When I first got into radio, every station in every city had huge rating numbers because the rating companies only measured cume.
To find out who was listening to what, they used the phone book to call and ask the folks.

Then, one day, when a client asked the radio salesperson, “How many people heard my commercial,” Radio, instead of saying, maybe all of them, said instead, “I don’t know, but I’ll find out,” and that’s when average 1/4 hour and demographics raised their ugly heads.
However, when it was later claimed that those who answered the phone were Alpha types representing less than a quarter of the population, they switched to diaries.

Unfortunately, the diary method turned out to be biased towards radio stations with nice images, so they switched to People Meters.
The reasoning for doing this was because when the folks were wearing the People Meter, they couldn’t lie about what radio stations they were listening to.

Sadly, the people meter under-hears morning radio and over-hears everything else.
The way the device works is it has to be turned on and be moving to register anything, and none of that occurs for about an hour after the person monitored gets up.

So here’s where we are now. We started out by selling the fact that thousands of people were listening to every radio station.
Then we switched to hundreds when we brought in “average 1/4 hour,” and then, to make matters worse, we brought it down to single digits so the Agencies can figure out the cost per point.

Oh, and each time they changed the methodology, a different radio station became the new #1 in town.
Also, mornings used to be the biggest daypart of all, and as the saying went, “So goes the mornings, so goes your radio station,” until PPM under-measured it.

For the longest, I couldn’t figure out why our radio leaders weren’t yelling and screaming about this.
Then it hit me, now that mid-days were bigger than mornings because they were inflated by phantom cume, management got to fire all the expensive morning folks. Mid-day people are much cheaper.

Oh, and when you combine all of the above with the fact that the client now wants to know what the listener did after hearing their commercial and that it’s getting tougher and tougher to get anybody to participate in Media surveys; is it any wonder that Radio is no longer “Soup du Jour?”

GEO’S LIFE-LINERS

Hey, Mr. Radio, most comedians had to rewrite and practiced their jokes at least 100 times before they thought that they were stage-worthy. Thank god you’re funnier than them, huh?

Sadly, you don’t get better until you fail and fail again.

I don’t know many well-adjusted people who are funny.

If you’re talented, it’s a sin if you don’t give it a shot.

I wonder how many women actually waited for their man to come home from war without ever fooling around? 

Seeing as black folks are very sensitive to the N-word, I would think that it’s used frequently in NFL games.

Speaking of the NFL, I guess the Seahawks knew what they were doing when they gave up Russell Wilson, huh?

The way you bring art to real life is by figuring out how to turn bad things into good.

I found it so weird that when the Queen died, the liberal press headlined, “Trump Not Invited To Funeral.” How did they miss the fact that neither was Obama, Clinton, or Carter?

It’s much better to be over the hill than under it.

I heard that less than 1% of all the folks who ever played Major League Baseball ever made the HOF.

Speaking of Hall of Famers, did you know that even though Nolan Ryan had seven no-hitters, struck out 5000 batters, and is in the HOF, he never won the Cy Young award? Hang your heads in shame, sports writers.

I know it’s hard to believe, but every NFL team pays its total players about the same amount of money. Unfortunately, they get different results, so whose fault, good or bad, is that?

Strange how it works, huh? The women you don’t want to sleep with are much more cooperative than those you do.

I remember when everybody would offer you a drink, but nobody would offer you a cigarette. Is that still true?

The big problem with America is it’s filled with bitter guilt. Get over it!

What separates man from monkeys is tools.

Perfection,  even though unattainable, is still a worthy goal.

In a dictatorship, only the leaders are allowed to commit crimes. In a Democracy, anybody can.

The whole world understands a man being pussy whipped by a beautiful woman. What we don’t understand is Yoko, Camilla, or Wallis Simpson. Even though he’s pussy whipped, at least Harry got a “looker.”

Do women want equality enough to give up makeup, breast implants, and botox? If they did, the workplace would only care about their brain.

Speaking of beautiful women, I live with my daughter, who, unlike other beautiful women, has never told me to turn the TV down or turn off the violence. Oh, did I mention that my TV is in my bedroom?

Speaking of women, I think they have the power to overthrow governments because there is still a reluctance to harm them. However, once we’re all equal, that will change.

When you can have anything you want, the hard part is figuring out what the hell you want.

