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ENGINEER JOHN MORRIS PASSES

O

otterk9

Guest
Sad to report the death of longtime South Florida broadcast engineer John Morris, who passed away early Friday (7/31) following a valiant fight against cancer.

John's best known for his 42-year association with Lincoln Financial's stations (and their predecessors), 101.5 LITE FM (WLYF), 790 the Ticket (WAXY) ... originally, 710 WGBS ... and later, MAJIC 102.7 (WMXJ). Blessed with an even temper and a dry wit, John was a bright individual who had a deceptively broad catalog of interests and knowledge. He told some fascinating radio stories, particularly of South Florida in the 60's and 70's.

Condolences to his family, friends and colleagues. The Lincoln engineering shop won't be the same in his absence.
 
I remember John from WGBS in 1978. He ran a tight ship. WGBS was owned by Storer in those days and they took the transmitter log very seriously. If there was an error on your shift there was an addendum to the log specifying what the error was and who made it. Then it was given to the offending operator who then had to explain how it happened and what steps would be taken to make sure the error wouldn't happen again. They didn't do it for simple things like forgetting to sign off the log unless it became a habit.

I ran into John at a few NAB conventions and was surprised he even remembered me but he did. My stay at 710 Brickell was much shorter than his.

May he rest in peace.
 
Thursday night (9/3) around 7:30, WLYF completed its transition to the antenna on the new WPLG-TV tower in North Miami-Dade. The new structure is right next to the old tower, so the process was fairly simple. It was a project that the late John Morris had very much looked forward to finishing. In John's honor, his wife, daughter and son were at the transmitter site to witness the switchover; John, Jr. had the privilege of pushing the "plates on" button to energize the new antenna.

Prior to the brief sign-off, LITE FM offered its Listeners an explanation of what was about to happen -- along with a tribute to John.

You can hear the switch here: http://robsidney.com/audio/rob-litefm_antenna.mp3. Listen for John's voice doing the legal I.D., just ahead of a vintage "LIFE" jingle. (The actual off-air time was 65 seconds; that static has been edited down.)
 
You can say what you will about corporate radio these days (and trust me, I could say PLENTY) but that was a very touching tribute to one of the many unsung heroes who make these stations tick. Also you gotta love the 1970s/80s jingles. Classic.
 
Very classy! That's the spirit of Jeffeson Pilot and now Lincoln Financial. I hope that spirit carries on. Radio is usually so quick to forget it's rich history and seldom honors the people who work so hard to make it all come together.

I'm sure it was a very proud moment for John Jr.
 
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