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The BEST station and/or PD you ever worked for?

X

X-14

We have way too much bitchin' and moaning here on this board. I'm guilty of it, too.
So... What's the very best station you ever worked for and why? Or the best pd and why?

Okay, since I'm starting this thread, I'll get 'er going.

Best station: 104.7 The Fish. They really are into their 'mission'. Laugh if you want, but they believe in what they're doing. Everyone I've worked with there, from the GM on down, is the real thing. Sure, there's 'business as usual' but not at the expense of the employees. A true 'family feeling' there. I'm blessed to have worked with them.

Best PD: Bob Middleton. Not the one you Georgians know, this is a guy from New Orleans who gave me my start in radio in 1977. He hired me for a graveyard shift at an EZ listening station, then took me with him when he went to a Big Band station. He was a mentor and a true friend. We became such good friends we began playing tennis together - for years! How many PDs can you say that of nowdays? Sadly I've lost touch with Bob and don't even know if he's still alive, but I'll never forget his sense of humor, his kind heart, and the fact that he took a chance on a newbie right out of college.
 
Fascinating.

Start a thread bitching and moaning about Clear Channel or how stupid management is somewhere or how awful things are and you get 100 replies.

Start a thread asking for some positive comments about your radio experience and you get zilch.

Tells you a lot about our industry and/or our people, I'd say. Sad.
 
How about the late Bill Phippen at power 99. Class act and great GM.
 
X-14 said:
Fascinating.

Start a thread bitching and moaning about Clear Channel or how stupid management is somewhere or how awful things are and you get 100 replies.

Start a thread asking for some positive comments about your radio experience and you get zilch.

Tells you a lot about our industry and/or our people, I'd say. Sad.
Click to expand...

I hope X 14 is wrong. I think there are not too many people on this board as old as me but radio was a fun way to make a living when they had meaningful cross ownership rules and before the clusters.

Best PD.
I doubt anyone this far East knows him, but I think the best might be Bob Allen (the Kansas version). He taught me a lot of good ways of getting a commercial breaks with out over teasing, and to have extra show prep for when the humor bits were not as good as they were last night when I wrote them.

MY best station was KUIL when it was a Harris Newspaper Chain Station. IF you were wondering, yes distant relatives and, yes we had all Harris Equipment. Their benefit package was better than the Louisville and Cincinnati stations I worked. More importantly, they were an honest operation. They would tell everybody what the changes were taking place and why before the change took place. There wasn’t any of the security guard watching you pack up on you last day. If they canned an announcer they would help them find a job at any station. The station parties were a blast! Sadly that was 3 or 4 ownerships ago.
 
For me, that would be WTAL-AM 1450 under GM/PD Tom Derzypolski in late 1979/1980. My first day
on the air - EVER - was at WTAL on October 12, 1979.

I learned a LOT in my year with the station. The entire staff was fun to work with. The owner at
this time was a gentleman named Frank X. Veihmeyer. The station had a mixed music AC hybrid format that I've never seen or heard replicated anywhere else.

A sale of the station in October of 1980 brought it to an end - but I enjoyed it while it lasted!
 
Best station: KTQQ, Sulphur Louisiana. Even though it was automated on the weekends, the station was kept technically up to date and was relevant to the community. The PD, K. Kennan Thomas, was smart enough to have an oldies show Saturday nights and promoted it with a a tailgate cookout in the parking lot for listeners.

Yeah, it was small market radio, but everything was done for the listeners, not because it was what some consultant said to do.
 
bnaivar said:
Yeah, it was small market radio, but everything was done for the listeners, not because it was what some consultant said to do.
Click to expand...

Small market radio:
- fun
- less structured
- community-oriented
- family like work environment
- relates to the listeners

I'll take a small-market gig over a major market one any day of the week.
 
This one is easy for me. The best station I worked for was 105.3 The Buzz as we took down 99X and best PD I have ever worked for is also easy. I'd put anyone up against Chris Williams.

He is a great motivator and really knows his stuff. Any PD that trys to take him on had better bring their "A" game. He's already taken down the "old" 99X and I'd bet he takes down Suck100 and TRG pretty soon. Assuming CC doesn't tie his hands.
 
HANDS DOWN !!!!!

KGRM Grambling State Univ.

We were young, we had passion, we had NO idea of what we were getting into.

Some of the high/low lights of college radio:

Dying turntables

Tweaking transmitters

On Air tempertantrums

lugging milk crates of your personal favorites into the studio and pretty much ignoring the playlists.

making out with chicks who thought your were famous because you were on the air.

funny cigarettes !!!

no money, no problem; poor grades, no problem; getting your show pre-empted. . . NOOOOO!!!


aaah college radio, before the marketing of "college radio".
 
I loved the WSB-FM days working with Kelly McCoy. What a great guy..He hired good people and LET them do thier job..Dr Phil Locasio was the OM and the team made for great radio (Saturday Night All Request Dance Party..from the fabulous Atlanta BoogieDome)

just a fun time
 
Great thread...

Best Station - Q107 in Washington DC when we were the underdog and working hard to beat WPGC. And we did, and garnered the highest AQH that an ABC O&O had ever gotten with an 8.7. There were some hurtin' puppies the next day...myself included What a party...!

Best PD - hands-down, my first one, Bob Elliott. He was patient with this "lightweight," helping me learn what not to do, as well as how to do a good radio show. He saw a passion for the industry and fed it calmly, patiently and very knowledgeably. Anytime anyone asks this question, my answer is always "Boz."

Sandy Weaver
 
Neil Millman said:
How many votes do you think Michelle Engle and Sean Phillips will garner?
Click to expand...

If Michelle gets only one vote, it can be from me. When I worked at dave (p/t weekends, '05-'08), she was always very nice to me. I was a rookie...a beginner, and she didn't HAVE to let me be on the air, but she gave me a chance. It was my first "real" on-air gig (in a major market, no less). I was always grateful for that.

What's more, she was the only PD who ever bothered to listen to my God-awful ABI air-check...and still asked me to come on board.

Sure, her programming philosophy was questioned by many, but I certainly wasn't in a position to judge it. I was just happy to be there......that is, of coruse, until her replacement came along.
 
Kachme said:
Great thread...

Best Station - Q107 in Washington DC when we were the underdog and working hard to beat WPGC. And we did, and garnered the highest AQH that an ABC O&O had ever gotten with an 8.7. There were some hurtin' puppies the next day...myself included What a party...!

Best PD - hands-down, my first one, Bob Elliott. He was patient with this "lightweight," helping me learn what not to do, as well as how to do a good radio show. He saw a passion for the industry and fed it calmly, patiently and very knowledgeably. Anytime anyone asks this question, my answer is always "Boz."

Sandy Weaver
Click to expand...

Wow, what a great battle Q107 vs. WPGC was. Al Brady vs. Scott Shannon, two of the best programmers ever. After Q107 beat WPGC, Shannon brought in Don Geronimo for nights, and the battle got even better.

It was all great until First Media, WPGC owner and part of the Marriott family, decided top 40 was beneath them; they wanted to be like AC WASH-FM. That was the end of any ratings for WPGC until the station became Urban.
 
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