January traditionally is the worst sales month in the radio business proved no different in 1980. When the month ended the total gross revenues for the Station were only about $3500. The monthly revenue shown on the financial statements prior to the purchase had sales in the $8,000 to $10,000 a month range, but it had taken the FCC about seven months to transfer the license of ownership to the station and in that time a new FM station had started to get traction in town. With a new Owner that was not going to retain him the motivation to sell ads for the Station's Commercial Manager and local legend George Eubank's was gone. So it was January, cold and gray, revenues were less than half of what I thought they would be, we had learned that our second child was on the way, we had no house in which to live and my dream business was basically the laughing stock of this community where I was an "Out of Towner" that had bit off more than he could chew.
Of the $3500 in billing almost half of it was from the Preachers that were on the air on the weekday mornings and in order to broaden the base of the audience I was going to have to take them off of the air. I met with each of them personally and offered them airtime on Sunday mornings where available or 60 second messages to run throughout the day. To a person each one turned down my offer and promised to let their flocks know what I was up to, that I was a disciple of the Devil, and most likely would rot in hell for preempting them in order to play Satanic rock and roll music. (For the record all stations that I ever owned aired Robert Schuller's Hour of Power audio on Sundays at no charge to his ministry for years. We were the only radio stations in the Nation that carried the audio portion of his television ministry, this was sort of saw this as my Get Out of Hell Free Card)
The television show WKRP had come on the air a couple of years earlier, it was about a struggling but spunky ensemble of characters that were in the radio business getting no respect in Cincinnati. This light hearted effort at the radio business had glamorized and lent humor to what we were trying to accomplish, and anyone who has been in the radio business will confirm all of the craziness that was portrayed in the series were authentic to what happens inside a radio station. I took some solace that someday Radio WETZ could become that fun place to be, how I wasn't sure. In fact I didn't know how I was going to pay the electric bill what else write myself a paycheck. Also that year MTV had launched on cable television and the video they premiered with was the Buggles, "Video Killed the Radio Star" which more realistically seemed to define my predicament.
So I was running low on funds, and yet had to terminate the two original announcers, so as to hire real radio announcers that would cost me more money than I could afford. What else recruiting talent to come to work at an AM Daytime station in a West Virginia town of 7000 people, even if I had the money, it was not going to be an easy assignment. Also, somehow I had to convince the community that I knew what I was doing, no matter what they had heard from the Sunday morning pulpit.
I continued to be at the station every morning at 6 am when it signed on and to repaint, carpet, and throw out years of useless artifacts including 78 RPM records and stacks of 45's that were not even saleable at discount at the now defunct Pied Piper record store. Nothing was left unchanged. Commercials and Public Service Announcements at that time were individually recorded on plastic cartridges like the old 8 tracks. All of them at Radio WETZ were labeled with ragged hand written labels. I had them all color coded and labels typed, no exceptions. This seemed trivial, but I believe it is the small things that make the difference in excellence and mediocrity. This place had suffered from apathy and mediocrity for too long.
The building reeked of years of cigarette smoke and the dampness of being built on backfill of a dam construction site, the previous owner used to take delight in telling people it was "the best radio station in America by a dam site." If that were indeed the case, it was certainly the only one in America near a dam.
There was just something in my makeup that I take whatever business I am in personally and feel its image directly reflects on me. I was hellbent and determined to make this little radio station the best it could be and better than it needed to be. I had grown up in the 60's listening on my six transistor radio to WABC from New York, WLS from Chicago, and WOWO from Fort Wayne. I could see no reason that we could not strive to emulate the best. The reasons of course were that we were in a small town in West Virginia, had no money, and I had no radio experience. I should have been scared to death. As former WVU Coach Bobby Bowden once said about one of his football players, "he doesn't know the meaning of the word fear and I have seen his grades, he doesn't know the meaning of a lot of other words either" this was applicable to me.
Unbeknownst to me, Brent Walton the Sales Manager at one of the local car dealerships in town had been a popular on the air talent and music director at Top 40 radio stations in Altoona. PA and Wheeling, WV. Though there is rarely much money to be made in the radio business something about it gets in your blood. The automobile business was in one of its down cycles financially during the malaise of the Jimmy Carter era, so Brent could envision what I was trying to do and offered to work part time at the station doing the morning drive shift, picking the music that we would play, and use his contacts and experience to find other talent that would buy into the turn around. All for an amount of money that was more than I could afford but a bargain for his talent and experience. Buffalo Bill Robins was his on air moniker, "Robins in the Morning" was going to be our new morning shift, but we wanted to change the entire programming at the same time. Music, On Air Personalities, and jingles. The Region's best known fast talking and hip Disc Jockey was Uncle Dugger, who had worked in Altoona and Wheeling with Brent and most recently at Parkersburg, West Virginia's first FM Top 40 station WXIL. The Dugger had a reputation as a egomaniacal bad boy which was a plus for listener appeal, but an issue on top of all the others I had and that I could not afford, I didn't want to tackle another. The Dugger had left his job with WXIL for, shall we say, some mysterious artistic disagreements with management there and was willing to come back to work with Brent. Again for more than I could afford but reasonable for his talent. Brent had assured me that for all of his reputation that he really was a pussycat and would get on board with what we were attempting to achieve. Brent was right and Dugger was fun to work with and tease his fragile real life ego.
