Birdman played requests and never took a nickel

[SKIPPER]

I turned 43 this February. I was driving down the Atlanta Highway yesterday listeing to the Birdman on 1440 WHHY. He was playing “Life in the fast lane” by the Eagles. I wake up this morning and I’m 43 freaking years old and I’m wondering how I got here. This place that is so unfamiliar to me. I was one of the cool guys, I was the guy my friends called on Friday afternoon to find out what we were doing on Friday Night! Suddenly I’m , dare I say it, middle aged. Ouch.
I swear it was yesterday. I was standing in the lobby of WHHY on Norman Bridge Road picking up an album I had won. I remember opening the door and stepping inside. I can still feel the buzz the station emitted. It was like the very air inside the building was plugged into a wall socket. I stood waiting for the receptionist to bring my “prize” and looked through a window into the control room. Something happened that day. I’m not sure what it was about the world on the other side of the window that fascinated me, the turntables, the buttons the lights or was it the racks of records. Hundreds of Albums! I thought about it for days after I left the building. I had to be a part of it, somehow. Several months later I got my chance.
Hundreds of miles later I’m 43 and have been working in “radio” for 27 years. It’s like any job. Fun sometimes and a pain in the butt other times. Thousands of records and commercials later I can say with no reservation RADIO IS DEAD.
The fat lady was warming up in the wings in the late 70’s. The 80’s had her walking out on stage. She did this huge inhale in the early 90’s and by 2000 was belting out a dirge that is still ringing in the ears of hardcore radio people all over America. Corporations took over and the passion was replaced by greed. Let’s break it down.

1978
I’m hear to tell you that in 1978 management wanted to make money, but it was a two-way street. Program directors would have meetings with the sales manager and sometimes owner and each would work toward a goal both could agree upon.

2006
It’s all about sales. It has nothing to do with program integrity. Most sale managers don’t give a tinkers damn about the format or the listeners. Most station managers just see dollars. Cut costs, computers not people. Radio is suppose to be the property of the people. Station owners get the opportunity to make money using the public airwaves, but it’s really a lease. They get to lease the frequency and serve in the public interest. Corporations only serve the interest of the corporation. Hear any yard sales announced on the radio anymore? In 1978 we did a public service announcement every hour on the hour. People still call, fax and mail public service announcements into the stations, you never hear any on the air.

1978
Music meeting would last for hours. I remember arguing all afternoon about the records we would add to the play list. We listened to everything that came into the radio station and then we would listen again. Argue, listen some more and then we still hoped we had done our best for the “sound” of the station and the listeners. If a record got a negative call or “no calls” we pulled it and moved on to something else we believed would work. We listened to the audience.

2006
The play list comes from the “consultant” who deals with the record companies. We are told what to add, how many times to play it and when to pull it out of rotation. Corporations shove a couple hundred people into a room for a music test. The songs the folks like are then viewed as the holy list. I’ve seen stations use the same play list for their gold rotations for YEARS before a new list is believed necessary. That’s why you hear the same songs over and over and over.

1978
You played requests. They were built into the programming. Some stuff was marked nights only. If you played one of those in the afternoon, you’d take a bit of grief from the P.D. or M.D. In the end it was all good. The ratings were great.

2006
You play something not on the play list. You’d get a reprimand. If you did it a 2nd or 3rd time. You get fired and they hire someone else who will play the list. All request weekend…. Don’t you believe it. It doesn’t exist anywhere. Even the independent owners have the computers running on the weekend. He who is without sin cast the first stone.

The thing that bothers me most is how we use the computer to lie to the listeners. They are not stupid. I really believe that management and sales think that listeners are stupid. They know we are not live. They make fun of us for acting like we are live when we are not. We are lying to them and insulting their intelligence. We are not fooling anyone.

This week FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein is pouring over stacks of evidence of potential violations of it’s anti-payola rules. He says it’s potentially the most widespread and flagrant violation of FCC rules in the history of American broadcasting.

I hate to see the industry I love so much get such a black eye.
I hope this is a first step. I hope that radio will once again serve the public.
I’d love to hear a live D.J. on Saturday morning reading a p.s.a. for a yard-sale in a neighborhood somewhere in my home town.
I hope before I hang my headphone on the mic stand in my studio for the last time I get to spend the afternoon arguing about the records we’ll add next Tuesday and if I’m lucky I’ll get to play someone’s request.
<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by SKIPPER on 02/11/06 04:55 AM.</FONT></P>

 

[al_atl]

Best post I've read here in a long time...maybe ever...describing the state of radio today. Dead on. I'm about the same age as you, a few months older. I've been in that old house on Norman Bridge road, too. I remember listening to Birdman, Larry Stevens and others on WHHY. I remember listening to WRMA-950 during their top-40 days. I also listened to WBAM-740 during their top-40 days. I grew up in Selma. I often listened to Montgomery and Birmingham stations (WSGN, WERC, WVOK) during the day to hear the "big guys." At night it was the best U.S. top-40 station ever, WLS! I was bit by the broadcast bug as a child. I don't really remember when it hit me...I just remember it was always there. As a kid, whenever we would drive past a radio station I would try to see through the windows to who/what was inside. When I was a little older, maybe 10 or 11, I remember walking into town (Selma) to WAMA-1340. I'd sit there and just watch the DJ do his thing. I was taking it all in, how the equipment worked etc. I later did work in radio but, for the most part, as part-time work. I found that I didn't exactly have the pipes to be serious about radio, but I was one helluva board op and was good at technical stuff. So I went into television. Better money, a bit more stability. But trust me, television is sliding down the slippery slope too... I think that right now, if I was 15 again (the age I was when I got my first radio job) how would I get into radio? Everything is automated now. No need for a weekend DJ or board op, the computer does it all. In 1978, every radio station had someone there running the show...even overnights and weekends. Even in the small markets. And in those small markets like Selma and even smaller markets, often the weekend guy/girl was someone in high school. Someone developing skills and gaining experience to build a career and go on to bigger and better things. That's gone now. And that's a terrible shame. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Like I say, dead on.

