Chapter XXXVIII (It All Begins in The Halls) Chapter 2/15/23

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 No company, no marriage
just me on my own
But I was ok
with being alone.

Did another tour
of Boston Mass

Ran on the Charles
and became quite fast.

Shortly after “Radio For Men” (Chapter XXXVII) flamed out in the Desert, my old Fairbanks boss, Jim Hilliard, persuaded me to help him get WVBF in Boston ready for sale.
He claimed it would take about six months, and he’d have me back in San Diego before the snow flew.

He also said he’d put me up in a nice place in the Back Bay, so I thought, what the hell, and hopped on a plane.
Once in the air, I ordered a couple of cocktails and settled in for the long flight.

As I sat there sipping my CC and Diet Coke, I began to think about all that had gone on since Jim, and I last worked together.
I’d left Fairbanks to start my consulting business in California, and Jim bought a TV station in Oklahoma.

When Mr. Fairbanks started selling off his radio stations, financial guy Bill Yde persuaded me to buy his syndication company from him called Fairwest.
One of the formats Fairwest syndicated was called “Music Of Your Life,” which we wanted to put up on Satellite.

Once we put a deal together with a Satellite company, I rented an apartment in Westwood which was close to their office. My daughter Candis lucked out in this deal because she was going to UCLA, just down the street.

After spending part of the day at the Satellite office, I arrived home to find Candis already there.
She was watching TV, and when I asked her what she was watching, she told me that she was watching her favorite channel, E!

Then, when I told her that I knew the guy who created it, she asked if we could get a tour.
When I put in a call to my old friend Lee Masters, he said that he’d be delighted to see us the next morning. (Lee pictured on top)
The next morning when we arrived at the E! studios, I gave the receptionist my name, and she gave me the strangest look before buzzing Lee. 

Lee came out wearing a big grin and escorted us back to his office.
Once in there, he said, “Candis, you probably don’t remember but I stayed at your home in Indy a few times when your Dad was recruiting me for one of his stations.”

“Thank God he was unsuccessful,” Lee went on to say, “Because had I accepted his offer, I’d probably be having so much fun that I’d be in some god-forsaken town still honking the hits for him.”
“Instead,” he said, “I chose to go to WNBC in New York, which I hated so much, that I quit radio and moved to MTV, where I helped create VH1 and then E!on my own.”

Lee then said to her, “As we begin our tour, be prepared for some strange looks when I introduce your Dad to the staff, which I’ll explain later.”
Candis loved her backstage tour, and Lee was right; we did get a lot of strange looks.

Once back in his office, Lee said to Candis, “Now I’m going to show you a videotape that is required viewing for all of our new employees.
Oh, and it also contains the reason for all the strange looks you got earlier.”

The video showed Lee sitting behind his desk, thanking whoever was watching for choosing to join the E! family.
Then at some point, he said, “Long before I created E! I met a very wise man by the name of George Johns who told me something I’ve never forgotten.

What George told me is not only the very essence of my management philosophy, but it’s also the cornerstone of our company.
What he said to me many years ago was, “Lee, whatever’s happening in the halls will eventually make its way onto the air.”

Lee then leaned into the camera and said, “Your first responsibility as you join us at E! today is to make something good happen in the halls, and mine is to take care of the rest.”
Lee, who now goes by his given name of Jarl Mohn, sent me a cool email a while back when he was running NPR. (Jarl pictured above)
The email stated that he had just given the E! speech to the folks at NPR so now another group of people is wondering who the hell George Johns is?

 

 

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