I work with some great people who run radio stations in the wine country, and every year around this time, we meet at Gordon Zlot’s place in Palm Springs for our annual, “Confab in the Desert.” (pictured on top)
It all kicks off on a Friday afternoon with a few Mojitos conjured up by Tom Skinner, and then we spend the rest of the weekend discussing our plans for the upcoming year.
Last year the “Confab” was held in May, and when we finished up on Sunday morning, I began my trek back to LAX, but first, I was going to hook up with my Grandson Nathaniel in Sunland, which is near Pasadena. As I was driving west on interstate 10, I noticed the exit to San Bernadino, which brought back a lot of good memories about when I used to work with KFROG when Joe Amaturo owned it, and Tom Hoyt was the GM.
Wondering how the Frog was doing, I decided to check them out, and as I listened, I remember hearing K-FROG for the first time. I was driving from LAX to San Bernadino to meet up with Joe Amaturo to discuss my getting involved with the station.
I could hear the Frog almost for my whole drive from LA, so when I arrived at my hotel, I spent the rest of the day listening around to the market.
I was up bright and early the next morning, and after checking out the Frogmen in the morning, I made my way into the station where I met with Mr. Amaturo. (shown above with the lovely Mrs. A)
When Joe asked me what I thought about K-Frog, I told him that I had some good news and bad news. The bad news I told him is that your competitor sounds better than you do, but the good news is, they don’t have a chance.
All those corny frogs names you’re using on-air I went onto say, are wonderful and even though your air talent is probably embarrassed about having to use them, I bet the ladies in the Inland Empire love them. They’re cute sounding, and as we all know, cute trumps macho every time. Your ratings are going to be huge!
There is nothing as much fun as working with the #1 radio station in town, and not only was I right about the Frog’s ratings, I believe that because almost every woman who lived in the market listened to K-FROG, they also got all the money.
My visits to the market were almost too much fun. However, many of the adventures Tom Hoyt and I got involved in, are better left for another Blog. (shown above) However, as George Harrison sang, “All Things Must Pass,” and pass they did when CBS, who liked to buy all the radio stations I was involved with, but unfortunately think that they know better, bought KFROG, that’s all she wrote for me.
Anyway, here I am now driving along and listening to today’s K-Frog which is now owned by Entercom, all of a sudden it hits me, the Frog names are gone. What? Well, it only proves once again that it doesn’t take brains to buy a radio station, it just takes money.”
GEO’S LIFE-LINES
Radio has to figure out what it does the best and then do it all the time.
As far as I’m concerned, Neilson only does three things wrong. They under measure mornings, they over measure the rest of the day, and they’re probably cutting corners because the word has it that they’re for sale.
Being gay is ok, but it’s not special enough to warrant all the activity that surrounds it.
The person who can handle responsibility always ends up with a ton of it.
You know you’re getting old when you’ve never heard of the current singers in Ringo Starr’s All Starr Band.
When a company starts cutting back to become more profitable, somehow the executives’ salaries always survive.
I think middle-class white men should get organized and have a parade. We could carry signs reading, “We’re tired of paying most of the taxes and getting nothing.” Just our sheer numbers should be enough to scare the sh*t out of the government.
Even though a lie may sound like the truth, it ain’t.
Past behavior is a predictor of future behavior.
Wow, the Saudis are considering allowing their women to fly without a male companion. How progressive of them, huh?
It’s the end of a hockey era for me as the Rocket’s little brother, Henri, dies.
I understand that depression is caused sometimes by a person’s inability to deal with how they’re going to deal with the future. I guess I’ve never suffered from depression because whenever I wonder about the future, I get excited.
COMMENTS
Hollis W Duncan: Andy was paired with Ben Laurie while I was at KVIL and & he & I enjoyed several lunches and many good conversations. Andy was so confident in his intelligence that he felt no need to prove it to anyone, so our discussions (with me mostly listening) consisted of stories that showed a high level of knowledge & understanding paired with profound insight. When we were sitting in a Deli in University Park, Andy taught me the proper pronunciation of Gefilte Fish. When KVIL started charging for parking, Andy left the memo on Dave Spence’s door with the typed note: “Thank you for helping KVIL make another million.” Spence went around to all of the typewriters to find the culprit. Andy was a great newscaster and a good guy. (News To Me)
Dave Spence: George – I don’t know who Hollis Duncan is, and he certainly doesn’t know me or the story he attaches to me. While I was there, we never charged for parking. What he is referencing was when we went up on the cost of cold drinks (5 or 10 cents as I recall) from the “Coke” machine. The note was on newsprint, which was only used in the- wait for it – newsroom. I agree that Andy was a great newsman. Very well educated, expansive vocabulary, and voice inflection that left no doubt what side of the story he was on. (News To Me)
Jim Quail: Bruce: What a great tribute to our fallen fathers. They gave us such an incredible gift of a free country, and your gift back to them will probably reach up to them.
