotion’s global strategy and data analytics for three years, playing a major role in the company’s transition.
“I moved up to Connecticut with the WWE job, I lived in the DC area for National Geographic. I really fell in love with Connecticut, I lived in Norwalk, loved the whole area,” he said.
Dancer has since brought an innovative mindset to WSHU, emphasizing the importance of public radio and community engagement in our current media environment.
“It’s a matter of trying to figure out what our fans and listeners want to hear,” said Dancer. “We’re constantly looking for how to reflect the community. If you can mix longevity with a mindset of change, you can keep adapting to the new environment.”