I believe in God, but not much of the rest of it, like women having to wear scarves. Good luck to those who think they should.

The thing I like the most about America is that anybody can call out the FBI and the CIA.

I wonder what College claims that their graduates changed the world the most?

I believe that Harry Truman was the last President to leave the White House unrich. 

Has white America ever forgiven those who allowed OJ to go free?

I remember when Mr. Businessman was afraid of the government, but now none of us are.

Not all women are good mothers.

Laughter calms even the most intense situations.

If you look at history, America is much more sexist than racist. Hell, Britain has had a couple of Female kings (Queen) and also two Female Priministers, as have several other countries. What’s up with that?

I think one of the toughest things to do in life is to resist saying, “I told you so.”

There is no grey area with women; they either make you or break you.

Has there ever been, or will there ever be a politically correct war?

Of the 195 countries in the world, how many of them are better than America?

When you decide to do it your way, you don’t expect someone else to pay for it, do ya?

The quest for perfection is an endless struggle with no end in sight.

When you dream a dream with others, you can make it a reality.

Sometimes the extension of the brand can become bigger than the brand itself.

Does the new owner of a great radio station ever make it Greater? Bye-bye, KGO, you were the best.

I guess the Saudis don’t like Biden much, huh? They showed their dislike by raising the price of gas they sell to the U.S. just before the midterms.

Hey, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers win another one as they head to the Grey Cup for a three-peat. Go, Big Blue!

COMMENTS

Doug Erickson: George, I love the poem (lyrics?) That could be a song) you wrote about always being “her” Dad. I don’t think it generally takes girls as long as boys to understand how much their fathers love them. P.S. K103 was a great station! (I’m Your Dad)
Geo: You’re right about the post, Doug, so I went back and tried to rhyme it as best I could.

Buzz Barnett: Who’s Your Daddy?! As a life-long single Da (Irish) to a Darling Daughter named Marianna Rose (25), I cherish Your Best Blog EVER! God’s Abundant Blessings to You, the Geo in My Geography of Fatherhood!! Buzzy. (I’m Your Dad.)
Geo: Thank you, Buzz, miss ya, Buddy!

George Ferko:“Before having daughters, I knew of very few men who ever gave a shit about women’s rights.”
How about the 19th Amendment? When it passed Congress in 1919, there was not a single woman in either the House or Senate. And there were but a handful of women n state legislatures. (I’m Your Dad)
Geo: Why do I think, George, that in 1919, there were a few folks at home like Wives and Daughters telling these Legislatures just how they were gonna vote?

Geo’s Media Blog is mostly a politically incorrect inside look at Radio, TV, Music, Movies, Books, Social Media, Politics, and Life, primarily written with men in mind.
For a sneak peek at some upcoming Blogs or to see some that you may have missed, go to GeorgeJohns.com. On Twitter @GeoOfTheRadio. Sharing and/or commenting is much appreciated.
. 

The late Ted Rogers once told me that in order to become even more successful than you already are, sometimes you have to leave behind those that brung ya.
I ended up doing that when I left for America with a format that we created in Toronto tucked under my arm. (Mr. Rogers shown above)

However, I now realize that it would have been much more fun if all my Canadian radio buddies like #GaryRussell, #RogerKlein, #MichaelCranston #KeithElshaw, #WoodyCooper #DocHarris #RickMoranis, #SandyHoyt, #Earl Mann, #SharonHenwood, #JoelThompson, #KenSebastionSinger, and #StirlingFaux, had been at my side when I launched the format in Dallas on KVIL and forty other radio stations across America.

It all started back in Saskatoon, where I was a rookie PD, and because of all the government regulations I was faced with, I began thinking about how to get around them.
Eventually, I left Saskatoon for CKSO in Sudbury and then on to CFRA in Ottawa, where I tried out a few of the elements of the new format before doing the whole thing for real at CFTR in Toronto.

The above-mentioned folks were not only very special, but they were also part of what became the most listened to Radio format on the planet, Adult Contemporary. (AC)

GEO’S LIFE-LINERS

I see a lot of beautiful young ladies driving Bentleys, Mercedes, Jaguars, and BMWs. However, I seldom see young guys doing the same; where’s the equality in that?

