Radiophiler just stole my thunder.
WILM was earning about 1.1 to 1.2 Million a year under Carl Jones. The station was breaking about even.
Then, the Hawkins made a fatal error. On the advice of their "kitchen cabinet" (business types who unofficially advised the station, kind of a board of directors), Sally Hawkins wanted Jones to perhaps give-up the day-to-day sales management, and perhaps be a senior sales adviser part-time. The idea was to bring in "new blood".
Unfortunately, Jones son-in-law had passed away and he very much wanted full-time, especially with the sort of benefits package WILM could never offer. Jones crossed over to Delmarva Broadcasting and took several hundred thousand dollars with him. This was also about the time of the recession when the market nosedived. WILM never recovered.
Had the Hawkins had a sister FM station - where they could spread the costs of, for example, traffic - had they some better infrastructure; had they purchased the book... it's fascinating to speculate what might have happened with WILM.
Unable to afford to hire a real sales manager, Sally Hawkins brought in her son, E.B., a bright guy, but someone whose first priority was his music. (It didn't help that E.B. kept late hours, and arrived late in the morning or even early afternoon.)
Undeniably, the Hawkins had some very strong philosophical ideas about how to run a radio station: Because of the cost of the operation - and the premium affluent audience they believed they delivered - not cutting rate on spots... although they were known to toss some freebies to cherished local sponsors when the station wasn't sold out.
Also, a full-time business editor, coverage of nearly all school-board meetings, live coverage of the annual business dinners, etc.
It wasn't so much journalism, per se, as the belief that if your station was seen everywhere, you could drum up attention AND sales... the same philosophy that, on the political side, had the late Senator Bill Roth visiting church carnivals such as the Italian Festival with his German shepherd. (The late senator and Sally Hawkins were great friends.) Retail politics in Delaware.
In the latter years, admittedly, it became almost a crusade. Hawkins used the sales of first her beach house and then her house on Broom Street to help make pay-roll.
But make no mistake. The lady WANTED to make money. But she cut corners in ways that most other station owners would not: Virtually no promotions budget. Virtually no engineering budget. No cart machines on the planet probably ever saw the work-out they got at WILM! The overnight person was charged with winding carts.
One news/traffic vehicle that was driven mercilessly, and actually got stolen. In the latter years, no vehicle at all.
It was more important to be at every meeting.
Hey, for a while, folks could get local news from Cable Channel 2 AND TV 12 and WILM and WDEL!
For better or worse, the Hawkins were always trying to broker deals to enhance the station's visibility (commendable), but given the station's resources, usually some cockamamie arrangement. For example, the deal to do helicopter traffic, which required the traffic person to drive to a heliport - filing reports along the way - and then mount the two-way device each time at the start, and remove it at the end. Sometimes wires or connections broke.
The Hawkins hated syndicated talk (except for Larry King and Jim Bohannon). They wanted primarily locally-originated news (with a little talk: John Watson). They lived for the awards and recognition. The station was what it was.
But eventually, years of financial losses took their toll. Lacking a real benefits package, the sales department was a revolving door. Every once in a while, it seemed the sales department had hit a certain rhythm. But the hopes always crashed after one or two promising people gave their two weeks...
Fast-forward to 2011: So easy to find people in the Wilmington area - at various events and functions - who lament "what's happened at WILM", and who've gone to WDEL and/or public radio.
