Shortest stint at a radio station and how many stations have you worked?

[charlestondxman]

1. Shortest stint: One day, job shadowed at my local sports talk station on National Signing Day.

2. Stations: 1 (hopefully more later!)

 

[RoddyFreeman]

Ladytalk brought up WLDB in Atlantic City. That was about as lunatic a station as there was. Dorothy Bremer's husband, Leroy, was crazy too. WLDB stood for Leroy & Dorothy Bremmer.

In the 60's, WLDB's format was beautiful music and country. Made perfect sense, right? And at the top of the hour, they played something that went, "Hickory Dickory Dock. The mouse ran up the clock. It's 10 o'clock, it's 10 o'clock, it's 10 o'clock."

I once spoke to a jock who had worked there. He said Leroy would fire people by telling them, "You're true," which of course meant "You're through." When Leroy told this particular guy that he was "true," Leroy told him that he was still invited to "the baby's" birthday party. "The baby" was the Bremmers' pet cat.

In 1970, a friend and I drove to Atlantic City from Baltimore to pick up my grandparents, who had been on vacation there. We decided to stop at WLDB, which by that time was in a trailer at the transmitter, where the Bremmers apparently lived. We knocked on the door, and Mr. Bremmer answered. We told him that we were from Baltimore, and he said, "We get letters from Baltimore every day." Now, this was a station that could not be picked up 10 miles outside of Atlantic City at night. We've never been able to figure out whether Leroy was kidding or just crazy. He passed away a few years after that.

 

[CompleteGame]

One airshift at 103.7 in Athens when the station was doing CHR in Royston. I was also a jock for competing WNGC/WGAU and Larry England, the OM, heard about it. He said, 'make a choice, Batten.'

I never asked Hugh Christian for the $40.

 

[Ladytalk]

Ladytalk brought up WLDB in Atlantic City. That was about as lunatic a station as there was. Dorothy Bremer's husband, Leroy, was crazy too. WLDB stood for Leroy & Dorothy Bremmer.

In the 60's, WLDB's format was beautiful music and country. Made perfect sense, right? And at the top of the hour, they played something that went, "Hickory Dickory Dock. The mouse ran up the clock. It's 10 o'clock, it's 10 o'clock, it's 10 o'clock."

I once spoke to a jock who had worked there. He said Leroy would fire people by telling them, "You're true," which of course meant "You're through." When Leroy told this particular guy that he was "true," Leroy told him that he was still invited to "the baby's" birthday party. "The baby" was the Bremmers' pet cat.

In 1970, a friend and I drove to Atlantic City from Baltimore to pick up my grandparents, who had been on vacation there. We decided to stop at WLDB, which by that time was in a trailer at the transmitter, where the Bremmers apparently lived. We knocked on the door, and Mr. Bremmer answered. We told him that we were from Baltimore, and he said, "We get letters from Baltimore every day." Now, this was a station that could not be picked up 10 miles outside of Atlantic City at night. We've never been able to figure out whether Leroy was kidding or just crazy. He passed away a few years after that.

It was in the ratty trailer for the few minutes I worked there. A single-wide mobile home. I think the tower was right next door, but it was over 30 years ago so I might be wrong. Dorothy hired me to play the "now sound" as she called it. Didn't care about my qualifications or voice, just that I had a lot of records that I was willing to play on-the-air. She and her husband seemed "certifiable" in my opinion. They even asked me what religion I was, which I refused to answer. They still hired me and it was a radio job.

The Atlantic City Press wrote a story about the incident the next day, which caught the attention John Struckell at WFPG (just a few months before he was killed while trying to get WFPG back on the air after a hurricane). He put me in touch with the PD of WRNJ (now WAVY). They got a hold of me (from my listed phone number) and I was hired to do an all night jazz/talk show. I played jazz records and took phone calls. But NO organ music. Eddie Newman, the owner, hated the organ. He was a piece of work as well. We used to do remotes from the jazz club in the basement of the Ritz Carlton by running an audio cable 18 stories up the side of the building to our studio on the roof. One day, one of the old farts who lived there got tired of it slapping against his window and cut it.

I was in college at the time and after about two years, I went over to WMGM (rock) to do 7 to midnight. Was there until I graduated. Then, having student loans to pay back and a living to make, I left radio for several decades. Now that I'm an almost retired old fart, I can afford to return...nah, think I'll take up coin collecting.

 

[firepoint525]

I was hired to do "sales" at a station and lasted about a week. I never "sold" anything, never got a chance to sell anything, and only went out on sales calls with the GM just once. I was let go about a week later. (The GM who hired me had a background in journalism, and I am convinced that she knew next to nothing about radio. A couple of years later, she sold the station, and it went hispanic, and has been ever since.)

