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Who Is Live & Local?

I've listened to many stations that are live, but not local. WKOM in Columbia comes to mind as a perfect example.

And I once worked for a station that was local, but not live. We were automated, with reel-to-reel tapes for the music, and carts on a rotating carousel for the commercials, promos, etc. We recorded our station "liners" on another cart, and those played back every 15 minutes or so. It looked like something out of the '70s, and had probably been there since then, but this was in the early '90s when I worked there. They updated their programming somewhat after I left, but I did not stay around long enough to witness it.
 
I didn't think that WSM was live anyone 24/7 after they took Keith Bilbrey off. I thought they took him off the air to voicetrack during midday.
 
OneTake.....For WSM, Richard was a 'contract' employee. He owned the single engine plane -- he once had a 2-seater and he once had a 4-seater. I'm not sure about the 'filtered' sound...nothing was intentionally done, that was just the sound of the two ways. I 'THINK' he told me at one time it was not legal to do the reports on telephones back in the early days of cell phones. The traffic reports on WSM were also called "Flight 6-50", so even when weather didn't permit, we still threw it to Richard in "Flight 6-50" so most folks assumed he was flying. And until the later days of Metro Traffiic/Gaylord, he flew unless the weather or the plane was undergoing maintainance. Even the 'Capt whoever' a couple of years ago didn't fly all that often. At one time in the 80's, we had a van traveling the areas out I-24 and in the circle around the airport where smaller planes can't fly because traffic was that important.
I may be wrong, but I think the first helicoper traffic reporter was WLAC's in 1965. He scared me to death one day while I was on the air from the top of the L & C building and out of nowhere this helicoper rose up in front of me. At the time there were no other tall buildings in town...and you could watch planes taking off and landing at the airport....but none right in front of you 31 stories up.
 
"....WKOM in Columbia comes to mind as a perfect example..."
I worked at that station in the mid 80's.....for three weeks till I got fired! Strange set up....am was live fm, automated..IF a tape were to run out you had to change it no matter what you were doing on the am side! We also had a reel behind us on the am side that you played but never knew what song would play...Also the sales staff was on the 2nd floor and the jocks were told to NEVER go up and or talk to them! Well I did and got busted for it...
 
ShadowB said:
"....WKOM in Columbia comes to mind as a perfect example..."
I worked at that station in the mid 80's.....for three weeks till I got fired! Strange set up....am was live fm, automated..IF a tape were to run out you had to change it no matter what you were doing on the am side! We also had a reel behind us on the am side that you played but never knew what song would play...Also the sales staff was on the 2nd floor and the jocks were told to NEVER go up and or talk to them! Well I did and got busted for it...
Click to expand...
That set up was similar to what we had.  Only it didn't make sense to me in the '90s, because by then the FM had way more listeners than the AM, yet the AM was still all "live and local" and the FM was "canned."  Several jocks that were there while I was there tried to get the GM to change that, and take the FM live, but he never did that while I was there.  (We got requests for our FM station all the time (including people who called us long distance from out of state!), but we couldn't play requests on FM, because it was automated!)  However, after I left, the AM gradually shifted over to talk programming like Limbaugh, etc., so apparently, that GM was slowly coming around with the times.  The FM is probably still "canned" to some degree, but at least it appears that they are giving it more attention now than they were when I was there.
 
olebud said:
OneTake.....For WSM, Richard was a 'contract' employee. He owned the single engine plane -- he once had a 2-seater and he once had a 4-seater. I'm not sure about the 'filtered' sound...nothing was intentionally done, that was just the sound of the two ways. I 'THINK' he told me at one time it was not legal to do the reports on telephones back in the early days of cell phones. The traffic reports on WSM were also called "Flight 6-50", so even when weather didn't permit, we still threw it to Richard in "Flight 6-50" so most folks assumed he was flying. And until the later days of Metro Traffiic/Gaylord, he flew unless the weather or the plane was undergoing maintainance. Even the 'Capt whoever' a couple of years ago didn't fly all that often. At one time in the 80's, we had a van traveling the areas out I-24 and in the circle around the airport where smaller planes can't fly because traffic was that important.
I may be wrong, but I think the first helicoper traffic reporter was WLAC's in 1965. He scared me to death one day while I was on the air from the top of the L & C building and out of nowhere this helicoper rose up in front of me. At the time there were no other tall buildings in town...and you could watch planes taking off and landing at the airport....but none right in front of you 31 stories up.
Click to expand...


BUDDY! This post you have (above) is exactly what was once all right about radio. Now, it's not proper to allow
any insanity or fun...march march march...to the same drummer. Conform. And thus you have nothing left, but fragments
of fun in radio. By the way, i have sent you several e-mails through this site, do you ever see them? I'd figure you'd
laugh back, etc. or have me thrown off RI!
 
From Tibbs2
By the way, i have sent you several e-mails through this site, do you ever see them? I'd figure you'd laugh back, etc. or have me thrown off RI!
Click to expand...

I had not checked messages on here forever...in fact had forgetten they were there...but looked an it says I don't have any.
My home email is [email protected] if you ever have something you think I'll enjoy..and I probably will....best...buddy
 
Tibbs2 said:
BUDDY! This post you have (above) is exactly what was once all right about radio. Now, it's not proper to allow
any insanity or fun...march march march...to the same drummer. Conform. And thus you have nothing left, but fragments of fun in radio.
Click to expand...

And it's a shame. Radio was once entertaining. Now it's so bland. My numbers would always go up when I stopped listening to the people in charge. I'd get busted, did it their way, and the numbers slipped. But when I was doing radio "my way", it was a combination of what I grew up listening to and what I'd learned along the way of what actually made sense for the medium.