Which of our many Presidents had as much dignity or class as the Queen? So how do Dads handle the fact that their daughters ended up on the pole?

You can’t argue pain away.

Back in the day, if somebody were acting crazy, two big guys wearing white hospital smocks would show up, and after putting them in a special jacket with extra long sleeves, they’d whisk them away in a van. Now they’re on the internet ranting.

I’m not sure what women think when a beautiful woman walks in the room, but I do know that the men are thinking, “I wonder who’s fucking her?

I loved smoking, but when the tests said that it was bad for you, I quit. However, I was hoping that  Mr. Fairbanks was right when he said, “Maybe we just need stronger test rats.”

Ain’t it funny when poor people get money, they act exactly like the people they most detest?

I think my next favorite QB after Brady is “Wonderboy,” Justin Herbert of LAC.

Speaking of football, how has inserting women into the TV mix worked out so far? Are any women watching yet?

So far, Top Gun Maverick has taken in 1.3 Billion even though China and Russia have banned it. Didn’t they also ban Rock & Roll and Blue Jeans too? How did that work out?

I love America except for their guilt; get over it.

My Grandson, who wants to go to Harvard, is in the upper half percent of American students, plays violin for the Pasadena Philharmonic, plays varsity football and soccer, runs track, is on the debate team, etc., etc. He should be a shoo-in, right? Nope, he’s a white kid.

Speaking of white kids, I wonder how many of the folks who got to jump in front of them because they were minorities became anything?

I find it amazing watching “House of The Dragon” that even though nobody back then had oil or electricity, they still managed to not only survive but also traveled the world.

What are all those updates we get for our phones and computer supposed to do?

Does anybody know how handing out scholarships to minorities is turning out? They still seemed pissed.

Just ’cause you don’t see it don’t mean it ain’t there.

Do rules really accomplish anything other than then making us want to figure out how to break them?

I can’t believe how “yesterday” Trump is looking these days, but then again, Biden looks prehistoric. Are these guys the best you can come up with, Washington?

Hey California, when are you gonna use some of that money you’re extorting with your high taxes to help the homeless?

The government can take you from poverty to the middle class, but they can’t make you rich; only you can do that.

Ahh, is that the smell of risk in the air? Success must be on its way.

Don’t you love how they love to tell you the stadium’s name and assume that we know what city it’s in?

I would rather have less government and more regulations than more government and fewer regulations.

My favorite part of the Elvis movie was when Elvis defied the Colonel after the embarrassing Steve  Allen show and became himself again.

Speaking of mismanagement, you would think that the Beatles would be smarter than a poor southern boy. NOT!

My favorite thing about Elvis was how he shared with his friends. However, I can only wonder if Scotty, Bill, DJ Fontana, the Jordanaires, the Stampedes, and the Sweet Inspirations had any idea what the hell was going on.

As bad as the Colonial turned out to be, one can only assume that if the superstars just managed themselves, how could it turn out any worse? Hey, my friends, The Guess Who had a vendor machine guy managing them??

Things must be getting really lean in radio, now they’re chopping Presidents.

Is there a line that, when crossed, you’re no longer required to treat a woman like a lady?

Even the smartest men in the world aren’t smart enough not to be distracted by a beautiful woman.

Rich people, no matter their race, are exactly the same. Greedy!

“Hey, give me more of that national radio stuff,” said no listener ever.

Chasing profit and taking care of the environment at the same time don’t go together.

I find it amazing that Elvis was always uncomfortable before every show. I wonder if the Beatles were?

Speaking of the Beatles, as “cheeky” as they claimed to be about meeting Elvis, they, like us, were blown away.

Can you imagine how wonderful the lives of Elvis and The Beatles would have been if they had the balls to tell management that they needed the same amount of time off between gigs as a pro athlete?

The best things in life don’t have a price tag, they’re priceless.

Things happen for a reason, but according to Bobby Cole, not all the reasons are good.

The only men who get to hang out with beautiful women whenever they want are those who don’t need to.

Being physically strong is not near tough enough.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers win another one to stay on top of the western division. Go, Big Blue!

Speaking of football, Grandson Nathaniel scored another touchdown for the Polytech Panthers on  Friday night. Go, Nathaniel.

