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WPTF has morning opening?!?!
- Thread starter XTalker
- Start date
F
Flowergirl3065
Guest
Jack is in and out of the hospital as his health allows, currently waiting on a bone marrow transplant. If not already registered as a bone marrow doner, you can go to nmdp.org to learn more....
K
kba
Guest
Flowergirl3065 said:
I suppose 6 1/2 hours of live and local programming is pretty good nowadays. But it wasn't that long ago that 'PTF had 18 hours a day of local talk, from 5 am to 11 pm. Plus 24/7 local news, full-time news bureaus in Durham and at the Capitol, two full-time sports guys, exclusive airborne traffic reports from the station's own plane, etc.
But as another poster said, the business has changed. At least we still have 6 1/2 hours ...
kba,
I worked for CMG back in the mid to late 90's when Maury O'dell did AM, Donna Mason MD and Tom Joyner (the white one) / John Michaels did PMD. I think that's the local 18 your referring to but news bureaus in Durham and at the Capitol and the stations own plane seem pretty far fetched. After their affair with Metro Traffic (which was the case in my day) CMG embraced a "be a traffic reporter" local initiative with the listeners. Again, I left Raleigh in the late 90's but there was no way CMG in those days would have incurred the expense of an airplane. I know Phil made a ton of positive changes but that seems a bit extravagant. Is it possible you're remembering the live reports Metro used to provide from their planes on the two-way?
RM
I worked for CMG back in the mid to late 90's when Maury O'dell did AM, Donna Mason MD and Tom Joyner (the white one) / John Michaels did PMD. I think that's the local 18 your referring to but news bureaus in Durham and at the Capitol and the stations own plane seem pretty far fetched. After their affair with Metro Traffic (which was the case in my day) CMG embraced a "be a traffic reporter" local initiative with the listeners. Again, I left Raleigh in the late 90's but there was no way CMG in those days would have incurred the expense of an airplane. I know Phil made a ton of positive changes but that seems a bit extravagant. Is it possible you're remembering the live reports Metro used to provide from their planes on the two-way?
RM
K
kba
Guest
No, go back a few more years to the mid-late '80's - before Curtis bought the station from Durham Life. The Durham news bureau was in Brightleaf Square, the Capitol office was in the Legislative Building (not far fetched, because North Carolina News Network and WUNC-FM still maintain bureaus in the Legislative Building today.) And yes, there was a WPTF traffic plane ... before Metro even came to town. They used to show it off every year at the state fair. Remember Captain John Hoffman?
The 18 hours would take us from Johnny Hood's farm show at 5:00 am, through Maury, Donna, Bart Rittner, Lowell Shoemaker in afternoon drive, Tony Riggsbee's evening sports show, and Alan Handleman at night.
The 18 hours would take us from Johnny Hood's farm show at 5:00 am, through Maury, Donna, Bart Rittner, Lowell Shoemaker in afternoon drive, Tony Riggsbee's evening sports show, and Alan Handleman at night.
They did indeed have a plane back in the Durham Life Broadcasting days. I remember it had the station call letters/dial position painted underneath the wings and they were very visible from the ground each morning/afternoon. According to some old WPTF promotional literature from those days, they began traffic coverage in 1975.
Durham Life, that explains it. I heard crazy stories of the Durham Life days but never anything about a plane. As for the bureaus, nothing they "embraced" or invested in during the 90's to my knowledge.
K
kba
Guest
tothedj said:
I think Famous Bob had a short stint at 'PTF in the 90's. He also did a show from Curtis' Highwoods studios that aired on WDNC.
Charlie Gaddy also spent many years at WPTF, before he went on to anchor the news on WRAL-TV. He used to host "Ask Your Neighbor," and he had a regular feature where people would call in and tell him what kind of birds they had seen in their backyards.
WRAL also flew a traffic plane in the mid and late 80s. Metro didn't come to the market until about 1988 (it wasn't Metro at the time but a company called Traffic Patrol Broadcasting owned by Bill Jennings, former GM at WBT.) I brought TPB into the market when I was at WYLT/WKIX.
TPB then expanded to the Greensboro market in 1989. Wasn't until sometime in the late 90s that Metro bought the company.
TPB then expanded to the Greensboro market in 1989. Wasn't until sometime in the late 90s that Metro bought the company.
J
JohnDenverAirlines
Guest
Who is the new dude? Where did the Fattened Calf go?
;D I'm making a play for Jay Leno's Job!goatboy said:
Assuming Holland likes him (and I think that is a good assumption), it would be a natural to move him to the bigger station. Frankly, I hear him struggling to find his spot in the still long shadow of Glenn Scott. It is kinda like when Bill Guthridge replaced Dean Smith. He was in a no win situation. How do you follow the king?
(Not really a Carolina fan, but you have to admire Smith's accomplishments.)
(Freeman is "struggling to find his spot?" "Long shadow" (of Glenn Scott)? "The King?" You're kidding, right? Freeman is a pro who sounds completely comfortable in his role, and to my ear WSJS hasn't sounded better in decades. The ratings bear it out. Having Glenn retire might be the best thing that could have happened to Glenn and the station. WPTF's challenge is to find someone as good as or better than Freeman not steal him from a station that is on a roll.
While you may be right in the long term - Brian has not been firmly embraced by the WSJS audience - which was pretty healthy when Glenn retired. Over time, they will, but I know it is a struggle. I never said Guthridge was a bad coach - just mighty hard to take over in those circumstances. I am sure there are those who like Brian, but I guarantee he hears "where is Gelnn" more than he wants too. I know, I went through it when John Michaels left. That core audience is like that. They will eventually accept him, but can HE wait? The WPTF transition would be much easier.
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