> I turned 43 this February. I was driving down the Atlanta
> Highway yesterday listeing to the Birdman on 1440 WHHY. He
> was playing “Life in the fast lane” by the Eagles. I wake up
> this morning and I’m 43 freaking years old and I’m wondering
> how I got here. This place that is so unfamiliar to me. I
> was one of the cool guys, I was the guy my friends called on
> Friday afternoon to find out what we were doing on Friday
> Night! Suddenly I’m , dare I say it, middle aged. Ouch.
> I swear it was yesterday. I was standing in the lobby of
> WHHY on Norman Bridge Road picking up an album I had won. I
> remember opening the door and stepping inside. I can still
> feel the buzz the station emitted. It was like the very air
> inside the building was plugged into a wall socket. I stood
> waiting for the receptionist to bring my “prize” and looked
> through a window into the control room. Something happened
> that day. I’m not sure what it was about the world on the
> other side of the window that fascinated me, the turntables,
> the buttons the lights or was it the racks of records.
> Hundreds of Albums! I thought about it for days after I left
> the building. I had to be a part of it, somehow. Several
> months later I got my chance.
> Hundreds of miles later I’m 43 and have been working in
> “radio” for 27 years. It’s like any job. Fun sometimes and a
> pain in the butt other times. Thousands of records and
> commercials later I can say with no reservation RADIO IS
> DEAD.
> The fat lady was warming up in the wings in the late 70’s.
> The 80’s had her walking out on stage. She did this huge
> inhale in the early 90’s and by 2000 was belting out a dirge
> that is still ringing in the ears of hardcore radio people
> all over America. Corporations took over and the passion was
> replaced by greed. Let’s break it down.
>
> 1978
> I’m hear to tell you that in 1978 management wanted to make
> money, but it was a two-way street. Program directors would
> have meetings with the sales manager and sometimes owner and
> each would work toward a goal both could agree upon.
>
> 2006
> It’s all about sales. It has nothing to do with program
> integrity. Most sale managers don’t give a tinkers damn
> about the format or the listeners. Most station managers
> just see dollars. Cut costs, computers not people. Radio is
> suppose to be the property of the people. Station owners get
> the opportunity to make money using the public airwaves, but
> it’s really a lease. They get to lease the frequency and
> serve in the public interest. Corporations only serve the
> interest of the corporation. Hear any yard sales announced
> on the radio anymore? In 1978 we did a public service
> announcement every hour on the hour. People still call, fax
> and mail public service announcements into the stations, you
> never hear any on the air.
>
> 1978
> Music meeting would last for hours. I remember arguing all
> afternoon about the records we would add to the play list.
> We listened to everything that came into the radio station
> and then we would listen again. Argue, listen some more and
> then we still hoped we had done our best for the “sound” of
> the station and the listeners. If a record got a negative
> call or “no calls” we pulled it and moved on to something
> else we believed would work. We listened to the audience.
>
> 2006
> The play list comes from the “consultant” who deals with the
> record companies. We are told what to add, how many times to
> play it and when to pull it out of rotation. Corporations
> shove a couple hundred people into a room for a music test.
> The songs the folks like are then viewed as the holy list.
> I’ve seen stations use the same play list for their gold
> rotations for YEARS before a new list is believed necessary.
> That’s why you hear the same songs over and over and over.
>
> 1978
> You played requests. They were built into the programming.
> Some stuff was marked nights only. If you played one of
> those in the afternoon, you’d take a bit of grief from the
> P.D. or M.D. In the end it was all good. The ratings were
> great.
>
> 2006
> You play something not on the play list. You’d get a
> reprimand. If you did it a 2nd or 3rd time. You get fired
> and they hire someone else who will play the list. All
> request weekend…. Don’t you believe it. It doesn’t exist
> anywhere. Even the independent owners have the computers
> running on the weekend. He who is without sin cast the first
> stone.
>
> The thing that bothers me most is how we use the computer to
> lie to the listeners. They are not stupid. I really believe
> that management and sales think that people believe we are
> pulling the wool over the sheep’s eyes.
> Listeners are not stupid. They know we are not live. They
> make fun of us for acting like we are live when we are not.
> We are lying to them and insulting their intelligence. We
> are not fooling anyone.
>
> This week FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein is pouring
> over stacks of evidence of potential violations of it’s
> anti-payola rules. He says it’s potentially the most
> widespread and flagrant violation of FCC rules in the
> history of American broadcasting.
>
> I hate to see the industry I love so much get such a black
> eye.
> I hope this is a first step. I hope that radio will once
> again serve the public.
> I’d love to hear a live D.J. on Saturday morning reading a
> p.s.a. for a yard-sale in a neighborhood somewhere in my
> home town.
> I hope before I hang my headphone on the mic stand in my
> studio for the last time I get to spend the afternoon
> arguing about the records we’ll add next Tuesday and if I’m
> lucky I’ll get to play someone’s request.
>
<P ID="signature">______________
Consolidated Corporate Radio S U C K S !!!!!!</P>

 

[johngarrett]

