Recently, a talented blogger in Minnesota wrote an interesting article called 'Radio Revisited'....here's a link to this article:
http://mynameiswilliamsmythe.blogspot.com/2007/08/radio-revisited.html
I told him his article on local gabber Chris Krok and his experiences within 'talk radio' would generate interest...He told a poignant story about how he walked away from a possibility, and how it bothers him to this day.
The story has been told a thousand times. But let me add a couple more for examples..
In the early 90's, when grunge was king and the president was a cool guy that played the sax, the band I was performing with (Mudcat) were offered a 'free exposure gig' playing a charity gold tournament...In December!
I was pretty lefty back then, and I couldn't understand why we were getting out of bed to do a free gig in freezing weather for a station that didn't even play music...Anyways, the host doing the remote that day was...drumroll please.....Sean Hannity.
The issue of the day was that Japan had been debating whether to issue commemorative postage stamps honoring fallen WW2 pilots...Namely, Kamikaze pilots. Hannity's response was 'Okay, then we will issue a stamp with a big mushroom cloud and call it Hiroshima!'...
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I told the guy doing sound that am...'Wow. What a jackass! Does this guy actually get paid to say crap like that?'. I indignantly packed up my stuff and left.
The guy I said that to was Mike Rose.
So flash foward many years later, and I am offered a chance to get 'inside radio' by the same guy. But that comment I made that one frosty am cost me getting inside radio for many years. I had a much harder road getting in, due to something stupid I said in front of station owners and management so many years ago...Wild, huh?
Mike Rose often told me a similar story: Hannity was his best friend, even his best man at his wedding ( he married one of the interns, BTW~ how Clinton!)..Years later Hannity tells Mike he has to leave Atlanta to take a TV gig with a fledgling network, Fox News. He implores Mike to come with him, and produce his radio show as well. Mike Rose says 'no thanks', and that decision is rethought often...
But here's a good story: After M Rose left, I took the am job producing Imus. When it was time to promote me to 680, they brought in another guy to fill in who needed to be trained. It was a cool black guy, around my age, with a wife,child, and limited college, only a stint in the armed forces..He had some small market radio experience, and he wanted in.
Mike Rose was the ONLY guy that would agreeably teach me anything at the station. The production guy was notorious for ingoring requests for additional training. I took it upon myself to show this guy everything I knew, and we soon became fast friends. After I left 680, I recommended him for the gig I was vacating, and trained him on 680 as well.
This guy loved radio. He would get up at 4 am, do the morning gig, then go work a 8-10 hour day parking cars for Enterprise rentals. He schmoozed his way into the Cumulus crew, and eventually got some weekend Jock experience in Macon on one of the smaller market stations. His handle was 'DJ Whip!'...
They guy is sitting pretty right now..He works as the producer for the Tom Joyner show, running the boards and cutting promo's for the biggest, baddest stick in town. He is on one of the nations heritage stations, and his show comes in 2nd place in the 12+ and market demo..He is earning a decent living, and gets benefits. His is one of the 'good stories'.
Unfortunately, there are more 'bad stories' with the sate of radio today. Oh well.
Look for me at the Northside Friday night. I'll be the large white guy with the sexy voice!
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