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WTAN Ownership/Management
- Thread starter HHH
- Start date
Truth is, they are very smart business people who have owned several stations in different parts of the country and surprise surprise while many locally owned stations are barely paying the electric bill, they are making money. I have had little dealing with these folks but when I have they have been very professional and easy to work with. Oh they have nice dogs as well and in my book that says a lot about someone.
But they are still whack-jobs. Nice dogs or not. ;D
They run some great commercials..I especially like the one where you can send in a photograph, and the company will send you back a cast iron 8 inch skillet with the image that you sent them embossed in the bottom of the pan,
That way you can make a batch of tasty corn bread, with the image of your loved one in the bread...I hear Lola had one made up. How wonderful to be able to dig into a golden brown piece of corn bread with Lola's face on it! Pass the g*ddamned Blue Bonnet!
Seriously I think Dave is a great guy, and Lola keeps him grounded. They have a blow torch signal near Little Rock, and a couple of stations in metro Tampa Bay that they are actually making a living with. Whack jobs? Naaah. I have voiced some stuff for Dave and he has always threaded me fairly.
That way you can make a batch of tasty corn bread, with the image of your loved one in the bread...I hear Lola had one made up. How wonderful to be able to dig into a golden brown piece of corn bread with Lola's face on it! Pass the g*ddamned Blue Bonnet!
Seriously I think Dave is a great guy, and Lola keeps him grounded. They have a blow torch signal near Little Rock, and a couple of stations in metro Tampa Bay that they are actually making a living with. Whack jobs? Naaah. I have voiced some stuff for Dave and he has always threaded me fairly.
We all should be so "whacked". They own stations and are making money and cornbread now and then.
Hmmmm, two negative comments posted by anonymous persons. One of whom I know the identity of and, well, lets leave it at that..........
Three positive comments by posters under their own names. One of whom I know and respect his opinion, and his freind which is good enough for me. Hmmmmm.
And while I do post under my nom de BBS, I do count Dave and Lola as friends and colleagues. Never had a problem in any of my professional dealings with them either. I think some persons may have an issue with their format of choice, but as pointed out here, they are filling up their schedule and making money. Perhaps "eccentric" might be a kinder word for those who dont know them, but "whack job", no.
Three positive comments by posters under their own names. One of whom I know and respect his opinion, and his freind which is good enough for me. Hmmmmm.
And while I do post under my nom de BBS, I do count Dave and Lola as friends and colleagues. Never had a problem in any of my professional dealings with them either. I think some persons may have an issue with their format of choice, but as pointed out here, they are filling up their schedule and making money. Perhaps "eccentric" might be a kinder word for those who dont know them, but "whack job", no.
B
butchfm
Guest
Nostalgia said:
HERE HERE!
Hey, isn't this the station where the Home Shopping Channel was born?
Gotta love MOM & POP RADIO..
Home Shopping was born on 1470 AM after Buddy Bud failed with an all news format. His first product was a can opener. The rest as they say.....
Hey, at least they don't run iBLOCK on TAN. And I've GOTTA get one of those pans, thanks for the tip! I'm sending in an image of Jesus, then mass producing pancakes and selling them on eBay. Do they still have the studio or was it office on Cleveland St. downtown that had cool vintage radio-related items in the window?
As I understand the history of HSN, Bud Paxson was concerned about making payroll at his small Dunedin AM daytimer, so he attempted to collect an outstanding advertising bill from a local appliance store. The retailer apparently did not have the cash to pay the bill, so the invoice was paid with merchandise. In this case, the merchandise consisted of can openers, etc. Paxson brought the various items back to the station and offered them for sale to listeners in an effort to raise enough money to pay the station expenses for that particular month. Everything was sold within 15-minutes. That is when the metaphoric light-bulb went off in Paxson's head. Hence, the Home Shopping Show was created on radio which was later moved to television part-time via the local cable system with a slight name change to Home Shopping Network. From there HSN has grown exponentially into what it is today. Find a need and fill it and you have a formula for success!
Having run 1470 for a bunch of years as the sister to WLVU-FM, we heard much regarding the history of the station. The original name of home shopping was The Bargaineers Club. Years before while at WAZE in Clearwater I had a brew with Bud at the Ramada Countryside. He said he found a way to make money with his AM which went through different formats including all news. He called it "K-Mart with a tower"! Needless to say, as a purist, I quickly ho-humed the idea. Some time later, Bud showed me a small studio on Hercules Avenue in Clearwater. It consisted of a blue curtain back drop, a camera on a tripod and a desk. He said he was going to sell the stuff he sold on the radio on cable TV. Again, my reaction was less than gung ho. Those experiences taught me a lesson about thinking out of the box and having the fortitude to try something new. If you fail you just try again.