> I turned 43 this February. I was driving down the Atlanta
> Highway yesterday listeing to the Birdman on 1440 WHHY. He
> was playing “Life in the fast lane” by the Eagles. I wake up
> this morning and I’m 43 freaking years old and I’m wondering
> how I got here. This place that is so unfamiliar to me. I
> was one of the cool guys, I was the guy my friends called on
> Friday afternoon to find out what we were doing on Friday
> Night! Suddenly I’m , dare I say it, middle aged. Ouch.
> I swear it was yesterday. I was standing in the lobby of
> WHHY on Norman Bridge Road picking up an album I had won. I
> remember opening the door and stepping inside. I can still
> feel the buzz the station emitted. It was like the very air
> inside the building was plugged into a wall socket. I stood
> waiting for the receptionist to bring my “prize” and looked
> through a window into the control room. Something happened
> that day. I’m not sure what it was about the world on the
> other side of the window that fascinated me, the turntables,
> the buttons the lights or was it the racks of records.
> Hundreds of Albums! I thought about it for days after I left
> the building. I had to be a part of it, somehow. Several
> months later I got my chance.
> Hundreds of miles later I’m 43 and have been working in
> “radio” for 27 years. It’s like any job. Fun sometimes and a
> pain in the butt other times. Thousands of records and
> commercials later I can say with no reservation RADIO IS
> DEAD.
> The fat lady was warming up in the wings in the late 70’s.
> The 80’s had her walking out on stage. She did this huge
> inhale in the early 90’s and by 2000 was belting out a dirge
> that is still ringing in the ears of hardcore radio people
> all over America. Corporations took over and the passion was
> replaced by greed. Let’s break it down.
>
> 1978
> I’m hear to tell you that in 1978 management wanted to make
> money, but it was a two-way street. Program directors would
> have meetings with the sales manager and sometimes owner and
> each would work toward a goal both could agree upon.
>
> 2006
> It’s all about sales. It has nothing to do with program
> integrity. Most sale managers don’t give a tinkers damn
> about the format or the listeners. Most station managers
> just see dollars. Cut costs, computers not people. Radio is
> suppose to be the property of the people. Station owners get
> the opportunity to make money using the public airwaves, but
> it’s really a lease. They get to lease the frequency and
> serve in the public interest. Corporations only serve the
> interest of the corporation. Hear any yard sales announced
> on the radio anymore? In 1978 we did a public service
> announcement every hour on the hour. People still call, fax
> and mail public service announcements into the stations, you
> never hear any on the air.
>
> 1978
> Music meeting would last for hours. I remember arguing all
> afternoon about the records we would add to the play list.
> We listened to everything that came into the radio station
> and then we would listen again. Argue, listen some more and
> then we still hoped we had done our best for the “sound” of
> the station and the listeners. If a record got a negative
> call or “no calls” we pulled it and moved on to something
> else we believed would work. We listened to the audience.
>
> 2006
> The play list comes from the “consultant” who deals with the
> record companies. We are told what to add, how many times to
> play it and when to pull it out of rotation. Corporations
> shove a couple hundred people into a room for a music test.
> The songs the folks like are then viewed as the holy list.
> I’ve seen stations use the same play list for their gold
> rotations for YEARS before a new list is believed necessary.
> That’s why you hear the same songs over and over and over.
>
> 1978
> You played requests. They were built into the programming.
> Some stuff was marked nights only. If you played one of
> those in the afternoon, you’d take a bit of grief from the
> P.D. or M.D. In the end it was all good. The ratings were
> great.
>
> 2006
> You play something not on the play list. You’d get a
> reprimand. If you did it a 2nd or 3rd time. You get fired
> and they hire someone else who will play the list. All
> request weekend…. Don’t you believe it. It doesn’t exist
> anywhere. Even the independent owners have the computers
> running on the weekend. He who is without sin cast the first
> stone.
>
> The thing that bothers me most is how we use the computer to
> lie to the listeners. They are not stupid. I really believe
> that management and sales think that listeners are stupid.
> They know we are not live. They make fun of us for acting
> like we are live when we are not. We are lying to them and
> insulting their intelligence. We are not fooling anyone.
>
> This week FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein is pouring
> over stacks of evidence of potential violations of it’s
> anti-payola rules. He says it’s potentially the most
> widespread and flagrant violation of FCC rules in the
> history of American broadcasting.
>
> I hate to see the industry I love so much get such a black
> eye.
> I hope this is a first step. I hope that radio will once
> again serve the public.
> I’d love to hear a live D.J. on Saturday morning reading a
> p.s.a. for a yard-sale in a neighborhood somewhere in my
> home town.
> I hope before I hang my headphone on the mic stand in my
> studio for the last time I get to spend the afternoon
> arguing about the records we’ll add next Tuesday and if I’m
> lucky I’ll get to play someone’s request.
>



windle--

that is the best post i have ever seen ( except the well thought out ones by rick peters)

dude-- i am ont the fence-- cause i make a living voicetracking-- and even though i werk hard at it--

it is still RADIO'S BIG DECEPTION!

are we to believe that SEINFELD was live when it came on?

no-- but in radio-- we try to fake it-- LISTENERS ARE NOT STUPID-

some are-- ( the owners hope they all are ) BUT THEY ARE KEEN TO THE SMOKE AND MIRRORS


good thought out post dude

u are the best dj in montgomery ( now that joey d left-- you are a stand alone star-) =- too bad this market sucks-- u coud be big in japan-- and montgomery

 

[RustyCarr]

