Courtesy Houston Chronicle

(March 27, 2009) As a longtime Texas radio executive, Brian Purdy is acutely aware of the synergies and rivalries that unite and divide Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth. He hopes to put that knowledge to good use in his new role, announced this week, as dual overseer of CBS Radio’s stations in both markets.

Purdy, a former executive with Clear Channel Communications in Houston, adds oversight for CBS’ Houston stations, including KILT (610 AM), to his existing duties with the company’s Dallas stations.

He will split time between the cities, but at times he plans to bring his employees in both towns together for some on-air trash talking.

“One of the best radio shows I’ve ever listened to was this fall, where our (Dallas) sports station and our CBS sports station in Baltimore went at it for a couple of hours before the Ravens-Cowboys game,” he said. “It was station-on-station, with listeners calling in from both markets, and it was awesome radio.”