Katie Country, WKTC Reunion

[news7man]

Wow. You really can find ANYTHING online. I am an old jock from Katie Country. I started as part time weekend jock in 92.. and then was hired to be the 7-midnight jock in 94 just after graduating from ECU. I have lots of memories from my time in Eastern North Carolina, driving to Goldsboro. I laugh when I recall the times I recorded a 15 min set in the production room, so I could run to the gas station down the road to get something to eat!!! I ended up leaving WKTC and the radio biz in 95 after I could not get a job in Raleigh (which I thought was the big time, at the time.) I produced the news at WITN. I ended up moving to Greenville, SC and doing tv there too, and worked part time at WSSL. That was a GREAT station. Anyway, I am in Chicago now, producing at WLS. I would love to reconnect with anyone from WKTC, Mike Sleyman, Donna James, and others who might remember me.
I look forward to replys to this post, or you can contact me directly at [email protected]

Thanks!
Stephen Lewis

 

[ZAX Double J]

Hey Allen! I too am new here but you already know me personally, but the others here don't so here goes. I started in radio at WEED AM 1390 back in 1986 and worked there off and on part-time weekends untill 1992. I then got out of the biz for a few years until 1997 when I started working for WZAX then at 99.7 (now at 99.3) here on Rocky Mount. I remember when WKTC was incorporated into our little studio (in a old house) around 1998. I continued working part time until around 2003 when I was let go (just before First Media bought the station), but I came back to ZAX in 2004. So all total I've been in radio for roughly 21 years I've done just about every time slot there is and am currently on ZAX Sunday mornings from 6-11. Yes it's voicetracked and I'd give ANYTHING to be on live. When I started at WEED back in 1986 I did a live 6hr show every Saturday and Sunday. I did that for about 2 yrs before they went satellite fed programming. This was in the days when turntables and cart machines ruled and you were the station. Not a single computer could be found in the station. I love radio and am very passionate about it just as Allen is. I've worked with him and know he is a really great guy and friend.

 

[ZAX Double J]

I too worked at KTC from 98 until about 2003. I've also worked briefly with Donna James. She is a really nice person, but a little strange at times (aren't we all in this business? It must be the RF radiation). I currently work at The Big DAWG 98.5 with Rick Brasewell (a great guy to work with and very nice). I even did voicetracked Sunday mornings on KTC for a brief while during the 98-2003 period. I was not working when the demise of KTC ocurred, but KTC still lives on somewhat in The Big DAWG as it was a merging of KTC and WSAY formats (both were country). I remember KTC back when it was at 104.3 (now FOXY) and it was great to have a 100,000 watt signal here in the Rocky Mount area. I also remember WFMA (100.7, Country Lovin' as it was called) which was also here in Rocky Mount and was also another 100,000 watt stick. I have an old KTC bumper sticker when it was at 104.3 somewhere. I have several KTC t-shirts when we had it at 95.5 (which is now our urban station, Power 95.5 WPWZ). I just love radio! it's way better (in some respects) than what's on TV these days.

 

[tothedj]

I'm glad to know there are some out there who are remembering the days when
radio wasn't under a "corporation" like many are today.
My radio career began in March, 1983 when i worked for WEED 1390, back in
the days when they were still playing music and had people like Butch Pindell
doing on air and news at one time, Bryan J. Conners, Mark Nicholson, Scott
Griffin(who worked weekends) and after i moved to Wilmington in 1986, the
owner's son did a brief stint in the evenings, that station has a lot of history
behind it since signing on the air almost 75 years ago.
When Hurricane Floyd struck in September 1999, i was saddened that the
original studios off Sunset Avenue in Rocky Mount were destroyed by the
devastating floods, but eventually returned to the airwaves and continues
to serve Nash, Edgecombe and surrounding areas, even though the format
today is different but is still on the air.

 

[ZAX Double J]

I'm glad to know there are some out there who are remembering the days when
radio wasn't under a "corporation" like many are today.
My radio career began in March, 1983 when i worked for WEED 1390, back in
the days when they were still playing music and had people like Butch Pindell
doing on air and news at one time, Bryan J. Conners, Mark Nicholson, Scott
Griffin(who worked weekends) and after i moved to Wilmington in 1986, the
owner's son did a brief stint in the evenings, that station has a lot of history
behind it since signing on the air almost 75 years ago.
When Hurricane Floyd struck in September 1999, i was saddened that the
original studios off Sunset Avenue in Rocky Mount were destroyed by the
devastating floods, but eventually returned to the airwaves and continues
to serve Nash, Edgecombe and surrounding areas, even though the format
today is different but is still on the air.