> >
> > I turned 43 this February. I was driving down the Atlanta
> > Highway yesterday listeing to the Birdman on 1440 WHHY. He
>
> > was playing “Life in the fast lane” by the Eagles. I wake
> up
> > this morning and I’m 43 freaking years old and I’m
> wondering
> > how I got here. This place that is so unfamiliar to me. I
> > was one of the cool guys, I was the guy my friends called
> on
> > Friday afternoon to find out what we were doing on Friday
> > Night! Suddenly I’m , dare I say it, middle aged. Ouch.
> > I swear it was yesterday. I was standing in the lobby of
> > WHHY on Norman Bridge Road picking up an album I had won.
> I
> > remember opening the door and stepping inside. I can still
>
> > feel the buzz the station emitted. It was like the very
> air
> > inside the building was plugged into a wall socket. I
> stood
> > waiting for the receptionist to bring my “prize” and
> looked
> > through a window into the control room. Something happened
>
> > that day. I’m not sure what it was about the world on the
> > other side of the window that fascinated me, the
> turntables,
> > the buttons the lights or was it the racks of records.
> > Hundreds of Albums! I thought about it for days after I
> left
> > the building. I had to be a part of it, somehow. Several
> > months later I got my chance.
> > Hundreds of miles later I’m 43 and have been working in
> > “radio” for 27 years. It’s like any job. Fun sometimes and
> a
> > pain in the butt other times. Thousands of records and
> > commercials later I can say with no reservation RADIO IS
> > DEAD.
> > The fat lady was warming up in the wings in the late
> 70’s.
> > The 80’s had her walking out on stage. She did this huge
> > inhale in the early 90’s and by 2000 was belting out a
> dirge
> > that is still ringing in the ears of hardcore radio
> people
> > all over America. Corporations took over and the passion
> was
> > replaced by greed. Let’s break it down.
> >
> > 1978
> > I’m hear to tell you that in 1978 management wanted to
> make
> > money, but it was a two-way street. Program directors
> would
> > have meetings with the sales manager and sometimes owner
> and
> > each would work toward a goal both could agree upon.
> >
> > 2006
> > It’s all about sales. It has nothing to do with program
> > integrity. Most sale managers don’t give a tinkers damn
> > about the format or the listeners. Most station managers
> > just see dollars. Cut costs, computers not people. Radio
> is
> > suppose to be the property of the people. Station owners
> get
> > the opportunity to make money using the public airwaves,
> but
> > it’s really a lease. They get to lease the frequency and
> > serve in the public interest. Corporations only serve the
> > interest of the corporation. Hear any yard sales announced
>
> > on the radio anymore? In 1978 we did a public service
> > announcement every hour on the hour. People still call,
> fax
> > and mail public service announcements into the stations,
> you
> > never hear any on the air.
> >
> > 1978
> > Music meeting would last for hours. I remember arguing all
>
> > afternoon about the records we would add to the play list.
>
> > We listened to everything that came into the radio station
>
> > and then we would listen again. Argue, listen some more
> and
> > then we still hoped we had done our best for the “sound”
> of
> > the station and the listeners. If a record got a negative
> > call or “no calls” we pulled it and moved on to something
> > else we believed would work. We listened to the audience.
> >
> > 2006
> > The play list comes from the “consultant” who deals with
> the
> > record companies. We are told what to add, how many times
> to
> > play it and when to pull it out of rotation. Corporations
> > shove a couple hundred people into a room for a music
> test.
> > The songs the folks like are then viewed as the holy list.
>
> > I’ve seen stations use the same play list for their gold
> > rotations for YEARS before a new list is believed
> necessary.
> > That’s why you hear the same songs over and over and over.
>
> >
> > 1978
> > You played requests. They were built into the programming.
>
> > Some stuff was marked nights only. If you played one of
> > those in the afternoon, you’d take a bit of grief from the
>
> > P.D. or M.D. In the end it was all good. The ratings were
> > great.
> >
> > 2006
> > You play something not on the play list. You’d get a
> > reprimand. If you did it a 2nd or 3rd time. You get fired
> > and they hire someone else who will play the list. All
> > request weekend…. Don’t you believe it. It doesn’t exist
> > anywhere. Even the independent owners have the computers
> > running on the weekend. He who is without sin cast the
> first
> > stone.
> >
> > The thing that bothers me most is how we use the computer
> to
> > lie to the listeners. They are not stupid. I really
> believe
> > that management and sales think that people believe we are
>
> > pulling the wool over the sheep’s eyes.
> > Listeners are not stupid. They know we are not live. They
> > make fun of us for acting like we are live when we are
> not.
> > We are lying to them and insulting their intelligence. We
> > are not fooling anyone.
> >
> > This week FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein is pouring
> > over stacks of evidence of potential violations of it’s
> > anti-payola rules. He says it’s potentially the most
> > widespread and flagrant violation of FCC rules in the
> > history of American broadcasting.
> >
> > I hate to see the industry I love so much get such a black
>
> > eye.
> > I hope this is a first step. I hope that radio will once
> > again serve the public.
> > I’d love to hear a live D.J. on Saturday morning reading a
>
> > p.s.a. for a yard-sale in a neighborhood somewhere in my
> > home town.
> > I hope before I hang my headphone on the mic stand in my
> > studio for the last time I get to spend the afternoon
> > arguing about the records we’ll add next Tuesday and if
> I’m
> > lucky I’ll get to play someone’s request.
> >
>
I apppreciate this post more than any of the others I have seen. I also was bitten by the broadcasting bug at an earlier age as well, but my career path took me down a road away from radio. I remain intensly interested in radio, but I am not an insider. For the last few years, I have wondered what the real problems were within the radio industry. I have seen the complaints about corporate consolidation on here, but they were mostly limited to "they suck" and didn't provide much insight. Today's Birdman post both enlightened and depressed me as each illustration struck a sharp contrast between what worked in radio years ago, and what doesn't work now. I appreciate the time it took to compose this piece.

Personally, I miss radio as it was, even back in the 80's. Each city had it's own sound.....Stations in Birmingham "sounded" different than stations in Atlanta, for example. (and man, the Florida stations were very unique). Now, there is no personality, no soul. Children today aren't falling in love with radio broadcasting as I did. And, that may be that biggest unseen threat to this medium. But somehow, I gotta believe that radio will make a comeback. I just hope it is sooner rather than later

 

[Braswell]

AMEN, for the most part, anyway

> I can say with no reservation RADIO IS DEAD.

I can't say that I agree with that precise statement, Skipper. What I will say is this...radio, AS WE KNEW IT, is dead.

Like many have said, I was drawn to radio as a kid. Originally, it was the technical side, as I had a strong interest (and a fair apptitude) in electronics. Then, on a chance visit to the local radio station, I was struck deaf, dumb and blind with the "I gotta do this" virus. I was a squeaky-voiced 12 year old.

After much whining, wailing and gnashing of teeth, I finally convinced my parents to let me ride the Greyhound bus (100 miles, round trip), to take the test for my 3rd ticket. I passed it.

From that first moment...I was hooked. There never has been (nor ever will be) a drug that could get you as "high" as the high I got from watching those guys, whose voices I'd heard coming from the radio in the car, truck, kitchen table and my little "transistor" radio, cueing up 45's on those twin 16" Gates CB-11 turntables, with the black, Gray "Viscous-Damped" tone arms, slamming those grey Fidelipac carts into the pair of ATC P-190 cart decks, talking into the big, silver Shure 55 Unidyne microphone, mounted on a section of galvanized pipe, hanging down from the ceiling, giving the time from the big, brown Western Union clock, bringing in the latest news from the Mutual Broadcasting System, with all the audio being mixed by twisting the knobs on the pristine Gates SA-40 console.

