When I finally got to meet up with him, I discovered two things, he was going be very expensive, and because of his having a contract with KGW, I couldn’t have him for a year. I handled the expensive part by mortgaging my Coronado home to be able to guarantee his salary because our money guys wouldn’t go along with Craig’s deal. (Craig claims that he still has the napkin that I wrote him my offer on) Having to wait a year would have been a deal breaker for most, but for us it was perfect. We planned to do what we did in Dallas, Palm Beach and San Antonio codenamed, “Build Your Own Radio Station” This concept began in Dallas on KVIL where we were stalling as we waited for them to merge the Dallas and Fort Worth rating books before we did a full launch. It worked out so well that we did the same thing in Palm Beach on WRMF and in San Antonio on Class FM even when we didn’t have to, so why not in Portland where we needed to stall while waiting for Craig Walker?
The “Build Your Own Radio Station” concept was simple when the FCC granted us our license; we’d start running promos claiming that we had just been granted a license to begin broadcasting in Portland, so we were now turning 103 on the FM dial over to the people of Portland. It was now their radio station, and we were standing to hear what they wanted us to do with it. Every Monday morning we would launch something new using their phone calls telling us to do it. Now, all we had to do was stretch it out for a year when we could launch Craig as the final piece.
Even though we didn’t have Craig, I had a piece of paper that said I would, so why keep it a secret right? From the moment Craig agreed to join us, I began to let it slip that Craig was going to be K103’s new morning man. Eventually, a newspaper reporter came-a-calling and started the interview by asking about our plans for the station, but I, of course, knew where it was going. Finally, she asked about the rumor about Craig Walker joining us because when she first heard it, she immediately checked it out with KGW and they said, absolutely not! I then asked if she’d ever listened to Craig and when she said that she listened to him every morning, I said, “Can you imagine how good he’s gonna sound on K103 in stereo,” it’s just meant to be.
GEO’S LIFE-LINERS
Diplomacy doesn’t always work, just ask the folks who had to deal with Attila The Hun, Genghis Khan, Hitler, Mussolini, Himmler, Hirohito, Stalin, Castro, Idi Amin, Pol Pot, Ghadafi. Sadam Hussein and Osama Bin Ladin.
Wealthy people are all alike, even rich thugs don’t share.
The people who bitch the most are usually the people who caused what the bitching’s all about.
Nobody is more powerful than the middle class, we elect the government and we throw them out.
When asked if you want to hear a joke, does anybody ever say yes?
People who are hurting, hurt others.
I can remember when people were known for more important things than being a Republican or Democrat.
When Cami was a little girl my Mom scolded me for taking her on so many adventures. She claimed that she’d probably never remember any of it but I told her, “I don’t care, we’re both enjoying ourselves right now.”
You know you’re starting getting old when people start calling you mister. However, whenever I hear Mr. Johns, I can’t help but look around to see what the hell my father’s doing here.
Why would Trump think that whatever the hell he’s working on is more important than kids being with their parents?
#GeosMediaBlog deals above with #Craig Walker, #K-103, #Portland, plus a few of #GeosLifeLiners about #Reality and #Famiy. Even more comments and upcoming Blogs @ GeorgeJohns.com. On Twitter @GeoOfTheRadio. Sharing and commenting is appreciated. If you would like to subscribe to Geo’s Media Blog, simply put your email address in the comment section below.
I love this blog. I remember KLZS in Wichita using the “The station you are helping to build” approach. It was a great concept.
Thank you, James. The concept was first conceived at KVIL in Dallas where we were stalling our launch until they put they combined the Dallas and Ft. Worth rating books. The folks loved it and even years later some of them would call back and say things like, “I was the one that told you that you should do some news, now I’ve got another suggestion.”