#4 All-Time Radio Geo’s Media Blog (The Ron Chapman Edition) Published 4/26/21

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I’m very sad to report that an old friend of mine has just passed.
Not only was Ron a good friend, but he was also one of America’s greatest broadcasters. (Ron is shown on top and with me below at his induction into the NAB Radio Hall Of Fame.)

I met Ron Chapman for the first time at the Fairmont Hotel in Dallas, where we were having breakfast with Jim Hilliard and GM Bob Hanna.
Fairbanks had just purchased KVIL, but until we received FCC approval, we couldn’t discuss anything about the station’s programming.

Being recently from Canada, I had no idea who Ron was, and he, of course, had never heard of me.
Ron later recalled that breakfast at a KVIL reunion, thinking, “This quiet Canadian is going to be our ratings savior?  However,” he added, “We did manage to make a little magic together.”

KVIL was magical from the very beginning, but most of that magic came from Ron’s attention to detail.
What amazes me, though, is that even though KVIL was on its way to becoming the darling of the industry, we never won any awards, and none of the National trades ever noticed us.

Maybe it’s about how much suck-up you put into the game, but we were too busy chasing ratings to do any of that.
However, when KVIL hit #1, the trades had no choice but to notice us, so they treated us like an overnight radio sensation, which couldn’t have been further from the truth.

When KVIL became huge, and radio folks from all over America were flying in to steal what they could, unfortunately for them, they all missed what started the fire.
We were okay with stealing our stuff because, without the beginning of the story, it wouldn’t make much sense elsewhere.

In 1981, I left Fairbanks Broadcasting to start my own consultancy, and thankfully, I was retained by Jim Hilliard to continue working with Ron.
Then, in 1987, when Mel bought it, like most money guys, he believed he was all-knowing, so that ended my association with KVIL, and unfortunately, I had to watch the destruction from the sidelines.

One of the first stupid things “All-knowing Mel” did was move Ron from KVIL to their oldies station, KLUV.
The next thing was even more mind-boggling; they let Ron promote that he was moving to KLUV for a whole month.

A couple of months later, the new rating book showed that Ron’s listeners had moved with him.
Kay-Ville was done, but Ron wasn’t; he ended up in three Radio Hall of Fames.

KVIL’s PD at the time was a young preppy research kind of guy who loved to wander around the halls, referring to KVIL as KVI-Elderly while whining about how Ron Chapman was killing him.
Bill Figenshu said it best when he said, “Our PD was absolutely right when he claimed that Ron Chapman was killing him because as I look at the new rating book, Ron did kill him. Now it’s my job to fire his ass.”

KVIL never recovered. Rest in Peace, Ron.

GEO’S LIFE-LINERS

If you insist on talking the talk, you better be able to walk the walk.

Things are never as bad as they could be.

We’re so free in America that even though it could hurt some people, we can refuse a COVID vaccination or wear a mask.
Hell, we can even loot and set fire to buildings as long as some protest people are around.

It’s the host who determines the rules.

Keep it simple stupid is the best advice anyone can ever receive.

I liked very few radio sales managers because most thought they had the right to lie to me.

I don’t remember, while growing up, any of my buddies dreaming about becoming fathers.

Was HD just a scam?

Churchill once said, “Americans will eventually do the right thing but only after exhausting all the alternatives.”

Just as sales have to find new clients, radio has to find new listeners.

There’s got to be one good story out there about a record company.

At my age, why would I want to change my lifestyle when a pill can get everything under control?

I think the Hollywood types should get their lives in order before telling us how to live ours.

It’s tough to get rich, but even tougher to get rich cautiously.

It’s a hell of a lot more fun being the Puppeteer than the Puppet.

Damn, this is no time for the Winnipeg Jets to be falling apart.

The Countdown Continues Tomorrow With #4

Radio Geo’s Media Blog is a politically incorrect inside look at Radio, TV, Music, Movies, Books, Social Media, Politics, Religion, and Life, primarily written with men in mind.
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11 thoughts on “#4 All-Time Radio Geo’s Media Blog (The Ron Chapman Edition) Published 4/26/21

  1. Cat Simon: So Blessed to have been part of such a small part of it all. To witness the magic was amazing.
    Things we will never see again; The Beatles, Elvis, nor Ron Chapman. (Ron Chapman)
    RIP:
    Geo: True Dat, Cat!

  2. Tom Hoyt: Well said, George. Your loyalty to friends is a great part of who you are. Ron was a giant in Dallas but you held the bean pole for him. (Ron Chapman)

  3. Bill Gardner: Well written, as always, George. Wonderful concise summary of almost fifty years of a great radio partnership with you and Ron. May I add the few things you left out?#1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1. (Ron Chapman)

  4. Tim Moore: I was 27 when legendary TM Productions & Programming asked that I consider becoming their VP of Sales! I worshiped (and used) TM’s commercial campaigns and had used their station jingles.
    They tracked me down in Michigan! So knowing what this meant for my career, I took the job and moved to Dallas where I had never visited (nor had wanted to) On the radio the buzz was “KVIL” with its incredible staff captained by Ron Chapman.