The output from the SA-40 was "tweaked" by the Gates Sta-Level, which fed the ol' gray Gates BC-1T transmitter, sending a thousand watts of RF out through the 155' foot Windcharger tower, blanketing the immediate surrounding area with the sounds of "Good Neighbor Radio".

Yes, YES, Y-E-S...I simply HAD to do this. And, I did. It didn't happen overnight (yes, it did), and it wasn't easy (oh yes it was), and it has been tremendous fun (most of the time), with more than a few thrilling moments.

Over these 35+ years, I worked almost every format, pushed buttons and twisted pots on almost every make/model of studio gear there is, hit the "Plate On" switch on a variety of makes/models/powers of tranmsmitters, and have had the pleasure of saying the first words ever spoken on 4 different radio stations. I've worked for/with/managed hundreds of incredibly talented, extremely passionate BROADCASTERS. There've been some hellaciously rough spots in the road, but I'm humbled by, and tremendously thankful for, every mile of the trip.

Yes, the business has changed, and not ALL of of it has been for the worse. To be sure, there are owners (mega-groups, small groups, and individuals) who have no passion for the art-form, and are basically greedy SOB's. As I look back through time, however, I have to admit that there have ALWAYS been those passionless and greed-driven station owners, scattered across the dial.

This business has always been in a state of evolution...think about it. Compare the radio of the late 20's, mid-50's, early 70's and 2005. Each later era bore witness to some rather extreme changes...some for the better, and some not.

Yes, I hate that the youngsters of today don't have the many opporunities that earlier generations had, as far as getting into the business are concerened. Still, there are doors that are easily opened, if you look hard enough.

Yep, there's a lot I do NOT like about radio today, but that goes for a bunch of other stuff, too. That's just part of getting older, and becoming a crotchety, old phart. That's why it's important to see the past with 20/20 vision...warts and all. To see it all with a nostalgic, warm & fuzzy vision, is remembering fantasized fiction...not hard, cold reality.

As always, radio must adapt, evolve and change with the times and technology. There've always been shitty radio stations (how many can you remember that operated from some raggedy-ass trailer at the transmitter?), owned by peckerwood, turdknocker owners (several names come to my mind), and there always will. The progressive, passionate, inventive and creative operators will continue to thrive, survive, and be an inspiration to all of us, while those that just don't get it, never will, and will continue to be a blight on the business.


"And so we come to the close of another broadcast day. Radio station W-C-E-H from Hawkinsville, Georgia, is owned and operated by the Tri-County Broadcasting Company, Incorporated, and operates on the federally assigned frequency of six hundred ten kilocycles, with a maximum authorized power ouput of five hundred watts. Offices, studios and transmitting facilities for W-C-E-H, are located on the Eastman Highway, a mile and half southeast of the Hawkinsville city limits. Until tomorrow morning at six o'clock, we bid you a most pleasant good evening, and invite you to continue enjoying great music and the latest news until midnight tonight, by tuning your FM radio dial to WCEH-FM, at one-hundred three point nine megacyles. Ladies and gentlemen...our National Anthem."


Now, that's nostalgia. <P ID="signature">______________
Jay Braswell - Moderator
Atlanta/North Florida/South Carolina/Georgia Boards</P>

 

[jimwalsh2001]

Re: Birdman

Re: The Birdman...would you be talking about the late Bill "Birdman" Thomas?

 

[zzzz1973]

Re: AMEN, for the most part, anyway

> > I can say with no reservation RADIO IS DEAD.
>
> I can't say that I agree with that precise statement,
> Skipper. What I will say is this...radio, AS WE KNEW IT, is
> dead.
>
>
> "And so we come to the close of another broadcast day. Radio
> station W-C-E-H from Hawkinsville, Georgia, is owned and
> operated by the Tri-County Broadcasting Company,
> Incorporated, and operates on the federally assigned
> frequency of six hundred ten kilocycles, with a maximum
> authorized power ouput of five hundred watts. Offices,
> studios and transmitting facilities for W-C-E-H, are located
> on the Eastman Highway, a mile and half southeast of the
> Hawkinsville city limits. Until tomorrow morning at six
> o'clock, we bid you a most pleasant good evening, and invite
> you to continue enjoying great music and the latest news
> until midnight tonight, by tuning your FM radio dial to
> WCEH-FM, at one-hundred three point nine megacyles. Ladies
> and gentlemen...our National Anthem."
>
>
> Now, that's nostalgia.


> In Starkvile, MS, WSSO/WSMU would play the Trilogy by Elvis at signoff(11PM). Used to think it somewhat corny,but,now seems to be a bit of lost culture on the airwaves. Hang in there, Skip, some of us are trying to keep the magic alive,if only in pieces here and there. I believe you've got some folks there in Montgomery giving it a shot to do it the right way. And, just Friday, I saw an intern at one of our stations literally beaming, excited to be working in a real radio station,you can still have those without turntables. We've not all left for "the coast"(Day the Music Died reference), we're just quietly trying to influence the new generation of media.
<P ID="signature">______________
"Nothing but blues and Elvis,and somebody else's favorite song...."</P>

 

[Doctor_Technical]

Re: AMEN, for the most part, anyway

One of my formative radio visits while at Ms State was a tour of several Birmingham stations; ironically, I recall us marveling at the then-new K-99 and their cool new (cue SFX) *automation system*. If I only knew then that I was looking at the Devil.

BTW, I just visited the old Yellow Jacket Road WSSO studios last week. Same crummy metal building with the same wood paneling as when I worked there 30 years ago; not sure if the staff there understood why I thought that was so great

Extra credit if you know what 'SSO stands for.

Paul E. Burt, VP Broadcast Ops
Global Security, an RDS alerting company
Jackson, MS

> > In Starkvile, MS, WSSO/WSMU would play the Trilogy by
> Elvis at signoff(11PM). Used to think it somewhat
> corny,but,now seems to be a bit of lost culture on the
> airwaves.

