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Behind The Scenes!

V

VBIED

Unfortunately I do not get to read nor post to this site very often! Now that I have a moment to do so I thought of a great idea. Every station I ever worked at always had some person in the back ground that worked for minimum wage and did all of the grunt work no one else wanted to do. That same person would also spend a lot of their free time hanging out and doing even more work. From making dubs to running an AM board for some obscure local game. That is how most of us got into the business right? Well as we all know some never make it past that point for one reason or another. It is those people a lot of the times that really make things happen. Whether what they do frees us up to do more advanced duties or if they insert their opinions on a phone bit or how a commercial sounds, I think what these people have done over the years really goes for the most part unnoticed or unrecognized. In my experience these people in more ways than us truly dedicate a large portion of their lives to “living” radio.

So here is my great idea… Can we start a thread here and list these people? Has this ever been done in the past on this site? Let’s go back over the last ten years to include anyone you can remember. If you are to include full-timers that’s fine, but let’s not get away from the main theme. Even those people that may have swept through quickly but made a lasting impression on you should be included. From the person who is “behind the scenes” and not on the air, to whoever.

Lastly, by skimming through some post here I see that Argy seems to be the “great one” so to speak. Argy, please take a look at this and alter it however you wish, add to or take away from. I just wanted to plant the seed, now we can all contribute and make this cool!

_________________________________________________
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Over the last decade or so the people listed below have made invaluable contributions to the quality of radio in New England. Their tireless effort and dedication to the profession is a true statement to their character. Whether on the air or not, they have touched the radio profession in a way that most will never have the opportunity to. To all the names below we say Thank You!

_________________________________________________
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…VERMONT…

CALL/LTRS:
1.
2.
3.

…NEW HAMPSHIRE…

CALL/LTRS:
1.
2.
3.

…MAINE…

CALL/LTRS:
1.
2.
3.
 
There is a guy that I work with now who is one of the best. His name is Alan O'Donnell, he is just a part-time guy who simply busts his tail at the station. He is one of the best board ops I have run into as he runs tight games and can troubleshoot issues and problems with the best of them. Heck, half the time if there is a problem on a game I am doing, I don't even know about it until later; it is simply taken care of and dealt with.

Alan also does color on football, basketball, and hockey broadcasts and does them without pay. He LOVES sports and simply wants to learn. He has gone from never doing anything on air to the guy I almost demand to be on certain broadcasts with me. Oh by the way, he has come this far in a mere matter of a few months.

I could go on and on about how he came into the studio when I was doing a weekly show, and simply wanted to observe. Two weeks later he was part of the show because we hit it off that well, and he had very solid contributions. Basically the way it is now, wherever I go, he goes; he doesn't have a choice in the matter.

I am a longtime lurker on the boards, and this post compelled me to actually post. Great idea VBIED.

Fells
 
Killer idea!

One name comes to mind instantly for me:

Adam Osborne[size=16pt][/size]
Crazy-talented kid...works two jobs and puts in tons of time, volunteers to help me with stuff, does all the "little things" even when he's got tons of stuff going on. Really great guy, the kind a guy you can call when someone else drops the ball (even if it's yourself doing the ball-dropping, which in my case, it usually is) and he'll help you out no questions asked, with no complaints. I'm really glad we have him here at CC Bangor, he's awesome to work with.
 
VBIED...

First...Thanks for the very nice compliment. :)

Hopefully...2007 will be the year I can 'test drive' a few creative thoughts that have been crammed inside my head for the past few years? As I write this, I'm thinking of a very cool commercial for a bank (for both radio and television)...along with a promo for a format that hasn't been tried in this market...YET? :-*

Trying to pick any top 3 broadcasters from Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont is a very difficult chore. Simply because quite a few stations have gone through major format and personal changes. [Case in point...I worked for WGAN 560 twice....in the 70s and during the mid-80s when the format was AC, Soft MOR or a combination. Now 560/WGAN is Maine's News and Information Authority....at least according to their sweep liners]! ;D

The one thing I've noticed about a lot of Northern New England radio stations (and this comes from working in Maine for more than 30 years) is that a few GMs & PD's are often too quick when it comes to 'stereotyping talent!' In other words...if you're a good on-air personality, you're not necessarily great at writing or producing commercials? Or vice versa? I've also noticed that an off camera voice over announcer will lose his (or her) credibility the moment he (or she) steps in front of a camera! :eek:

Of course...now that so many of us are expected to 'multi-task' for as many as 5 or 6 different radio stations...it doesn't seem to matter whether the writing, production or the on-air work is good...great...or mediocre? Quality product often takes a back seat to "just bang it out and get it on the air!" ::)

Like all of you, I have my favorites...but to make this thread fair (and perhaps a bit more interesting) to both PAST and PRESENT broadcasters...maybe we should name the decade and try to match it with the 'personalities' who influenced US and Northern New England radio...THE MOST? ;)

argytunes
 
I really like that idea, Argy. Will wait for a new thread to begin before adding mine, though. In the meantime, I was wondering if you had an email addy I could use. As I've mentioned previously, I have been making mixes with mixmeister and just recently figured out how to get rid of the stamp without actually buying the software, though it's tedious and probably not quite PC. Anyhoo, I'd like to send off the mix as a Christmas present (although it's huge!) and I have a way to do it that splits it into email friendly partitions.

Also, VBIED, was wondering how you came up with your acronymic-looking name? In the military it stands for "Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device" all too common in the vacation spot of beautiful Baghdad and surrounding country. ::)
 
Never mind about that demo. I guess the software doesn't work as well as I'd like it to. Either that or Korean government puts a kibosh on massive emails. Don't know for sure though, got a pop up but it was in Korean. ???

Anyway, Merry Christmas. :)
 
This seems like I'm talking to myself, but they already nixed the edit feature. :mad:

I could send you a full copy of just the mixdowns. That's only 8MB and some change.

Incidentally, if anyone else is interested, just drop me a line on myspace or something.
 
nhradiochild...

My apologies for the late response. I was away from the computer all-day Wednesday. [A dear friend...who can no longer drive...needed a 'chauffer' in order to help her tackle the rest of her Christmas shopping]. Whether I'm able to finish mine or not remains to be seen? ???

You (or anybody on the radio-info boards) can reach me directly at [email protected]---if you have a question or comment! ;)

This morning...I've been listening to some unusual seasonal stuff...including a CD taken from "DISNEYWORLD" that has all the attractions transformed into Christmas-oriented themes....the original WILLY WONKA & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY soundtrack (with Gene Wilder)....and now I'm revisiting the broadway score of "WICKED" (which is loosely on THE WIZARD OF OZ). :)

I know I've brought this up before, but there are so many more "radio options" that many of our conventional radio stations could explore?

Don't you find it interesting that so many New England stations are willing to abandon their format(s) during the Christmas Season, but shy away from trying anything new or different during the rest of the year....particularly when their spot load (aka advertising) is low...or their audience numbers are down? ::)

ANYWAY...Joyeux Noel to all my friends...along with the few members of the radio-info boards who aren't necessarily fond of my 'broadcast points of view!" :p

argytunes
 
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