John Mack Flanagan

[Tom_KYA1260]

Hi John,

I like this quote from your response "It took years to get out of Radio"... Sometimes, it didn't take me more than a few months! Nobody will ever get Radio out of me though; my DNA says "KYA".

Best,

Tom Richard

 

[sforrest]

Hey JMF! Long time since we spoke or worked together. Just found this board and must say I've really enjoyed reading everyone's posts'. Lots of Bay Area memories. I've heard Dave an Celeste on the 'new' KFRC online, and somehow think you should be a part of that line-up?? I can't wait for the book, John. I'm glad to hear you're rockin' away at your new gig. You're an inspiration and I'm proud to have worked with you, even if it was brief!
Scott Forrest

 

[John Mack Flanagan]

Greetings Everyone! Didn't I say I'd had my 15 minutes of fame? Good grief! Nice to hear from Scott Forrest, he of the leather pants. I always wanted to borrow them but they were size 32 waist and there was no way! "Superhit Highway" is finished, it's in the editing stage now. You know I did all the writing and station promo voicing for KFRC 1973-1979. I've always considered myself a writer. Superhit should be a gas. It's the story of a guy who started with nothing (poor boy) but his voice and earned a paycheck for 36 years two months in Radio. They're still paying me at KFRC, amazing! Who would have thought...Jan Yanahero that I worked with at KFRC told a friend, "of all the people I would have thought would last in Radio, John Mack Flanagan is the last!" Thanks Jan, I think! Best to all, and let's move on to Alex Bennett or somebody. I voted for Alex and Ben Fon Torres and a few others for the Bay Area Broadcasters Hall of Fame. I was so lucky to work the years I did, Radio was a gas! Your Friend -John-

 

[ROCKMEISTER]

I've been reading post's from Chicago,Dallas and now S.F.Seem's like the same automated radio robot virus is spreading all over the country!Live on air personalitie's being replaced by software playing boring format's.Sound's like the Corporation's are trying to please everyone but the radio listener's!Is there anyway the people who work in the business who are being replaced by these automated format's can get organized and start there own radio station/broadcasting co.and give the people what they want,creative interesting radio?!?People all over the country seem to be fed up with the current direction radio has taken.Send e-mail's to these robot radio station's and tell them wake up!!

 

[1069_KIFR]

It would be next to impossible now a days to buy a station and run it as an independent. First off any corp. owned station would not sell their property. If they did it would be for a very pretty penny, an outrageous amount.

In the good ole days before the FCC deregulated ownership rules, it could have happened, at least in the large markets.

Thus this is why they can screw with professional, deserving people, like John Mack Flanagan. He saw the writing on the wall way before and sequed his way into another profession. It was BS back when he left the biz, but has grown to much higher levels of BS since and there is no end in sight.

 

[Tom_KYA1260]

Thus this is why they can screw with professional, deserving people, like John Mack Flanagan. He saw the writing on the wall way before and sequed his way into another profession. It was BS back when he left the biz, but has grown to much higher levels of BS since and there is no end in sight.

Sure looks that way, doesn't it? The last thing I ever thought was that music stations would be without live talent. It used to be that even when stations played bad music I could at least turn it down until the jock came on. If I saw the writing on the wall years ago, I would have taped hours of great radio.

KYA had a set-up in their production room where you could listen to the AM in full-fidelity right off the console and it was in stereo to boot. This was in 1977 when I was interning there and if I just had a tape machine.... Well, I'd have made CD-R's out of it all by now and sold it to you guys! 8)

 

[rickradio]

And you'd probably make a killing with them! Heck, you'd probably make enough to own your own license...in fact, Tom, you could bring back the old 1480 KWUN, but this time, you could be owner/GM!! Jeff Perry or I could program it, bring John Mack over, Bobby Osh...you'd have a station run by BROADCASTERS again!!!! What a concept!!! Or, 1480 KNBA, Bay Point, burning a hole in the ether with 500,000 milliwatts!! Think of it! Every fisherman along Montezuma Slough would be able to pick us up and rock out as though we were only a few miles away! Oh, I guess we would be only a few miles away...

Oh wait...you said you DIDN'T tape any of it?

Well, one can dream anyway...

 

[BossRadioDJ]

And, since this thread refuses to go peacefully into the cold Internet night, allow me to extend fond birthday greetings to a true artist and gentleman, John Mack Flanagan, who is celebrating the completion of another round trip around the Sun today.