 

[zzzz1973]

Re: AMEN, for the most part, anyway

> One of my formative radio visits while at Ms State was a
> tour of several Birmingham stations; ironically, I recall us
> marveling at the then-new K-99 and their cool new (cue SFX)
> *automation system*. If I only knew then that I was looking
> at the Devil.
>
> BTW, I just visited the old Yellow Jacket Road WSSO studios
> last week. Same crummy metal building with the same wood
> paneling as when I worked there 30 years ago; not sure if
> the staff there understood why I thought that was so great
>
>
> Extra credit if you know what 'SSO stands for.

>
> > > Old Paul,
Put me down for that extra credit. "Starkville, State, and Oktibbeha County!" Joe Phillips left a bunch of nickels and dimes for Norvell and the rest of the family, didn't he? Actually, Paul, we worked together. I was the good-looking young sales guy that did the weekend thing at JDX in Jackson.
>
<P ID="signature">______________
"Nothing but blues and Elvis,and somebody else's favorite song...."</P>

 

[middlega]

Re: AMEN, for the most part, anyway

> ... hit the "Plate On" switch ..."

Whoa ... BIG time blast from the past for me with that line.

Funny, until you said it, sixty seconds earlier I couldn't have told you how that switch was labeled if you offered me a million dollars.

But the minute I saw "Plate On" mentioned, my mind cycled through a half dozen transmitters, the different switches on them, where the switches were located on each, and where the transmitter log for them was hanging.

It's always interesting to discover what bits of (now) useless trivia my brain stores.

 

[rwells2265]

Re: AMEN, for the most part, anyway

> I've worked for/with/managed
> hundreds of incredibly talented, extremely passionate
> BROADCASTERS. There've been some hellaciously rough spots in
> the road, but I'm humbled by, and tremendously thankful for,
> every mile of the trip.

I could write a book about my first radio job alone. KBHS in Hot Springs, Arkansas. "The Mighty 590" was 5 kW in a relatively 'wet' area. Made my horrible @#$%-ups as a newbie during critical-hours, no less. Egad.

Hitting "plate off" on that station at sunset required one to press down (very) hard on this small metal button for ~30 seconds until the carrier was killed. Meter readings? We didn't need no steenkin' readings -- I was explicitly told to FAKE them. This in 1982, when the FCC still had a few molars left in its bite.

But yeah, I've had quite a trip myself - many potholes, but I look back on most of it with a bit of fondness.

> As I look back
> through time, however, I have to admit that there have
> ALWAYS been those passionless and greed-driven station
> owners, scattered across the dial.

Right after college, I landed in the first of a few gigs in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Garden spot of the Western Hemisphere. [cough] Worked for a few, including one lady who had a background in banking (her Dad was 1/3 owner of the station). Had no clue on how to run a radio station. But her mentality and MO were ahead of their time. Today she'd be at home managing a corporate cluster.

> Yes, I hate that the youngsters of today don't have the many
> opporunities that earlier generations had, as far as getting
> into the business are concerened. Still, there are doors
> that are easily opened, if you look hard enough.

This, as someone downthread pointed out, is the ticking time bomb in our business. Most all of us got our start running weekend slots, running the Sunday morning pub affairs ghetto, syndie countdowns, etc. Today, most all of it is automated and unattended. That being the case, what owner wants to shell out even minimum wage for a newbie to get their feet wet? Sure, some opportunities exist - SOME. But only a tiny pittance of what existed even a decade ago.

> As always, radio must adapt, evolve and change with the
> times and technology.

Unfortunately, at some point most station owners -- both large and small -- stopped using technology and allowed technology to use them. Look no further than my beloved WTBF in Troy for a prime example of how a local community station with a proud history can quickly become marginalized.

I completely understand and agree that the money isn't there for a small operation to be live-staffed 24/7. Them's the facts of life. But must one be all satellite past 10 AM?? The excessive reliance on the sat networks ultimately works against the smaller stations -- there's little to no real local content, except for production. What this does, I fear, is drive sales of XM and Sirius radios .... LOCAL content is local radio's ace-in-the-hole. I wish more of the WCEHs amongst us would start using it again. At least during the day!

Automation is great for Christmas day or for graveyard shift. It's a great tool. Sadly, more than a few use it as a crutch instead.

> There've always been shitty radio
> stations (how many can you remember that operated from some
> raggedy-ass trailer at the transmitter?), owned by
> peckerwood, turdknocker owners (several names come to my
> mind), and there always will.

I totally agree! I had my own share of peckerwood bosses once upon a time. That said, though, what I noticed among those 'turdcasters' was that most functioned and thrived in non-competitive situations. A station with poorly-maintained equipment, a reign-of-terror GM and/or PD, and poor morale would have trouble paying the bills in the face of a direct competitor with an espirit-de-corps among its airstaff, progressive management, and a great sound.

And with today's landscape of clusters and properties with ridiculously high prices (buy one and you're completely broke - could that be why so many just pay Jones and run the bird?), there goes the system of checks and balances. A different breed of 'turdcaster' now runs the show.

> "And so we come to the close of another broadcast day. Radio
> station W-C-E-H from Hawkinsville, Georgia, is owned and
> operated by the Tri-County Broadcasting Company....

Now you're gonna get me all misty-eyed.

I'm 41, barely old enough to REMEMBER the old small-town way of doing things. I don't even think the two stations in Opp, Alabama (WAMI, WOPP) have live-copy sign offs anymore -- both did as recently as 1997, and one had as a close, "Good night and pleasant dreams." Hokey as sin, but radio with a HEART.

Skipper's post tore out my heart by the way he described the WHHY lobby. I've been out of commercial radio fulltime since 1990, but I'm a lifelong radio geek (my moment of epiphany occurred in 1971 when I looked through the glass into the control room at WVOV/Huntsville .... my life was wasted forever!) ... and I damn near weep for what has died in this business.

--Russell in Savannah

 

[Braswell]

Re: AMEN, for the most part, anyway

Russell...

I've said several times that I was going to make an effort to get on down to Savannah, to meet, visit and chat, and I am...one of these days.

Listen, my nickname should be "Nostalgia Norman", 'cause I do love to wax nostalgic 'bout them good ol' days. Even with ALL the crap seen and endured, it's still difficult not to look back with misty memories. Perhaps that's how it should be.