On 1470 at the time (wwqt...get your news on the QT..and WDCL) they had a bunch of wild shows including the fabulous "Stanley Steamer" show with Jim Stanley..and Bob Snyder..selling gold and trips from the Safety Harbor Travel Agency..what a strange but listenable lineup. In the afternoon Bud Paxson (also called "Uncle Fudd" and his small bike horn "tootie" that would honk when a caller "won" the item..Bud would be on the air with his Bargaineers Club. Now get this. You sign up as a "Bargaineer" and you got a card with a member number on it. He sold "certs" to local restaurants where you got two for one..usually nearly defunct eateries participated..and loads of capodemonte porcelain clown heads "near-skin" leather type coats from Istanbul, and more Magic Dusters..his wife Barbera at the time called "bubblin' Barbera" also did an air shift..but insisted that they would sell more if people could see the merchandise. Bud got himself an empty channel on Paragon / Vision Cable, and also on TelePrompTer cable systems..and the Home Shopping Channel was born..simulcast on 1470.
My wife was Mr Paxsons executive secretary during the Paxson Heyday..where he applied for and got a boatload of UHF television CPs in markets all over the country..all with the "HS" or "HN" in the call letters. (our local Fox affiliate in Greenville, SC was one of those and is still WHNS! The Paxson headquarters was in the old Ellis Bank building behind Damon's Home for Ribs..and next to the little shopping center where the production studios were..later became a pretty well known post house for infomercials...can't remember it's name.
They ran 24/7 the Home Shopping NETWORK as it was now called..you bought over the phone and picked up your stuff at various Home Shopping Marts..which also served as "thrift stores" where you could purchase returned items at a discount.
Now back to Dave and Lola..they keep the lights on by running on a thread..but they keep plugging away. And if you are in good graces with them..they treat you well.
Now..order your cast iron personalized Johnny cake pan today..and start gnawing on your loved ones face today...(allow four to six weeks for delivery, no returns, and no refunds pleased
My wife was Mr Paxsons executive secretary during the Paxson Heyday..where he applied for and got a boatload of UHF television CPs in markets all over the country..all with the "HS" or "HN" in the call letters. (our local Fox affiliate in Greenville, SC was one of those and is still WHNS! The Paxson headquarters was in the old Ellis Bank building behind Damon's Home for Ribs..and next to the little shopping center where the production studios were..later became a pretty well known post house for infomercials...can't remember it's name.
They ran 24/7 the Home Shopping NETWORK as it was now called..you bought over the phone and picked up your stuff at various Home Shopping Marts..which also served as "thrift stores" where you could purchase returned items at a discount.
Now back to Dave and Lola..they keep the lights on by running on a thread..but they keep plugging away. And if you are in good graces with them..they treat you well.
Now..order your cast iron personalized Johnny cake pan today..and start gnawing on your loved ones face today...(allow four to six weeks for delivery, no returns, and no refunds pleased
...I just wanted to pile on. I think Dave and Lola are brilliant. Look at their program schedule, now look at some of these other brokered AM's. WTAN is running out of vacancies on their weekly schedule... meanwhile 860, 820, et al. are having trouble filling up their weekend brokered lineup.
Cedric as usual..You are correct. They do sell airtime for a reasonable rate..appealing to a never ending stream of interesting program suppliers. I am even thinking of doing a live show via Comrex..it's as much fun as running a pirate radio station with no liability, and a chance to make a little money.
Seriously their stations have pretty good potential for an audience. Especially Little Rock. Do they run everything that's on WTAN on KLRG? Might be a fun hobby..and Dave would give me a deal I bet.
I'm thinking the "Friday Night Burger Joint Cruise In LIVE" (with a guy from Atlanta who once ate at Biff Burger)
Seriously their stations have pretty good potential for an audience. Especially Little Rock. Do they run everything that's on WTAN on KLRG? Might be a fun hobby..and Dave would give me a deal I bet.
I'm thinking the "Friday Night Burger Joint Cruise In LIVE" (with a guy from Atlanta who once ate at Biff Burger)
Nostalgia said:
I agree.
Jeff Laurence said:
Who among all of us old AM jocks has not dreamed of rockin' on a 50kw AM blowtorch in a major market, even Little Rock! Alas, my career peaked at 10kw, at least on AM. But Jeff, if Friday nights your gig, then it would be on a 220 watt peashooter covering Sheridan. The nighttime blackout over Little Rock will soon be covered by a FM translator I'm told. But, they do stream, so if you do it, I'll tune in.
Nostalgia said:
When I was on-air, I felt I had "arrived" when I landed the 7:00 PM to Midnight time slot on a 100kw Top 40 FM serving Orlando, Florida in the early 1980s. I later was on middays (10:00 AM to 3:00 PM) on a start-up 100kw Top 40 FM a few years later. I never got the opportunity to be on-air on a 50kw-AM; however, I did some "fill-in" work helping out a friend on a 10kw-AM with a rather impressive signal. That is as far as I ever got as an on-air personality.
Back in the EARLY 197's when Paxon owned (TREND Broadcasting, Inc). 1280 Surf Row Radio 1280 WYND, he was known as the trade out king... Traded kids orthodontia, a Winnebago mobile unit (basically a 22 ' Winny shell), food with a local grocer... you name it... I'm sure it was great for taxes too...
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