"Another round of sarsaparillas for the boys before we hit the trail!" ;D

DJ

 

[1069_KIFR]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
John Mack Flanagan!! ;D

 

[DavidKaye]

And you'd probably make a killing with them! Heck, you'd probably make enough to own your own license...in fact, Tom, you could bring back the old 1480 KWUN, but this time, you could be owner/GM!! Jeff Perry or I could program it, bring John Mack over, Bobby Osh...you'd have a station run by BROADCASTERS again!!!! What a concept!!!

KWUN was a piece of trash, unfortunately. I think Bill Adler was the only owner who made any money on it in the parade of about 6 or 8 owners the place has had. And he sold everything on that station including the sign-off! Yes, the sign-off was sponsored by John Jawad's Pioneer Inn. ("The day is ending for KWUN, but the night is just beginning at the Pioneer Inn....")

There is no way to make 1480 Concord work except to buy 1480 in Merced and turn it off. In fact, I remember when field strength measurements had to be made, Merced had to turn off their transmitter between songs (and they were a rocker!) so that KWUN could get accurate readings on their southeast points.

 

[JimA]

Thank god you got away from KSCO/KMBY that was must have been the lowest of the low

 

[BossRadioDJ]

Thank god you got away from KSCO/KMBY that was must have been the lowest of the low

Say what?

 

[1069_KIFR]

He said....Thank god you got away from KSCO/KMBY that was must have been the lowest of the low.

 

[BossRadioDJ]

He said....Thank god you got away from KSCO/KMBY that was must have been the lowest of the low.

That's what I thought he said.

On the other hand, being at KFRC/KNBR-FM that was must have been the highest of the high :

 

[rickradio]

Thank god you got away from KSCO/KMBY that was must have been the lowest of the low

I think the gist of what DJ meant was the same question I had: OK, what does this have to do with the price of peanut butter on the Kamchatka Peninsula?

Wrong thread maybe, JimA?

KWUN was a piece of trash, unfortunately. I think Bill Adler was the only owner who made any money on it in the parade of about 6 or 8 owners the place has had. And he sold everything on that station including the sign-off! Yes, the sign-off was sponsored by John Jawad's Pioneer Inn. ("The day is ending for KWUN, but the night is just beginning at the Pioneer Inn....")

There is no way to make 1480 Concord work except to buy 1480 in Merced and turn it off. In fact, I remember when field strength measurements had to be made, Merced had to turn off their transmitter between songs (and they were a rocker!) so that KWUN could get accurate readings on their southeast points.

Yeah, I have no argument with ya there, DK. It's all in the frequency...1480 was a really crappy frequency for this region. It had practically nothing going for it. You had 1490 to protect in Petaluma, 1470 to protect in Sacramento, and you mentioned KYOS in Merced (that had to shut off between records for KWUN's field strength readings? I didn't know that!). Add to that the fact that they could only run 500 watts, AND had to have 5 towers to provide all this protection.

I have to say one thing in KWUN's defense, however: as much of a "piece of trash" that was KWUN (and I've been to that little bldg just off Kirker Pass Rd. across from the Concord Pavilion), did you ever happen into the baronial digs of KNBA up in Vallejo? You think KWUN was bad? KNBA made KWUN look like the friggin' Taj Mahal. Bill Granger was a good engineer, but the place was practically a dumpster with a transmitter in one corner. But hey, it was a job, so I didn't complain (much). Arguably the oldest broadcast equipment in the free world, ah, what a joy (when it worked). A mid-30s Western Electric board in the control room, and it actually worked fine when I was there the first time, but when I went back there for a cuppa coffee in the Spring of '92, said board had finally breathed its last, and we were reduced to broadcasting from the production closet, with a big audio cable running up from the little 5-pot board along the ceiling, out the door, down the hallway, thru the control room door, and into the processing racks. Poor Stefan Ponek...he could only do what old Louis J. (by this time at death's door in the hospital) allowed, which wasn't much. All this AND we had to shut off at night to protect Portland. At least the signal was decent (1kw omni), well, that is until a dump truck snapped one of the guywires one day and sent the entire tower to the ground. At least it didn't fall on anything.

