Contrary to the story Tom Mara gave to the Times, he wasn't ignored when he showed up at KCMU. We in the News Department took him, and trained him to be on air as a newscaster. The necktie didn't matter. Then he became news director after the previous one resigned due to exhaustion.
Mara himself may have felt a bit out of place at first because the attitude at KCMU at the time was more punk than street, but there were all sorts of people at the station, from blue hair people with black leather jackets to dudes who dressed more like a working class version of Lumberjack Luke.
If you were open to the music, you were accepted.
Interesting article, nonetheless. I only wish I'd have taken some pictures when I was there. The station's layout and atmosphere, however, is permanently etched in my memory.