Then a couple of years after the above experience, I lasted three weeks at another station where, this time, I was a dj. I was mostly weekends at first. A coworker at another station asked me to come in and fill some shifts for him, because he was overloaded, and also worked for a third station at that time! A couple of weeks later, he was fired by the GM, and I also picked up his afternoon shift. The next day, that same GM yelled at me up one side and down the other, and I decided that working for him just wasn't worth it! The next day, they were tracking CDs at that station! :

Interestingly enough, both stations never filed I-9 paperwork on me! So it was like I had never worked at either one!

 

[jovialjay]

1. I was hired after the owner of WSYL/Sylvania, Georgia had me do an hour on the air. She didn't like tapes of what you'd done before. Since she wasn't ready for me to start work yet, she got me a temporary job working for a couple of weeks at a local car dealer. Before the two weeks were up, the guy I was replacing decided to stay. I did get a little compensation (or was it constipation?), but I guess you could say that I was hired, but never actually worked there.

2. According to 440int.com, I've worked parttime and fulltime for 72 radio stations, including AM/FM combos and multi-station clusters. Dammit children...I'm wore slap out.

3. Midnight to 5AM at WGAC/Augusta, then rushed 40 miles to Thomson to sign WTHO(AM) on at sunrise, working a shift 'till noon. Later on, I was on 6A-10A at WJEM/Valdosta, then skipped my sales calls to drive about 35 miles to do afternoons on WNGA/Nashville. All the stations were country, but I don't care for the Tom Joyner way.

 

[swmaphox]

2 months doing sales at WIMO in Winder. I didnt even make my gas money back because no one could hear them at the time. I only wanted the job so I could write some radio copy for my portfolio and once I had some of that under my belt I bailed.

 

[Stu Dio]

Worked one late afternoon shift. Was working at the time for Randolph Holder's Athens station, WGAU. They suddently were short-handed for one day at his WGRI in Griffin. Shot me over there, I did the gig (much to the delight of relatives I had living in the town) then popped me back to Athens. Small, dark studio. Middle of the road music. Angered the continuity lady because one spot was copied so poorly I had to rip it out of the book to read it in better light. Probably didn't matter because WKEU was the kingpin then (as it had been since Moses)

 

[taylorengineer]

Doing a remote with 18 stories of Bell station wire is REAL radio. I loved the part 'bout the ol' geezer cuttin' the wire 'cause it kept flappin' against his window........
Ladytalk: If you'll write your radio autobiography I'll buy a copy........

 

[bnaivar]

That's the problem with radio war stories. The only people that can enjoy them are other radio people.

 

[secondchoice]

The shortest job I had in radio was at !@#$ (name changed to protect the guilty) in a small town in GA. My parents were in poor health (better now) in 1995 so I decided get with in an hour or two of their home in Blue Ridge GA. I sent a tape and three days latter the station owner called. I came down next Saturday and she offered me a job. She wanted evenings and sales. I wasn’t too happy about the money, but I have sold in the past and did not starve. During the interview she called someone and said she would call back. I said I would take the job and asked for a rate card and list of sponsors so I could drive around the town. I had never been in that town and wanted see what I was getting into. She said she didn’t have a list of sponsors. I do not think it would have been a long list. I said I would call her Monday to work out details right after my shift. When I called Monday morning she said she had hired the person she called during my interview! I was fired before I started. I am glad I did not give up job in the Louisville market.
The shortest shift change was out the KWKR. I was doing mid days on KIUL the sister station. KWKR was semi-automated satellite. KIUL had CBS News at the time. At the start of a sun fade on KWKR’s satellite feed, I ran across the lobby during the 6 minute CBS News caught the last song off the satellite, ID’ed, started a carted 4 minute song. Then I ran across the lobby, back to KIUL started live local news (KIUL was unique in having two full time local newsmen and sports guy in a town under 70,000). Back across the lobby to KWKR play another cart, did weather and started another carted song. Back across the lobby to KIUL introduced the Sports guy. Back across the lobby and finally was able get KWKR back on satellite. That evening my neighbor congratulated me on my new show and asked me it was so short!
PS The engineer told me the carts would start each other using their one of a kind Harris Board If they had not changed it for the Satellite service

 

[taylorengineer]

That's the problem with radio war stories. The only people that can enjoy them are other radio people.

Only a radio weenie can appreciate throwing a wire out the window of an eighteen story building to do a remote. The average bear just can't understand how "special" that is......
Has it ever been determined if there is some type of DNA damage/distortion that leds to careers in radio - or radio station ownership?