Hey we may have met I started there in August of 1986. I too worked for and with Butch. He's a great guy and I see him form time to time. He gave me my first job in this business there at WEED and I had no experience then. I truly thank him for that. Yeah the transmitter that went online in 1947 was still going strong when I left in 1992. It was sad to see the old building demolished. They made one time a big deal about the station "going off the air" but it was only a ploy to let all the staff go. I also had the priveldge of working with Frank Hayden (deceased). "The Mouth" (as he was referred to by some) of sports in Rocky Mount. He would not let anyone else but me run the board when he was doing a game. Leslie Jordan (no relation that I know of) was the MD. I recall one time the song "Puff the magic dragon" was in the bin and I played it. As soon as it started the phone rang and she told me to never pay it again. I told her it was in the bin to be played she was furious about it so I never did. She was a fiesty one. I also remember a time when I was working on the weekend and she came in to cut a spot or something and I could see her in the production room just going off. After that I stayed as far away from her as I could. Yes WEED is still on the air, it's a gospel format now and for a long time it was spanish. I work with Ron Erick Lundy who was PD there in the mid to late 70s. He too is a really great guy and one of my inspirations for getting into radio. The other inspirational person who inspired me to get into radio was FBI (Famous Bob Inskeep) from WRAL 101.5 I remember listening to him in the mornings while I got ready for school and thinking it would be cool to do that (same with Ron when I heard him on WEED back then).

Technology has made the job much easier, but too many in management see it as a means to let people go by having only a few voicetrack several stations. Voicetracking should only be used when absolutely necessary like next to never. I firmly believe in a live human being being in the studio if not 24/7 at least from 6am until midnight everyday.

 

[tothedj]

Thank you for bringing up the names Frank Hayden and Leslie Jordan; I First
heard Frank when i was in high school back in the 1970's when he was doing
"Northern Nash Football" on the old WFMA, at the same time, Frank hosted
"Sports Talk" Saturday Mornings on WCEC, which to me, was the best radio
station in Rocky Mount, it's ashamed it could only be on during the day, and
sadly in the late 1980's, signed off the air, Frank is missed.
As for Leslie Jordan, i can relate what you went through, because she was that
way to me in the almost three years i worked at WEED, but there was one
Saturday Evening in January 1983 when i got a chance to go on the air, this
was before being hired part-time in March and later in September of that year
when i went full-time and worked from 6pm until 12 Midnight.
By the way, does anyone know whatever happened to Leslie? i understand
her mother lived in Wilmington but after i moved down here, i lost contact
with her.

 

[ZAX Double J]

Thank you for bringing up the names Frank Hayden and Leslie Jordan; I First
heard Frank when i was in high school back in the 1970's when he was doing
"Northern Nash Football" on the old WFMA, at the same time, Frank hosted
"Sports Talk" Saturday Mornings on WCEC, which to me, was the best radio
station in Rocky Mount, it's ashamed it could only be on during the day, and
sadly in the late 1980's, signed off the air, Frank is missed.
As for Leslie Jordan, i can relate what you went through, because she was that
way to me in the almost three years i worked at WEED, but there was one
Saturday Evening in January 1983 when i got a chance to go on the air, this
was before being hired part-time in March and later in September of that year
when i went full-time and worked from 6pm until 12 Midnight.
By the way, does anyone know whatever happened to Leslie? i understand
her mother lived in Wilmington but after i moved down here, i lost contact
with her.

Yeah I remember WCEC too and I am currenly working in the same building both CEC and FMA were in out on 97. Remember how finiky the WEED transmitter was? you never knew if it was going to stay on or break down in the middle of something. I'm not sure what ever happened to her either. I know she left when Avery Wynn (or was it Billy I can't remember) sold the station around 87-88. And remember the old McMartin console? I saw one of those on ebay one time and I had to laugh. I have a couple pictures of me at the console and in the production room from when I was working there. I even have my very first show on videotape (I had to use that since I could program it to come on) and have all the elements on it including the first Orioles baseball game I ran with John Miller as the play-by-play voice. I remember one game I ran where it was way out west somewhere and it started at about 10pm and went into about 15 or 16 extra innings. I didn't leave until about 5:30am! I said to my self darn, I could have just played 30 minutes worth of music and waited for the morning crew to come in! Since we signed on at 6am. That too was fun signing the station on and off. Something that rarely happens now. CEC was a daytimer and they too are rare now.

 

[XTalker]

I had the privilege of working with Frank Hayden at WCEC in 1980. He was a great talent. CEC was a great station, rare for the market size. I was the news director there for about six months before being offered an opportunity in Raleigh. Hated to leave, but the money was no match!

 

[Marathon Don]

Hey Steven, I remember you! I worked at Katie from 92 to 98. When WKIX took over on 96.9 and KTC split for Rocky Mount, I wasn't invited to either party, so I got out of the biz completely. I currently run a small Internet station, but after May 15th (CRB), that might be history, as well!

We had a pretty good station going there for awhile at Katie. Donna James lives not far from me, so i bump into her occasionally. I don't think I've seen any of the others since I left, other than a couple of email exchanges with Rick Heilman. I would be good to see everyone again.