Let's talk about the "no opportunities exist for beginners these days" mindset. At present, I've got 5-6 "youngsters" (early 20's) working for the stations in Alabama...a couple are only part-time. While this does NOT apply universally to all, these folks really don't have the obsession and passion for the radio station, that we all used to have. I (and most of the others I knew back then) were into all things radio, and would've stayed at the station 24/7, if they'd let me. EVERYTHING else came second and beyond. Today, many other interests (not to mention attitudes) take higher priorities for these beginners, and they end up shooting themselves in the foot.

In my day (damn, I feel SO elderly), almost EVERY station needed warm bodies, and management would put up with a lot of (BLEEP), in order to keep the wheels turning. As everyone has mentioned, the magic of computers eliminates much of that need today, and a beginner MUST learn to toe the mark and walk the line, in order to move forward. Play the part, act the act, and take advantage of the limited opportunities.

Now, back to our trip down memory lane.


Sign-on routine/morning show circa 1973:

Get to the station at 5:00 AM. Warm up transmitter (press "FILAMENT ON" button on front of Gates BC-1G transmitter).

Turn breakers for board power on, put Gates CB-77 turntables on 78 RPM and turn on, in order to warm up idler gear drive mechanism.

Start coffee perking in old-fashioned percolator.

Clear wire (open front panel of teletype machine, tear paper with snappy wrist action), organizing content, and hanging on appropriate nail (Georgia News, Farm News, Sports, Weather, Features, National/International News, etc).

Go outside to "white box" (weather instruments) to get readings of yesterday's high, overnight low, soil temperature, barometric pressure and humidity. Write info down on weather log. Go to rain gauge, check to see if there's been any rainfall in the past 24 hours. If so, empty gauge, and enter reading on weather log.

Pull oldie 45's and albums for show (your choice...no music log).

Put sign-on cart in Tapecaster 1, pull trigger lock to go position. Put News Intro cart in Tapecaster 2, pull trigger lock to go position. Put news sponsor in Tapecaster 3, etc, etc.

Open up daily copy book (3-ring binder), remove paper program log, and place on console desk. Put copy book on stand on top of board...open to first thing needed.

Pull carts for 1st hour or so.

Walk to transmitter, activate high voltage circuits (press infamous "PLATE ON-LOW" [for 250 watts] button).

Take transmitter log off hook, sign name and time on duty. Enter time for carrier on and program on, take readings of plate voltage, plate current, antenna current and frequency deviation.

Sign name and time on duty on program log.

Cue up first two records.

Have National/International news, Georgia news, Sports and Weather copy ready to read. Also have Farm news, Livstock & Commodities Market report and Ag weather ready to go.

At exactly 5:28, hit "START" on Tapecaster 1, for:

Rolling snare drums into band playing snappy version of "Dixie", fading after about 40 seconds for,

"GOOD MORNING! Radio Station W-B-B-T in Lyons, Georgia now begins another day of broadcast activity. W-B-B-T operates with one kilowatt of output power, with a reduced output power of a quarter kilowatt prior to sunrise, and after sunset, on the assigned frequency of thirteen-hundred forty kilocycles. W-B-B-T is owned and operated by the Toombs County Broadcasting Company, Incorporated, and maintains offices, studios, transmitters and tower-site on East Victory Drive in Lyons. Join us now, until 10 o'clock tonight, for the latest news and sports, up to the minute weather, and all your Great American Country favorites, right here on 13-40 radio, W-B-B-T in Lyons, Working (to) Build (a) Better Toombs (County)!"

Last seconds of "Dixie" ending.

Read about 10 minutes of news, followed by another 10 minutes of Ag stuff, finally hitting jingle ("Come along with us, we've got a good thing goin', at 13-40, W-B-B-T-eeeee") at about 10 'till 6, and playing first record of the day.

It was probably "Don't Fight The Feelings Of Love" by Charley Pride. It was an upbeat toe-tapper. There was no dictated format, although I tried to follow the Drake-Chenault "Great America Country" formula..."power" oldie, current, recurrent, "flavoring" oldie, current, recurrent, repeat.

Mutual News on the hour and half-hour (except for Mutual Sports with Van Patrick at 8:30), live Georgia and local (bulletin board type stuff) news after Mutual at 7 & 8. 8:10 was the Swap-Shop for about 5 minutes (write-in items), and then we had the obituaries at 8:55.

By 9, I had to load all the commercial carts into the SMC 30-60 automation system. I had to program the system as far as the limited memory would allow, and make sure all four music reels were ready to go. Following the Mutual News at 9, we were on automation until noon, when another guy did a news/farm news report 'till 12:30, then Mutual News, then back to automation 'till sign-off.

The staff consisted of me, another fulltime "announcer", a salesman, the owner/GM and the secretary/traffic/bookeeper. I could leave after 9, but came back and baby-sat the automation from 6 until 10 o'clock sign-off. On weekends, the other fulltimer and I rotated. One week, I'd do Saturday mornings (5:30-9:00) live, then baby-sit the automation 'till 3. A parttimer worked 3 to 10. The other guy would do Sunday afternoons (Noon 'till 7 o'clock sign-off) live, as we were pretty much back-to-back religion all day on Sunday. Another parttimer did Sunday mornings (7:00 'till Noon). The next weekend, I'd do both Saturday and Sunday shifts, and the next weekend, he'd do both.

Remember, this was 1973 (33 years ago), and automation was in full bloom. In a 50 mile radius of this place, there were 11 other stations (all small market), and 5 of them were automated. Still, life (and the money...$200 a week) was good, except for the fact that the GM "hit" on me a couple of times...he was, as my daddy used to say, "(BLEEP) as a nine dollar bill".

Uh, what? No, no, no. Not no, but HELL NO!

OH God...I gotta write that damned book! <P ID="signature">______________
Jay Braswell - Moderator
Atlanta/North Florida/South Carolina/Georgia Boards</P>

 

[SKIPPER]

Re: AMEN, for the most part, anyway

>You take me back to WPXC 1410 in Prattville alabama... everything you just said except...

first record was (let me remember) Love Train- O'Jays....then Beatles...ect.

