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Obit: Bart Ritner, 76; WPTF's "Open Line"

DToTheJ

DToTheJ

Ritner is being remembered as "a true pioneer" as he hosted one of the first radio call-in talk shows in the country, "Open Line," which aired on WPTF.

Ritner spent close to four decades at WPTF, and prior to that, a couple of years at WRAL-FM.

Walk good, Bart.

http://raleightelegram.com/20111228103
 
I always enjoyed listening to Bart on Open Line. He was very laid back, informative, genuine, and came across as a nice guy. You always knew what was going on when you listened to Bart on Open Line He was one of the reasons why 680 WPTF was so great. I only met him once at the WPTF booth at the NC State Fair in 1993. Walk good, Bart!
 
I worked at Durham Life Broadcasting's WQDR during the Rock Era, and saw Bart everyday in the halls at 610 Salisbury Street. Though I was an air personality and did "some" news on a temporary basis, Bart always had time to stop and chat in the hallways there. I'd seen him during remotes in Durham over the past few years and he was as sprite as ever. Rest in peace old friend, we'll miss you!
 
tonight on the open line Tom has had Tony Rigsby and Johnny Hood on talking about Bart.
WPTF would do well to get Tony and Johnny back on the air!
 
Tom did another show about Bart tonight.
He had even more old voices from the past from WPTF.
Wow PTF does have the legacy in North Carolina,.
 
Bart was an interesting character. I also used to pass him in the halls of 410 South Salisbury Street where I worked as a weekender on WQDR. In between puffs on his cigarette he'd tell me about his German Shepherd dog Schlitz and we'd also share the gossip at Durham Life Broadcasting. Bart was kind of a closet liberal in the starched shirt world of WPTF. I think that's what made him stand out on the air. He had a real sense of balance and compassion. I think he secretly liked the 'hippie' mindset of WQDR in its rock & roll days, he just couldn't acknowledge it. All of us at WQDR knew we were surrounded by the conservative WPTF'ers. We knew they lived in a different world and vice versa. Bart was one of the few who bridged that gap...
 
This brought back memories of the Monday afternoon, when he came on the air, to replace legend in the making... Bob Kwesell. Bob had sooooo much talent & charisma... He quickly brought WPTF to #1... even above the FM music stations.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?n...XxQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HxQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3264,2212603

As a funnee/politically conservative guy... He was our local version of Rush, before Rush went global.

WPTF bought out his contract, because his tremendous personality, branded the entire station as a conservative entity. He also ruffled the feathers of some pretty powerful peo:

The family that ran the birdcage liner (News & Disturber)
&
Food Tax Terry (Gov Terry Sanford's political family, which lately has produced Meg Scott Phillips)

Has a host EVER been released because he was too popular?

RIP, to both the yen-&yang of WPTF broadcasting.

P-Out
 
since you brought up BK (thread hijack addendum):
the athletes at NCSU refused to have any contact with WPTF
(yes, WPTF carried the Wolfpack network) until BK was gone.
i think it was the third year of his contract when this boycott
started. even Gary Dornburg was effected.
 
the athletes at NCSU refused to have any contact with WPTF

Not doubting that you had some inside info... but it doesn't match. The demographic of his sho, & ones like it... tend to skew older/more caucasion... During that era, how many college-age guys, are listening to conservative talk radio/ Mon thru Fri 12N-3:00? & tons of sports guys would be minorities.

It's clear he upset liberals/progressives. He was not part of WPTF sports reporting. So he did not have much contact w/ any of the Triangle college teams. Did he scream out: Carolina Rules!/Coach K hung the moon... or some other slight?

P-Out
 
the parents of the scholarship athletes and the parents of the friends of the athletes
told the athletes (pre-internet days) how upset BK made them.
"my mamma said..." since PTF paid the man.......
and that's how it started.
 
RIP, Bart.

I always enjoyed listening to his show during the afternoon while I worked in Durham back in the late 80s and early 90s.

He always warned the listeners: "no religion or race issues". He played it safe.
 
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