COMMENTS

Bruce Buchanan: Yes, KVIL, WRMF. (Buppa Reveals Some Secrets)
Geo: I have to disagree, Bruce; KVIL died and now has the same ratings they had when Fairbanks first bought it. WRMF, after suffering a few bad years, retooled and is doing well now.

Buzz Barnet:…..& apparently, the chump known as Trump is still strong enough to make Your blog! Stop that!@ (Nothin’ But!)
Geo: I’m amazed by all the press coverage he gets, Buzzy. We should have used some of his tricks when we were playing radio.

Jed Duvall: Time-Warner is now owned by the people who own the Discovery Channel and their affiliated cable/streaming channels that usually play it straight down the middle, like Jim Hilliard and Johnny Mercer. In addition of trying to end the profligate spending at Warner (which A.T.&T. never got a true handle on), Discovery C.E.O. wants his acquisition to do two things:  Be profitable and keep the ratings up. So, for C.N.N., over-the-top partisanship is tempered down, and C.N.N. will go back to the days of Bernard Shaw and Peter Arnett.  Station owner NextStar (also the owner of WGN-AM) is taking portions of what used to be “WGN America” and also offering a balanced commentary news channel, “NewsNation”.  (I love their morning news show, “Morning in America”.  The only mistake they have made was hiring Chris Cuomo, who was probably directly hired by the guy NextStar put in charge of the channel, Michael Corn, who had been the Senior VP and producer of A.B.C.-TV “Good Morning America” but was politely pushed out by A.B.C.’s attorneys after years of complaints of sexual harassment of staffers (so NextStar has two serial TV news people with a very sordid harassment history). (Nothin’ But!)
Geo: Only you would know all this stuff, Jed.

Geo’s Media Blog is mostly a politically incorrect inside look at Radio, TV, Music, Movies, Books, Social Media, politics, and Life, primarily written with men in mind.
For a sneak peek at some upcoming Blogs or to see some that you may have missed, go to GeorgeJohns.com. On Twitter @GeoOfTheRadio. Sharing and commenting is much appreciated.
.

Even though Newspapers are fading away, there are still some great ones, like the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, the LA Times, and the Washington Post.

Quite a few years ago, while I was attending a radio convention in DC with Jamie Gold, she asked if I would like to tour the Post; I said, “Hell yeah.”
Who wouldn’t want to visit the place where Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein brought a President down?

Upon our arrival, we discovered a big lineup at the door, but because Jamie used to work there, the guards recognized her, and they waved us on through.
When we got to what I believe was the third floor, she showed me the desks where Woodward and Berstein had sat as they unraveled Watergate. Wow, how cool was that?

Another thing that I found amazing was that they had this room called the Evergreen room.
This, Jamie explained, is where they store news stories of various shapes and sizes, which they used to fill in the spaces between the ads.

What, I said, “Are you telling me that all the stories in the great Washington Post aren’t current?” “Nope,” she said; “In fact, some may be a couple of years old, but they don’t read old; that’s why they call them evergreens.” Color me shocked.

On the way out, I noticed that the line at the door had grown even longer. Surprisingly, though they weren’t lined up to see the inner workings of the Washington Post, they were watching the teletype as it printed out the news from around the world. (See photo on top)

Unlike radio folks, tired of putting another roll of paper in the machine or unjamming it, they found it amazing.
Oh, and later on at the radio conference in a large session with George Burns, when he pointed me out as being in attendance, Jamie asked, “Did he just call you the Grandfather of AC radio,” I said, “No, I don’t believe so, I heard Godfather.” (Jamie pictured below)

RADIO GEO’S LIFE-LINERS

Every week, I receive an email from some company claiming they deposited another $9950.99 in my bank account, but I’ve not seen any of it. They wouldn’t be trying to scam me, would they?

The one sport Canadians are the best at is hockey; in fact, they’re world-class. In fact, Canadians are so good at hockey that I think Canada should have more NHL teams. How about some teams in Victoria, Kelowna, Regina, Saskatoon, Hamilton, Quebec City, and Halifax? How exciting would that be, Eh! 

Athletes and beautiful women have something in common, they both have a shelf life of about ten years, but if women have anything going for them besides their beauty, they can last a lifetime.

Just because the radical left and the religious right are loud doesn’t mean we’re listening. In fact, trying to figure out how we can let them have at each other. However, they have to promise to leave us out of it.

