#11 Geo’s Media Blog (USA Today You Say?) 11/30/20

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With the recent induction of Bill Gardner into the Texas Hall Of Fame and Brent Farris into the San Francisco Hall, I was reminded once again of just how many “Hall Of Famers” I’ve been lucky enough to work with both here and in Canada. (Bill and Brent pictured above)

This week I’ll also have the pleasure of visiting another Hall Of Famer, Ron Chapman. Ron of course is one of the very best and after I had the honor a few years go of inducting him into his 3rd Radio Hall Of Fame, we retired to the Palmer House Bar to trade ancient KVIL stories. (Ron and me pictured below)

While having a few adult beverages we both agreed that his twenty-dollar caper turned out to be one of the biggest promotions KVIL we’d ever done but amazingly it never cost a penny.
Being provoked by a newspaper writer one day who after seeing the bags of mail lining the halls at KVIL, laughingly said, “I bet you could just ask the people to send you money and they would.”

Feeling challenged, Ron went on the air the next morning and said, “Hey, if you’ve got an extra 20 bucks on ya, could you send it to me and we’ll figure out what to do with it later?”
Within 3 days Ron had a 1/4 of a million dollars in twenty-dollar bills and was begging the listeners to stop sending them.

The story, of course, was all over the local press and then soon went national in a bunch of newspapers and magazines like People, and also on TV programs like Entertainment Tonight.
As I said, it was one of the biggest promotions we’d ever done and we’d done a bunch of barn burners but Ron couldn’t help but notice that even though most of the media locally and nationally had checked in with him, USA Today was conspicuous with their absence.

Ron, having been a morning man for most of his career had a routine that he never deviated from.
This routine included an early afternoon nap which allowed him to attend the many nighttime gala affairs his celebrity got him invited to, and they could never be interrupted.

Ron’s wife, Nance guarded these naps and there was no way you could get to Ron no matter what was happening.
However, Nance knew that Ron was a little perturbed by the fact that USA Today hadn’t done a story on his twenty-dollar caper yet, when they finally called, she took a chance and woke him up.

Startled awake and shaking his head to get the cobwebs out Ron picked up the phone and using his best radio voice said, “This is Ron Chapman, how may I help you?”
The voice on the other end of the line said, “Mr. Chapman, this is USA Today, I’m calling to tell you that we’re running a special in your neighborhood this week that could save you some money if you subscribe today.”

GEO’S LIFE-LINERS

Dying is easy; it’s the living that’s tough.

Speaking of dying, it’s the only thing that makes life worth living.

Is it just me, or does Facebook like Snopes and Skim lean left?

As liberal as Hollywood is, I can’t figure out why they mostly portray black folks as thugs?

There’s no one more loyal than a woman who loves you.

Obstacles are opportunities in disguise.

The more you hide the real world from your kids, the darker your world becomes.

Memorizing ain’t learning!

How many bad things do you suppose have been done in the name of Jesus, the greater good, safety, Allah, and Conid 19?

I believe in morals more than I do laws; laws only seem to protect the guilty.

So do I have this right, it takes 12 people to take a thug off the street, but it only takes one to put him back on it?

What leaders of what countries would you be willing to die for?

Governments may change, but their lies remain.

What breaks more often, a car or a computer?

Is the American dream done?

When My friends from Winnipeg ask me why Florida has so many coronavirus cases compared to them. I say, “Maybe it’s because a million and a half people live in Manitoba and 22 million live in Florida.”

COMMENTS
Bill Gardner: I fondly remember being invited to the club at the top of the Mandalay Bay here in Las Vegas when you two finally met face to face the first time! Memorable moments.
Undoubtedly two of the biggest impact players radio has known and also two of the brightest.
From an on-air talent point of view, I know you and Mike respect talent, but where you say, “We’ve got to hire this guy,” I think Mike says, “I have strategies to be competitive without him.” And as you said, “Sometimes, you both made the right call.” I may be partial, but I think we had more wins than losses. (Young Turks)
Geo: Thanks for the read and the comment, Brutha Bill! When Mike and I were doing battle back then, it was Radio that was winning the war.

Mike McVay: I am so honored, George. Thank you for this recognition. I would like to think that AC became the format it is today because of our drive to make it better than the other guys and win. You are the master, though. I would fly to San Diego in the days before the Internet and hole-up in one of those two Hiltons by the airport. A week-long monitor of Classy was like a quick college course. Blessings to you. (Young Turks)
Geo: It takes one to know one, Mike.

 

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