 

[DavidKaye]

Yeah, I have no argument with ya there, DK. It's all in the frequency...1480 was a really crappy frequency for this region. It had practically nothing going for it. You had 1490 to protect in Petaluma, 1470 to protect in Sacramento, and you mentioned KYOS in Merced (that had to shut off between records for KWUN's field strength readings? I didn't know that!). Add to that the fact that they could only run 500 watts, AND had to have 5 towers to provide all this protection.

Indeed, KWUN had to protect Sac 1470 and Petaluma 1490, as well as Merced, Santa Ana, and Eureka, all on 1480. All had been licensed prior to Concord. However, when Adler applied for nighttime, Eureka, Merced, and Santa Ana all gave him their go-ahead. What's interesting is that Eureka's skywave is so good that it could usually be heard clearly on 1480 in Concord after Concord was turned off at night.

As to the 5 towers for 500 watts, the towers really have nothing to do with the power. The 5-towers were required to produce a tight teardrop pattern with no signal on the back end (Pittsburg) and all the signal on the front end (Walnut Creek). You could drive 2 miles behind the array and not hear KWUN, but yet you could drive to San Mateo and hear it clearly! The ERP off the back end was effectively zero and off the front end was about 2,500 watts. The pattern was extremely difficult, and engineers and the FCC agree that it should have never been approved in the first place. It was just too critical a pattern.

did you ever happen into the baronial digs of KNBA up in Vallejo? You think KWUN was bad? KNBA made KWUN look like the friggin' Taj Mahal. Bill Granger was a good engineer, but the place was practically a dumpster with a transmitter in one corner. But hey, it was a job, so I didn't complain (much). Arguably the oldest broadcast equipment in the free world,

Lou Ripa knew how to squeeze every last drop out of every piece of equipment he had. Not only that, but KNBA was also on a poor channel. KNBA *had* to turn off at sunset or it simply would not be heard, given that KEX came booming in as soon as the ionosphere changed.

ah, what a joy (when it worked). A mid-30s Western Electric board in the control room, and it actually worked fine when I was there the first time, but when I went back there for a cuppa coffee in the Spring of '92, said board had finally breathed its last, and we were reduced to broadcasting from the production closet, ......

By the way, that site today is the nighttime transmitter for KDIA 1640 and KDYA 1190, now both run from Richmond. I did some work for them a few months back. Both stations are now fully automated with RCS, save some local shows. One of the stations (the one playing gospel music) has actually showed up on the 12+ Arbitron for a couple quarters this year -- that that has never happened before! So, finally 1190 makes good.

 

[LKellerIII]

"Poor Stefan Ponek...he could only do what old Louis J. (by this time at death's door in the hospital) allowed, which wasn't much. All this AND we had to shut off at night to protect Portland. At least the signal was decent (1kw omni), well, that is until a dump truck snapped one of the guywires one day and sent the entire tower to the ground."

Rick - are you saying that Stefan Ponek - the KSAN and KYUU Stefan Ponek - had to work KNBA toward the end of his days? That's truly sad.

 

[Starbucks]

Yeah, I have no argument with ya there, DK. It's all in the frequency...1480 was a really crappy frequency for this region. It had practically nothing going for it. You had 1490 to protect in Petaluma, 1470 to protect in Sacramento, and you mentioned KYOS in Merced (that had to shut off between records for KWUN's field strength readings? I didn't know that!). Add to that the fact that they could only run 500 watts, AND had to have 5 towers to provide all this protection.


>>>>>>>Back in my micro observance days when it was alittle more interesting....KWUN was a strange station. It was over enhanced as far as processing with very little or no bass effect coming from the audio. The one Saturday afternoon when I was driving I had the station on when it was oldies.....And I would hear one disc jockey just laughing like at a party or with a few beers in him between records. And that was it. No announcing. Then I would hear half a channel like on "Indian Lake" from the Cowsills. And then California Dreamin ....where all the Leaves are Brown......But I couldn't hear the sky was gray.

I have to say one thing in KWUN's defense, however: as much of a "piece of trash" that was KWUN (and I've been to that little bldg just off Kirker Pass Rd. across from the Concord Pavilion), did you ever happen into the baronial digs of KNBA up in Vallejo? You think KWUN was bad? KNBA made KWUN look like the friggin' Taj Mahal. Bill Granger was a good engineer, but the place was practically a dumpster with a transmitter in one corner. But hey, it was a job, so I didn't complain (much). Arguably the oldest broadcast equipment in the free world, ah, what a joy (when it worked). A mid-30s Western Electric board in the control room, and it actually worked fine when I was there the first time, but when I went back there for a cuppa coffee in the Spring of '92, said board had finally breathed its last, and we were reduced to broadcasting from the production closet, with a big audio cable running up from the little 5-pot board along the ceiling, out the door, down the hallway, thru the control room door, and into the processing racks. Poor Stefan Ponek...he could only do what old Louis J. (by this time at death's door in the hospital) allowed, which wasn't much. All this AND we had to shut off at night to protect Portland. At least the signal was decent (1kw omni), well, that is until a dump truck snapped one of the guywires one day and sent the entire tower to the ground. At least it didn't fall on anything.