Cheers,
"Marathon" Don Flowers

 

[tothedj]

Rocky Mount Radio...

I'm glad to know some people who post messages on here worked in this area,
and each time i read your replies, i want to bring up more memories from this
time, i often think about people like Mike Sleyman(who i worked with briefly
at WGNI in Wilmington) Art Simmons, Rick Roberts, Joe Warner who hosted
"Party Line" for many years on WCEC; David Guth, who was news director at
one time, Martin Zimmerman, who did radio at WFMA and WEED on Sunday
Mornings(I had the chance to fill in for him occasionally) Charles O. Johnson,
who hosted "Club 810" before creating "Soul 92" WRSV in the mid-1970's,
George Peterson, who did some announcing and sales at WEED when i was
there from 1983 until 1986, Jim Headlee, who was Engineer at the station
i worked for, and if you want to mention others i remember, at WRMT which
is now a "all-sports" station, you had people like Phil Valentine, who now
is a "nationally-known" talk show host based out of WWTN in Nashville,
Tennessee and is owned by the company who owns WGNI in Wilmington,
Cumulus Media; Bud Morgan, Johnny Holiday(a.k.a. John Stinson, who
became their station manager) Ronald Jay and so many more.
I don't think we will ever see radio like this again, i'm glad i had the chance
to live during this period and even though i'm still do this as i approach my
25th year in 2008, it's not what it use to be.

 

[ZAX Double J]

Re: Rocky Mount Radio...

..WRMT which is now a "all-sports" station..

ESPN Radio to be exact. I know I work there.

I too remember Martin Zimmerman, He was a great guy. I'd sometimes come in after his show went off at noon. One time I did fill in for him and he left me good instructions on what to play. Joe Warner was another I too remember, not personally, but by name and I think my dad knows him. I worked with Charles Johnson too. A nice guy as well and it was sort of sad to hear of his passing. I also worked with George Peterson He was one of our sales people when I first started working at WZAX in 1997 and I remember him from WEED.

You're right radio like that will most likely not return unless someone who really cares about radio puts a station on and does it like the old days. I really think it would go. I'm approaching my 21st year in radio in August of this year.

 

[XTalker]

Rocky Mount was a good radio town, in the day! WRMT, WEED, WCEC. They could hold their own today. Maybe some local owner will get the message and make some bucks.

 

[ZAX Double J]

Rocky Mount was a good radio town, in the day! WRMT, WEED, WCEC. They could hold their own today. Maybe some local owner will get the message and make some bucks.

And it still is we here at First Media Radio do our best to serve the community. WDWG, WZAX, WRMT and WPWZ all do our part for the area. But unfortunately we are at the mercy of corporate so we can only do as much as we can. We are now an Arbitron rated market that is something that Rocky Mount didn't have. Whether its good or bad is debateable.

Unfortunately corporate radio is what's killing this business.

 

[XTalker]

If I understand correctly, NextM is in the old WCEC/WMFA building. Do you still have those elevated studios?

 

[ZAX Double J]

If I understand correctly, NextM is in the old WCEC/WMFA building. Do you still have those elevated studios?

It is NOT Next Media, but First Media Radio. And yes the two production rooms are elevated and some days they are a b*tch to get in and out of.

 

[Marathon Don]

I applied for job back in the 80's with Gordon Finney when he had WRMT. Didn't get it, but came away with a positive impression of Mr. Finney anyway.

A few years later, after he started WSAY-FM, he taught broadcasting classes at Wilson Tech. I had already been doing radio P-T for about 10 years at the time, but thought the class would be fun, so I signed up. It was a hoot. He took us on a field trip to the Hwy 97 studios and let us cut a spot. The Tech folks sent a photographer and snapped my mug assuming the air chair position. That photo later surfaced in the local newspaper, prompting some rather pointed questioning by my GM at WVOT!

 

[XTalker]

The first one of those elevated rooms used to be the news booth. I worked there for about six months before moving to Raleigh in 1980. WFMA-FM used the other one for it's live morning show and production the rest of the day. It was quite a climb!

I always like Rocky Mount - WCEC didn't pay much in those days, but it was a good radio station! Proud to have been a small part of it.

 

[ZAX Double J]

The first one of those elevated rooms used to be the news booth. I worked there for about six months before moving to Raleigh in 1980. WFMA-FM used the other one for it's live morning show and production the rest of the day. It was quite a climb!

I always like Rocky Mount - WCEC didn't pay much in those days, but it was a good radio station! Proud to have been a small part of it.

Yeah the production rooms are about the only thing there that you would remember because in about 2003 the whole place was gutted and totally new studios were built. The outside shell remains minus all the trees they too were removed at about the same time. We also had to put up a new tower the one that was there, rust was holding it together. I really enjoy working there, if only I could be full-time and on the air more.