    As a northern Radio snob I thought I had heard “great radio” but quickly realized while I had come from “good” radio, KVIL was on a different plane. Eventually, I met Ron and several other staffers; a rare collection of class and talent! George Johns’ fingerprints were on the Fairbanks chain and clearly a major part of the “K-Vill” architecture.

    I’m thankful beyond words for those sun-and-honey days in Dallas as they became the conceptual foundation for the stations we later built in Michigan and Florida! Today they remain an influence on station-craft in our consultancy.

    There will never be another Ron Chapman (or another KVIL). (Ron Chapman)
    Geo: Tim as we’ve discussed, a lot of Ron’s stuff was very simple but a lot of radio guys didn’t “get it,” they were too busy peering into the mystic.

  5. Debra Martin: George
    So sorry to hear this news. I know the two of you were very close. May he Rest In Peace.
    My thoughts and prayers are with you and his family.
    Geo: Thank you so much, Debbie, I miss you.

  6. John King: It was my privilege and pleasure to represent KVIL in FCC matters under Fairbanks’ ownership. Here is a story I am fond of telling and bears repeating in honor of Ron Chapman’s legacy:
    I was a young associate in the boutique communications law firm that represented Fairbanks Broadcasting, which was earning runaway ratings with Ron Chapman in the mornings on KVIL-FM in Dallas. One morning Ron called to ask what he should do about a contest. It seems he offered a sports car (a 240Z for those who can remember that model) to the person who called within ten minutes after their name was announced on the air. The caller that morning was the wife of the contestant. She said her husband was a serviceman on the flight line and could not call in, so she was calling for him. Ron asked me, ‘Should I give her/him the car?’ I advised that the FCC’s contest rule requires stations to conduct contests as announced. If the station’s rules required the person whose name was announced to call and did not say that someone else could, then the station could be held in violation if it gave the car to the contestant’s wife. Chapman plied his unequalled skills as master of public relations – he went on the air and related the whole story to his audience, asking them what they thought he should do. He wound up giving away two cars – one to the serviceman’s wife, and another one as a nod to the FCC contest rule. (Ron Chapman)
    Geo: As you may remember, John, our relationship began shortly after blowing up at Mr. Fairbanks. (My one and only time. Whew! Anyway, whenever I created something new, I was ordered to run it by the head of your firm and each time I did, he would tell me no.
    After about the fifth no, (Hilliard was out of town) I stormed into Mr. Fairbank’s office and yelled, I DIDN’T MOVE TO AMERICA JUST TO HAVE SOME FUCKING LAWYER SAY NO TO SOME STUFF THAT I BELIEVE WILL INCREASE OUR RATINGS. I NEED SOME YESES. And with that, I stormed out.
    The next day, I received a call from you, and after you introduced yourself you said, “I’ve been ordered to figure out how to say yes to you.” John, thank you for your friendship over the years, but mostly, thank you for keeping us on the air, and me out of jail.

  7. Ken Barnett: Nicely said, George.
    You and Ron created Radio Greatness, the likes of which, will never be equaled. (Ron Chapman)
    Geo: And you were in the middle of it all, Ken, so you would know, and I also believe that you’d know it if you ever heard that magic again, but I don’t believe that you will.

  8. Bob DeCarlo: You sent me from San Diego to Dallas to listen to Ron for a few days. That was the beginning of my doctorate education in George Johns Radio 101, and man did it pay off. I can’t thank you enough for all you and Ron Chapman helped me accomplish. If he’s doing mornings in heaven, I want middays. (Ron Chapman)
    Geo: I believe that when you got back from Dallas we only discussed the philosophy of Ron’s show, but hey as you figured out, that’s all you needed. As for mid-days we’re gonna have to run short shifts ’cause I gotta get Gardner in there too. You guys didn’t think you were gonna do this without me did ya?

    • Doug Herman: When I get there, I’m signing up to be Ron’s news guy.
      Geo: As you should Doug, and Jack, and I will be standing by to comfort you when Ron yells at you, and he will.

  9. Jed Duvall: There were a couple of occasions in the late 1970s and in the 1980s, where Ron caught wind of something we were doing at WIBC, called through Chuck Rhodes and then Michael Rey (X-Rey), and I did not call back on Ron’s timetable. Both times, I got a call from Ron, chewing me out for the lack of a timely response. Another example of “Excelsior, You Fathead !”, but that was why Ron was great. His drive was unparalleled!
    Geo: He was all about attention to detail, Jed.

  10. Sheldon Swartz: Loved the Fairbanks chain. It was Radio done right, from the processing chain on up (TONS of compression!).
    I worked for WJNO/WRMF (Richard M. Fairbanks) in W. Palm Beach, where Mr. Fairbanks’ picture was proudly hung in the lobby.
    People busted themselves to do him a good job.
    And now it’s all gone. Very sad.
    Geo: Sad indeed, Sheldon.

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