>>>>>That was another odd station.....What kind of call letters are KNBA...when your country. It doesn't quite mix.
[/quote]

 

[rickradio]

Rick - are you saying that Stefan Ponek - the KSAN and KYUU Stefan Ponek - had to work KNBA toward the end of his days? That's truly sad.

You got it, Llew. KSFR, KSAN, KYUU, KNBR...Stefan was such a neat guy, too. I really liked him a lot. Very down-to-earth, not full of himself at all. But as for having to work KNBA, that I don't know, but, like I said previously, he hired me when I went back in 1992. At that point, KNBA was kind of in a state of flux...Lou's health was in serious decline, his days were numbered, he had no will, the license wound up in probate, and I don't know what brought Stefan to work there (he and I had nice long chat one day about it all, but, alas, I don't remember much of it), but I think when Lou got so bad that he needed hospitalization, next thing Stefan knows, he's running the place. Mary was there part-time, too, to help out. One Stefan memory I do have, though, was one day, a new client had signed with us, some garage door installation company. I think he had me in mind to voice the spot or something, not sure. Nothing funny about that, but the more Stefan and I talked about it, for some reason, the funnier it got, and the next thing you know, we're coming up with all kinds of ridiculous ideas for garage door spots, and we're both just belly laughing so hard you could hear us all over that little building. I remember the sadness when I found out he'd passed away.

What kind of call letters are KNBA...when you're country. It doesn't quite mix.

Ohmigoodness, Starbucks, don't get me started on that one...we'll be here all night.

Seriously, none of us could figure that one out...KNBA had been a rock station, similar to KKIS format-wise. KNEW pretty much had the country audience locked up, at least up in the North Bay, but I believe in '83, a fella named Don DeFesi (ex-KFRC, future KVYN PD) was KNBA's PD and apparently talked Lou into flipping KNBA to country. And why KNBA? Know not that one, either. What was wrong with KGYW? We'll never know, I suppose.

As to the 5 towers for 500 watts, the towers really have nothing to do with the power. The 5-towers were required to produce a tight teardrop pattern with no signal on the back end (Pittsburg) and all the signal on the front end (Walnut Creek). You could drive 2 miles behind the array and not hear KWUN, but yet you could drive to San Mateo and hear it clearly! The ERP off the back end was effectively zero and off the front end was about 2,500 watts. The pattern was extremely difficult, and engineers and the FCC agree that it should have never been approved in the first place. It was just too critical a pattern.

Well, David, my point was that first, you only had 500 watts to work with. Then, you had to severely limit where even that little bit of power went. I know that towers and power don't necessarily go hand-in-hand, but it just seemed like KWUN was almost doomed to failure before it even started. So, it basically had a southwesterly signal, I guess. Well, I can tell ya, then, that the signal was going places it wasn't supposed to go, 'cuz I used to listen to it in...Vacaville!

But I would agree: it shouldn't have been approved. Well, it's off the air now. There's now a subdivision there, isn't there?

 

[Tom_KYA1260]

Re:

Well, David, my point was that first, you only had 500 watts to work with. Then, you had to severely limit where even that little bit of power went. I know that towers and power don't necessarily go hand-in-hand, but it just seemed like KWUN was almost doomed to failure before it even started. So, it basically had a southwesterly signal, I guess. Well, I can tell ya, then, that the signal was going places it wasn't supposed to go, 'cuz I used to listen to it in...Vacaville!

But I would agree: it shouldn't have been approved. Well, it's off the air now. There's now a subdivision there, isn't there?
[/quote]

You're all right. It never should have been approved in the first place. I was never happier to see a station go off the air, especially since it had the most unfathomably incredibly abject-incompetent management I've ever had to be subjected to. That was in 1987, not in 1981 when I worked there the first time. At least in '81, the plumbing worked.