Guess my reaction as a listener/observer, was that 'VOR's sound stirred memories of what we'd been doing at WHEN in '73 and '74 under John Patton and Jim Ashbery--what they had in common other than a general feel and concept was that they were both fun to listen to (and I'd venture a guess 'VOR was also a fun place to work, just as WHEN was back in the day). Wish we had more stations like them today.
You have given the impression that WVOR was a fun place and filled with giggles on the air and in the hallways. It was not. It was about the most sterile environment that could be imagined. Not only was the music completely programed but what came out of the jock's mouth was as well. Actually it was years ahead of its time , after morning drive sounding like it was voice tracked or automated. Many people were hired and given the impression they would be the one that would loosen the place up. They didn't last.
WHEN in the 70's was a completely different situation. WHEN was called a country club. Everybody wanted to work there. In the heydays of WHEN, with Phil Markert, John Simmons and Jack Mindy on the air it was always interesting and fun to listen to. You could always be surprised. When Dick Birch was doing mornings they ran a campaign with bus billboards that simply said, SWEET DICK IN THE MORNING - 62 WHEN. Yeah, I can imagine WVOR doing that. Phil Markert had a piano in the studio and played silly songs, and that he sounded hung over every morning only added to his appeal. Jim Ashbery wouldn't have lasted a day at WVOR. And don't forget, Jack Mindy did end up working mornings at WVOR co-owned WHAM for about a month or so.
Now with that all said, the success of WVOR in the 80's can not be denied. They were a incredibly successful station in both ratings and revenue. Yes, they actually had a news department staffed by pros! There were some very talented people that worked there. On the most part, they didn't get to demonstrate their real talent on the air. To be successful there, they followed the format to a 'T" smiled a lot and collected their paychecks. I have always felt that creative people were naturally rebels. There was no rebellion at WVOR. I don't mean to imply that WVOR was an unpleasant place to work, it just wasn't the place for the non conformists in the business.
WHEN pushed their personalities with all kinds of promotions. They were expected to be witty and informative. They only hired jocks that had of reputation of being a little off the wall. In those years, they may have hired some jocks from other local stations, but to my knowledge, in the early 70's WHEN hired no one away from the tightly formated, Drake programed WOLF (although there were some great jocks at WOLF). Sorry I never heard WGR back in those days, but I heard it was very similar to WHEN in sound and attitude.
You have given the impression that WVOR was a fun place and filled with giggles on the air and in the hallways. It was not. It was about the most sterile environment that could be imagined. Not only was the music completely programed but what came out of the jock's mouth was as well. Actually it was years ahead of its time , after morning drive sounding like it was voice tracked or automated. Many people were hired and given the impression they would be the one that would loosen the place up. They didn't last.
WHEN in the 70's was a completely different situation. WHEN was called a country club. Everybody wanted to work there. In the heydays of WHEN, with Phil Markert, John Simmons and Jack Mindy on the air it was always interesting and fun to listen to. You could always be surprised. When Dick Birch was doing mornings they ran a campaign with bus billboards that simply said, SWEET DICK IN THE MORNING - 62 WHEN. Yeah, I can imagine WVOR doing that. Phil Markert had a piano in the studio and played silly songs, and that he sounded hung over every morning only added to his appeal. Jim Ashbery wouldn't have lasted a day at WVOR. And don't forget, Jack Mindy did end up working mornings at WVOR co-owned WHAM for about a month or so.
Now with that all said, the success of WVOR in the 80's can not be denied. They were a incredibly successful station in both ratings and revenue. Yes, they actually had a news department staffed by pros! There were some very talented people that worked there. On the most part, they didn't get to demonstrate their real talent on the air. To be successful there, they followed the format to a 'T" smiled a lot and collected their paychecks. I have always felt that creative people were naturally rebels. There was no rebellion at WVOR. I don't mean to imply that WVOR was an unpleasant place to work, it just wasn't the place for the non conformists in the business.
WHEN pushed their personalities with all kinds of promotions. They were expected to be witty and informative. They only hired jocks that had of reputation of being a little off the wall. In those years, they may have hired some jocks from other local stations, but to my knowledge, in the early 70's WHEN hired no one away from the tightly formated, Drake programed WOLF (although there were some great jocks at WOLF). Sorry I never heard WGR back in those days, but I heard it was very similar to WHEN in sound and attitude.