Pittman: Technology 'An Opportunity, Not A Risk'

• CNN Talks With Bob Pittman, CEO At Clear Channel

Bob Pittman

In the last 30-plus years, Bob Pittman has helped found MTV, became a successful producer, headed Time Warner's Six Flags theme parks division, ran the Century 21 real estate company, took over AOL in its formative years and was chief operating officer of the merged AOL Time Warner.

Three years after making an investment in the sometimes maligned Clear Channel, the largest radio company in the United States, he's the CEO.

In a phone interview with CNN, his Mississippi twang contrasting with his rapid-fire delivery, Pittman talked about why he got back into radio, his responses to criticism of Clear Channel and lessons he's learned during his career, which started at a radio station in Brookhaven, Mississippi, when Pittman was 15.

A highlight:  CNN: What are the positives and negatives about being the 800-pound gorilla?

Pittman: We're No. 1 in all media. Just our radio (stations) reach 239 million people a month. But when people call you an evil empire, what they're saying is, you're not doing anything new and exciting. And I think the opposite side of having a big platform to play with is you can do great stuff. We try to be very attuned to what's important to our listeners, and we have an obligation to help our listeners and help our communities. And we view part of our job is to connect the music to the fans. That's what radio does.

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