God Bless, Easter Quail. (In Flanders Field – Bruce Walker, The Jury)
Peter McLane: George,
Please give us a bio on Jim West. I always wondered what happened to him.
He was a friend and great Pam’s jingle salesman. Like so many others in our industry, they are gone but not forgotten.
I programmed for Stoner Broadcasting and Ken Greenwood’s Ventures’ (About George Johns)
Geo: Jim was responsible for my consulting career taking off so fast, Peter, and he was also one of my partners when we bought Fairwest from Mr. Fairbanks.
Earl Mann: What I’m going to say will make ‘progressives’ reach for a brown paper bag. But, here goes: Trump is doing an incredible job, especially considering the headwinds the liberal media throws at him 24/7. “It’s the economy stupid”! (Comments)
Paul Barsky: Cami…..Congrats on your graduation! Your dad is so proud of you, and you’ve got the Johns genes, so you’ve got an excellent head start as you look toward this new journey.
All the best! (Camera Graduates)
Terry Kenny: George, that was great…..I loved the entire history, although I remember some of it differently. That could be because of my history with one of my first groups, the ChorduRoys, which was a great experience for me until the Phantoms/The Jury. What a heartwarming legacy! (I Remember The Jury)
Barry O’Brien: I appreciate your concerns, but I’m wondering how many people would listen to a radio station that focused on the negative all the time. Then again, I just sold the stuff you put on the air, so what do I know? It all worked out, ok. (Writing The Wrongs)
James Ford: I love this blog. I remember KLZS in Wichita using the “The station you are helping to build” approach. It was a great concept. (K103 Part II)
Terry Styles: I always meant to ask you, Geo, where do all the above sayings come from in your blogs? Hard to believe that one man has that much knowledge about the world…..original opinions as well! OMG, so, so many!!! (Decent Women)
Geo: Terry, I have no idea where they come from. Maybe I read them or heard them somewhere, but most mornings, a few of them in my head bursting to get out. However, when I ran them through a plagiarism checker, it said that I stole them all from Geo’s Media Blog.
Lesley Palmiter: I had that dream- All the time! And still do sometimes, although it’s been over fourteen years since I had a regular on-air gig.
The record would end, with none cued up on the other TT. No carts loaded (music or otherwise)… Mike, on, but somehow would not work (or capture my audible mutterings OR screams). Try to cue up another song on the disc that just ended- disc disappeared… Go look for more records or carts- anything! But none to be had. The DEAD AIR NIGHTMARE! (Earl Mann Has A Dream)
Geo’s Media Blog is an inside look at Radio, Music, Movies, and Life. For a sneak peek at some upcoming Blogs or to see some that you may have missed, go to Geo’s Media Blog @ GeorgeJohns.com. On Twitter @GeoOfTheRadio. Sharing and commenting is appreciated.
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I am not surprised that Spence doesn’t know who I am. That shows just how much attention he paid to the Engineering Staff. But how could I know this story if I didn’t work with Andy?
BTW, there are two guys at KVIL who don’t ge nearly enough credit. The first is Dan Bell, the best overnight man that I ever heard. Dan has the ability to talk to the listener and was very good at it. The second is Mike Rey, who dealt with the nuts and bolts of Programming and allowed Ron the freedom to deal with the big picture. Mike was willing to be the “bad guy” when necessary and that helped Ron lead the team.
Back in the glory days of KVIL the break room was a source of snacks and beverages. There was coffee, tea, soup packets and hot chocolate for free. The soda machine was a quarter when other machines in the city were double that. We used to joke and say we lose money on every drink but we make it up in volume!
Andy was a brilliant man and very talented both on and off the air. But he was a bit of a spendthrift and rumor had it he was known for removing extra toilet paper rolls from the rest rooms to take home. :o) unconfirmed. R.I.P.
Jim West: for years Jim was an officer for TM Productions & Programming. In ’77 Jim left TM, and I was honored to get the invitation to come to TM as its VP Sales. I was 27! I had worshiped TM’s jingle work and production libraries so was stunned at the invitation to come to Dallas and loved the city. But the biggest bonus of all, being a northern Radio Snob, came with hearing KVIL and studying all the nuance from Ron, Andy, Ben in the “KVIL-icopter” and the star studded talent lineup.
In 2008 at a highly memorable TM Reunion, Jim was too ill to attend and thus some of us visited Jim at the hospital. We were so glad to have done so; he died shortly thereafter.
Hey George,
In the third pic above it looks like there was a threesome and you were photoshopped into the pic.
It was a Halloween Party in Malibu on the beach, Doug. The entertainment was Frankie Valli and the 4 Seasons, how cool was that?
Rev. Robin: Hi George, cool that Tom makes those mojitos…I reserve the right to try one sometime. blessings. (It Takes No Brains)
Geo: You have to be careful with those, Robin, too many of them could cause a girl to say my favorite prayer, “Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh God!