I had an interview with WSM-FM, and the PD asked me if I listened to the station. I said no, and he was shocked. I told him I'd listen if there was something worth listening to.

I didn't get the job... but just the same, I heard poor things about him, so to not get that job was a blessing.
 
beatlenut said:
I had an interview with WSM-FM, and the PD asked me if I listened to the station. I said no, and he was shocked. I told him I'd listen if there was something worth listening to.
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How would you know if you didn't listen?

He asked a fair question. If you want a job at a place (any place, not just radio) you need to be familiar with the product. Why would you want to work at a place you feel wasn't worth listening to? You dissed a prospective employer. Not a smart thing. I hope you're independently wealthy.
 
beatlenut said:
But when I was doing radio "my way", it was a combination of what I grew up listening to and what I'd learned along the way of what actually made sense for the medium.
Click to expand...

you can only do it your way if it's your station...
as long as you're being paid, you have to follow the format/presentation as prescribed.
even if you're right (and you may be)...not your choice as an employee
 
Romer said:
you can only do it your way if it's your station...
as long as you're being paid, you have to follow the format/presentation as prescribed.
even if you're right (and you may be)...not your choice as an employee
Click to expand...

I gues that's why WHIN was so much fun for me. They let me do what I wanted to do..and with help from Fred Gault (formerly at WKDA) and Bill Berlin for jingles, sounders, I-D's and anything else...it was fun and apparently okay enough to get me noticed by both WKDA and WMAK. However, once I got there with all the restriction, I quickly learned my future was in news and not as a joc. (although later the thought came..if they liked what was happening in Gallatin and the ratings...see where I'm going. Didn't make any difference, you had to do it the PD's way..and as Romer says.....not my choice.
 
Buddy...at WHIN, while you were doing things your way...it was still
with the blessing of management: you weren't breaking formatics...
you weren't trying to be the "smartest guy in the room" like a previous poster.
 
TheBigA said:
How would you know if you didn't listen? He asked a fair question. If you want a job at a place (any place, not just radio) you need to be familiar with the product. Why would you want to work at a place you feel wasn't worth listening to? You dissed a prospective employer. Not a smart thing. I hope you're independently wealthy.
Click to expand...

I didn't say I'd never heard the station; I just said I didn't listen. There was nothing wrong with the question. But to assume I wouldn't be able to bring something to the table with my experience and track record was wrong. Very narrow-minded and unprofessional, to the point of being fearful, scared that I could actually do them good.

As for working somewhere not worth listening to... I've never actually listened to a station I worked for prior to working there over the last 20+ years. But yet I was hired, and did well. Many people have jobs they hate. At least I'd be working in a business I liked without having to lie to get the job.

Big A, if you are a liar, and have to lie to get a job, that's your thing. I just hope you have a good conscience and can sleep at night.
 
beatlenut said:
But to assume I wouldn't be able to bring something to the table with my experience and track record was wrong.
Click to expand...

I agree! Between on-air gigs, I had to work at a sporting goods store. I don't like sports, and I'd never done retail - and for those wondering if my uncle owned the store - no, nor did I know anyone there before I started. And I was one of the top sales associates, beating out tenured reps on occassion.

To admit you don't listen to the station you're applying for takes balls. Granted, I may have re-worded the reason why you didn't listen... but the only reason you didn't get hired was not because of what you said, but because of the PD's pride. People, especially in radio these days, cut their nose off to spite their face. It's all pride-driven. And pride is at the top of the 7 Deadly Sins list. Pride is what's wrong with the world. I will pray for him, and several others on this board.
 
I gues that's why WHIN was so much fun for me double ditto on this for me as well buddy..i came about three years after you in jan of 71..the format was simple.. a box of the top 40 by the phone, about a dozen extras behind them..just back file your currents so they rotated back to the front of the box, one extra per hour..every third song was an oldie...except on weekends..every other song was an oldie..and say what you wanted within the bounds of decency as we were supposed to know what we were doing...we picked our own oldies, played them however we wanted..trying to keep a good music flow..but hardly any real restrictions..mgmt was more interested in making sure all spots got played as logged..if one was missed for some reason..make a note on the log and relog it it in asap..half the time bill or a salesman would run through the control room, yell "just sold 50 10 sec 31w drive in spots for tonight and tomorrow, write the copy, put on macarther park, and cut it, then ..log em in..". looking back it was fly by the seat of your pants, and never a dull moment, and the best radio education you could get..and i'm sure it was that way at most stations in those days..we were having so much fun..we couldn't tell ..til years later..miss like you do oldbud.. ;)
 
OneTake.....For WSM, Richard was a 'contract' employee. He owned the single engine plane -- he once had a 2-seater and he once had a 4-seater. I'm not sure about the 'filtered' sound...nothing was intentionally done, that was just the sound of the two ways.

That explains it. I didn't think he was in a helicopter. In fact with so much background noise filtered out at times I even wondered if he was actually flying anything. Little if any background noise. It was almost "too quiet."

I had a feeling he was by himself in the air. Not being a pilot I still don't get how one can fly, listen to a police radio, write down info from across town, verify a jam below, and still catch a break on time for the AM and then the FM.
 
romer979fm said:
onetake said:
Message to Romer:
Call Steve/ATL
Click to expand...

we spoke just after 3...
mind-numbing-stupidity and greed
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Every time I take a couple of days off I come back and see bad news....CR ~ your words are
an understatement. COX ... nevermind, I will get kicked off of here. It would be worse that what Buddy
and I said to spew. I knew it would be tough for Steve at that company. One day the truth will come
out about those people.
 
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