Let’s talk about PRIZE PIGS! Every station had ’em, but some were worse than others. May, 1991. I had just moved to Florida and needed a gig. Was hired to do 7-Midnight at a country station in Ocala. Nearly every week, I had a Saturday afternoon remote. The station’s “hook” in getting people to come… Read More »
How many of you worked at an automated station which utilized the old Carousel system? The one with music on reels and the spots on rotating “wheels” of carts. These were common in the 1970s and 80s. Most began their lives when an established AM station built a new FM. The FM usually ran a… Read More »
On the third Friday in August, 1986, I arrived in Fort Dodge, Iowa. After checking into Super 8 for the night, I woke up early the next morning to begin my new adventure. This was back in the days when it was inexpensive and easy to find a place to live. You didn’t need to… Read More »
It’s been a few weeks since I wrote the latest chapter in my continuing radio saga. I should make this into a book and title it “I was a Roaming Radio Gypsy” or “Fifteen Years as a Radio Drifter.” I’m only up to station number 3 and there are about 20 left to go! I… Read More »
One afternoon while on-the-air at KCHK, I received a phone call from Lee Barr. Lee was the Program Director of KWKR-FM 99.9 in Garden City, Kansas. This was one of the stations I had sent an audition tape and resume to. Lee made me an offer I couldn’t refuse, so I packed up my ’77… Read More »
When I left KNAB, I thought getting another radio job would be easy. I’d just move back to Minnesota, snap my fingers, make a few calls, and presto: I’d be working at one of the big Twin Cities stations. After all, I now had “experience”, right? Wrong. It was at this time that I learned… Read More »
I graduated from Brown Institute of Broadcasting in June, 1983. To say that I was anxious to begin working in radio “for real” was an understatement. Our Placement Director at Brown was a man by the name of Mike Kronforst. Shortly before graduation, Mike advised our class on how best to land our first position.… Read More »
When I was 10 years old, I determined that I needed an AM transmitter. But there was a slight problem: a 10-year-old kid can’t just walk into a store and buy a radio transmitter. You have to build it, either from scratch or from a kit. At my school library, there were books on how… Read More »
As I mentioned in the previous chapter, the thing I most wanted as a kid was to be on the radio. No other desire even came close. When I was 7 years old (1971), I was given a pair of inexpensive walkie-talkies for my birthday. 99.99% of the population used these to talk to another… Read More »
For years, friends and family have been telling me “You’ve gotta write down all your radio stories! People would love reading about them!” I’ve always been skeptical of this. For one thing, I don’t think folks would believe me! For another, I’m far from certain that anyone cares to hear the assorted ramblings of a… Read More »