We had a first class morning jock in Bill Robins and the Regions most renowned and notorious DJ in the afternoon with the Lovable and Huggable Uncle Dugger. Brent was able to find a local young man who was trainable to handle mid days, Don Michaels, who wasn't a Star but ably bridged the two better know guys and was ingrained to never "break" format by ever playing any record that was not pre selected and approved by Brent and me.
We learned of a local guy that had a graduate degree in Journalism, a good voice and wanted to be our News Director. Bill Abraham became our Les Nesmith and tended the old Associated Press teletype rewriting wire stories and delivering live local newscasts.
Brent knew of another local young man that had a great voice and a passion for radio that he mentioned to me. Brent said he may have one of the best "set of pipes"(radio jargon for voice) he had ever heard. There was just one problem, he had mic fright. In other words when he got near an open microphone he would freeze and was unable to say anything. Brent convinced me that he believed he could take him on as a project put him at ease in the studio. After weeks of practice and coaching George "Spike" Riel became "Spike at the Mic" and took over the weekend air chair along with Otis Bishop who was at that time the Regional Manager for Burger Chef restaurants. Otis lived in Columbus, Ohio and had his own radio studio in his home and would pre record his "Big O Show" for Sunday afternoon broadcasts.
We had a Magnolia High School Student who wanted a career in broadcasting who came on board to be a part time announcer and newscaster, Jim Forbes. We had two exceptionally bright and personable young women from the local high school working as interns, Santina Taylor and Bev Titus. With Brent's help we had created a little radio station that sounded as good if not better than any radio station in any size market.
We all had a common goal and worked long and hard to achieve it tending to every detail of how we were "sounding" no matter how long we had to be at the station or how many retakes it took to sound right. It did sound right, it sounded great and people started to take notice and turn us on and enjoy what they were hearing. We were all having a blast and felt great about what we had created.
With listeners and excitement, advertising sales began to grow. Two young guys from Washington, PA, Dick and Don Cameron had bought the local Coca Cola Bottling plant, they like me, were young, aggressive and wanting to build their Company. They supported us with heavy advertising and promotion schedules for all of their brands, it was an election year and Jay Rockefeller was spending a lot of money on radio. Otis helped us in placing large buys from Burger Chef. The local merchants had bought in and the mic frightened Spike Riel also developed into a productive salesman. By June of that year we were in the black financially and the programing was consistently sounding great.
The Little AM that Could, did. A small group of us had a common mission and passion. In a short amount of time we had completely turned around a radio station and it's community.
What a great feeling of satisfaction that is, and the experience of working with these people is unforgettable.
Now over 30 years ago and I think almost all of these people are still friends on my Facebook. Brent is now retired. I understand that Dugger just recently retired from radio and has been enshrined in the West Virginia Broadcasting Hall of Fame. Spike Riel is in Pittsburgh and has his own Ad Agency and Production Studio, is far from mic shy, doing voiceover work for National and local clients. Jim Forbes after college worked with me in another station in Myrtle Beach, SC and now has his graduate degree and is a TV Anchor in Wheeling, WV. Santina earned a Bachelors and Masters from Marshall University and now a stalwart pillar of the New Martinsville Community. Bev is living in Georgia, and last report Bill Abraham was working for the Wetzel County Hospital in New Martinsville
Once this was accomplished and never being satisfied I acquired the FM station in town and later three other stations in West Virginia; our daily revenues were double what that January 1980 total was and for a time I was President of the West Virginia Broadcasters Association. But none of it was ever as rewarding or fun as that great adventure with a special group of people with something to prove. We proved it and I am proud to have been a part of a great team of exceptional folks and thank each of them for playing a part of that dream.
It is the 21st Century now and technology has changed the playing field for us all. I am now undertaking a new venture that has different but difficult challenges, but because of what I lived with a little run down radio station on the banks of the Ohio River I know with the same determination, focus, and support of good people anything can be accomplished. Perhaps next year there will be a "60 Over 60" list that I can shoot for...
:)
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