I remember when we got our 1st ITC triple deck.... and put all the currents on cart... everybody was mad because you couldn't listen in cue and pratice your into without playing the whole song... remember .. the ITCs didn't have fast cue. LOL
skipper

 

[rwells2265]

Re: AMEN, for the most part, anyway

Jay--

Whenever you're ready to come east for a visit, just name the time and the place and I'll be there. I'm always ready for waxing 'retro radio' over a plate of Vandy's BBQ.

Your reply, in many ways, hit where it hurt. I dare say you're dead-on about the lack of passion among many young'uns today -- a radio station to some is little more than a job where they don't have to drop fries or work a cold drive-thru.

Why is this? Maybe it's the T-word (technology) at work .... things we all had to do manually 'back in the day' are now simple tasks for a PC. At my first radio job, one of my tasks was to pull the commercials and cue up the first two records for the morning guy. Today, most all commercials -- and songs (!) -- are mere files on a huge hard drive. There's no 'pulling' to be done anymore.

Gone are the days of slamming carts (those ITCs and Spotmasters were silently making fun of you if those carts were inserted with any degree of delicacy -- they were daring you to shatter the plastic of those Fidelipacs! Be a real man, show me what you got, punk!), cueing up records, sorting a huge stack of carts by commercial break. I miss all that.

One duty I remember from my first gig: I had to clean the heads of the FM sister's automation (a 1965-vintage IGM Simplimation behemoth) - all three decks, and two Carousels. Then in my first days at WTSU, back when the station was automated during the day, I was introduced to the Instacart. Convenient. No waiting for the Carousel to spin around for the correct spot. Instant playback. Oh yes, and 48 heads to clean. Wheeeeee!!!

Today, there are no heads. All digital. Okay, maybe there are some things I DON'T miss.

Technology has also brought us digital editing. And for all the mourning I do over what radio used to be .... dammit, I do NOT miss grease pencils, razor blades and splice tape!!

Still, computers in a radio studio today just don't inspire the passion of its predecessors. Imagine two scenarios: the WHHY control room Skipper witnessed, circa 1978, versus peeking into the window of the 2006 model of Y-102 ... assuming, of course, there's actually a warm body in there.

So it could be argued that the evolution in radio has taken away the raw fire-in-the-belly. But then I think about several folks I know today - people who got their start in radio AFTER Comm 96. A good friend of mine is a band director in Elmore County ... who commutes down to Troy on weekends to moonlight as a board-op and production help at WTBF. He has that same kind of love-of-radio many of us had, in spite of his having never read one live sign-off, or touched any kind of plate control (the tx at 'TBF was cycled up and down by a computer).

And it could also be argued that it's more of a generational thing; radio just doesn't make their hearts flutter the way the latest X-Box or version of "Grand Theft Auto" does. Who knows?

What I do know is, all the belly-aching I do here ain't gonna bring back a single Spotmaster. [sigh]

My hope is always for those few to be matched with stations who still believe in employing parttime high school and college kids who have welts from being bitten by insectus broadcastibus. Jay, my hope is that you're able to incubate some great future talent at your stations, talent who won't glaze over when filled with your nostalgic tales (keep 'em coming, please!).

*********
And Skipper wrote:

> I remember when we got our 1st ITC triple deck.... and put
> all the currents on cart... everybody was mad because you
> couldn't listen in cue and pratice your into without playing
> the whole song... remember .. the ITCs didn't have fast cue.

That didn't stop a couple of rogue co-workers at one station where I worked (late '80s - KOTN/Pine Bluff, Ark.). All the currents were carted - there were two of those ITC triple-deckers - and for a short while we had a rogue night guy who liked to practice their intros ... but didn't bother to recue 'em afterward!

More than once I'd hit those landmines. Come out of stopset, play (badly outdated ca. 1979 Tanner) jingle, then punch up Bruce Hornsby's "Mandolin Rain" - ready to start reading the weather over its intro .... and instead getting "----ike the tiiiiime that we spent..."

In short order it made me appreciate the fine art of cueburn.

 

[Braswell]

A BB to the hiney. I can't believe I've sunk that low

> Whenever you're ready to come east for a visit, just name
> the time and the place and I'll be there. I'm always ready
> for waxing 'retro radio' over a plate of Vandy's BBQ.

One "sitting" won't get it done. You can come up to the 'Boro one day, and we'll do Vandy's. I'll take you on the grand tour.

The next day, I'll sneak into Savannah (I probably still owe somebody some money down there!) via 80, cross over the viaduct by the Farmer's Market, zip through the traffic light, and meet you at Carey Hilliards, just around the corner from W-whatever it is today (Clear Channel-Savannah), and just across the street from where good ol' WNMT used to stand, then on the Traffic Circle.

I'll take you on the tour there, too. In fact, we can even stand and gaze at the spot where WBYG (1450), and WDAR (1400) before 'BYG, used to be. We'll wander down W. Jones Street (and Boneventure Road, too), and I'll try to find the places where WEAS used to be. We'll go out on Gwinnett Street extension, and try to make our way into the old 1450 tower site (still standing, when last I looked), and then we'll swing over to President Street extension, and gaze at the tower sites for 1400 and 1230. Shucks, we might even wander out to Windsor Forest, and see if we can find Burl's place. If he's up to it, he'll be making us beg for one more story...just one more story.

BTW, speaking of Burl. I understand that Bill Edwards had a week of "Savannah Radio Legends" on WTKS, back in December. I'm hoping you taped it (or that somebody did).


> insectus broadcastibus.

DAMMIT, boy...I loves it when you use dem fifty dollar words, now!


> Jay, my hope is that you're able to incubate
> some great future talent at your stations, talent who won't
> glaze over when filled with your nostalgic tales (keep 'em
> coming, please!).

Incubationus ongoingness...that's my mantra! As for the tall-tale tellin', you couldn't stop me with a 45 slug to the brain (okay...a BB to the hiney), but I sure do enjoy hearing all those stories I've never heard. Please, y'all...don't let me hog the mic.

Come on over to the Georgia and South Carolina boards. As most of my crimes (shhhh) were committed in those locales, my tales should probably reside on those boards.