In 1972 when we launched a brand new format on CFTR in Toronto, everyone in the radio business thought we’d gone rock. Then when we did it again on KVIL in Dallas in 1973, all the radio folk there also thought that the station had gone rock. The only people who knew we hadn’t were the ladies in both cities. The new format soon became known as Adult Contemporary, and after forty years, it’s still the most popular format in the whole world.

To me, if it’s not rated ‘R,’ it’s a fantasy movie intended for kids.

When I asked why America is more upset about slavery than they are about the Holocaust, I was told that it was because Holocaust didn’t happen on our shores.

Do computer geeks have groupies?

We always hear about the women who helped their man’s careers, but I’m thinkin’ that there must be some who ruined them.

The love between a man and a woman is always conditional.

How old do you have to become until you no longer have to be practical?

Hey, radio heads, ponder this. “The more talented you are, the less local you have to be; however, if you’re both, you’re unbeatable.”

Creativity begins at the boundaries.

I find it amazing that Neil Simon, as he was growing up, would keep a few notes about his life which he later turned into award-winning Broadway Plays.

Before Social Media, I felt uninformed; now, I mostly feel misinformed.

Would an NFL coach lie to the press about a player’s injury? Of course not.

What I dislike about most governments is how they create things to scare us, and then they try to persuade us that only they can protect us from what they created.

Speaking of scaring us, the TV stations in South Florida, while doing the weather, spend most of their time warning us about all the Hurricanes that claim may appear during the summer months. I guess they’ve figured out that when the Hurricanes don’t show up, we’ll be happy, so we won’t say, “Hey, man, what the hell happened to the Hurricanes you predicted?” 

Men do outnumber women in the upper 1%, but they also outnumber them in the bottom 1%.

So, has all the pandering and political correctness fixed anything yet?

Hey Joe, how’s it going for you? For us, not so good, but thanks for asking. We’re a little pissed that the oil companies continue to gouge us, product shortages, interest rates also continuing to rise, and inflation climbing as Wall Street drops. Oh, and the homeless are still living on the streets. But then again, I guess it’s not all bad; at least you made it possible for the guys who think they’re girls to play for the girls’ teams now.

I’m kinda ok with the rich; it’s the wealthy folk I think need to be investigated.

Do people fighting for their lives really use politically correct words to describe their adversary?

Hey Toronto, I think the only way the Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup is by putting an NHL team in Hamilton. Then they’d have to win something to be able to sell season tickets. 

Everybody’s stupid about something. 

One of the strange things about being white is, unlike other races, when asked to describe ourselves, we don’t begin with, “I’m a white male.”

So, who has to be in power before you’ll give up your life for your country? 

I find it very convenient that the bad stuff our government has done is always classified.

Nobody is automatically treated with respect.

Wow, now David Crosby is gone too.

As I do my Thanksgiving adventure to California which started out with e plane cancelations and being told about an hour out of LA that the train no longer stops in Burbank it reminded me of my trip across Canada with my brother Reg.
A few months ago, we decided to meet in Toronto, where we would hop on the Canadian. However, my getting to Toronto from West Palm Beach proved to be the trip from hell.

When I showed up at PBI, I was told that my passport and vaccination card weren’t enough; I also needed a “Travel-Can card.” WHAT!
Thankfully, with the help of some great A/A employees, I finally figured out how to get it, but had already missed my flight, so they rerouted me through Philadelphia. (Can Card pictured below) Unfortunately, my layover in Philly was a long one, so when I asked Dacia (pictured with me on top) where I could find a little wine to pass the time, little did I know that the future was about to slap me in the face.
Dacia directed me down the hall to a couple of bars, and once there, I discovered a nice wine bar that wasn’t crowded, so I sat down and looked around for a wine list.

When I asked Christian, the bartender, for a wine list, he told me that it was on the iPad in front of me.
Oh, oh, not being very computer literate, I wrestled with it for about 15 minutes before asking Christian for some help.

When he came around the bar and worked with the iPad for about 20 more minutes, I finally got a glass of wine.
When I asked him how long it would have taken if I could have just asked him for a glass of wine, he said, “About 2 minutes.”

Then, when I asked him how popular this method was, he said, “Not at all, and in fact, we’re losing customers with it, but the owners don’t care because it’s the future, Man!”