My Brother Reg and I had a conversation the other day about how sometimes the description of a finished product is an oversimplification of it.It would be like describing his Rewards program as simply putting the American Airlines Advantage program together with the Prize Catalog and then putting it online.
Believe me; both entities were a little more complicated than that.
CKY-FM was a hybrid-beautiful music station, and we played mostly instrumentals, but we also played some smooth top 40 covers by Ray Conniff, and that’s when I learned about texture and flow.
A couple of years later, when I was the PD of CKSO in Sudbury, another hybrid-top 40, I learned how to do outlandish on-air promotions.
Next, I was hired to do CFTR in Toronto, and that’s where I put the elements all together.
I put the flow and texture I learned in Winnipeg, together with the top 40 mechanics from Saskatoon, the outlandish promotions we did in Sudbury with the style of the MOR jocks in Ottawa. Crazy, huh?
Surprisingly, our first rating book was great, and better yet, nothing but adults were listening.
That’s where Jack McCoy taught me that TSL was not based on how long the folks listened; but how often, so I added some recycling stuff and appointment tune-in to my bag of tricks.
(Jack McCoy pictured on top with me)
The listeners could actually hear us creating a new radio station before their very ears.
KVIL eventually became so successful that it launched my consulting career.
Our radio stations all had a cause, and if radio needs anything today, it’s a cause. What’s yours?
GEO’S LIFE-LINERS
There’s a little bit of good in all things that are bad.
Group decisions usually result in much slower results.
Creating a good product is not the hard part; getting someone to consume it is.
Sometimes, you’ve gotta let God sort things out.
Ignorance is not only blissful, but it’s also a blessing. How many projects would you have continued if you knew what lay ahead?
A lot of wars are rooted in religion, but even so, if there’s nothing in it for the wealthy, they don’t happen.
Sometimes you’ve gotta ask yourself, is it the guns or the crazy people using them that’s at fault?
Speaking of crazy people, why do they have to kill somebody before we take them off the street?
Unfortunately, unless you’re very smart and graduate from a great school, the odds are you’ll never own your own home.
Speaking of owning your own home, I owned my first when I was 22. At the time, I was a struggling musician who worked part-time at a radio station.
When you have a decent script and good actors, but the movie doesn’t come together, isn’t that the director’s fault? How about a football team with good to excellent players and a decent playbook, isn’t that the coach’s fault? Hello Bucs.
Speaking of the Bucs, how the hell did Brady focus on football when he was going through a divorce?
Is there anything more seductive than the forbidden?
Getting what you want politely is difficult.
Unfortunately, you get unlucky and lucky about the same amount of time.
Without James Bond, I think the Beatles would have had a tougher time making it in America.
So, I guess if you have no shot at the golden ring, you start caring about the planet.
Why is it that even though I don’t see as well as I used to, everything seems clearer?
Most stuff is just too fast and too fucking long.
Can you imagine a world without religion?
America’s poor are the richest poor people on earth.
Why do the words “Trust me” make me do the opposite?
Why do the people who can do the least about global warming seem to care about it the most?
I don’t know if I’ve matured or just grown old, but when a woman at BJ’s asked me while sipping her wine if I had anything good at your place, I responded, “Yeah, my daughter, Cami.”
As big as Don Henley’s ego is, I wonder if he now thinks he’s bigger than Paul McCartney? Let me help you with that one; oh, Great Eagle, “No, you ain’t.”
Changing the world is not for the timid.
The words fathers have been saying to their sons for decades are, “Dreams don’t pay the bills,” were right; “Dreams are what make you rich.”
So, here’s what the media seems to be trying to teach me; Moms are good, Dads are bad, all women are good, men are all bad, all minorities are good, white guys are bad. Sorry, ain’t buying it.
COMMENTS
Angela Manfredi: I love “The Great Gift.” xo
While I’m here…how does one become Hall of Fame-worthy? (Coming To America Part 2. The Great Gift)
Radio Geo: Wow, the beautiful Angela checks in. xo back at ya! The way one becomes Hall of Fame Worthy, Angela, is by becoming more popular than the music. Easy answer but very difficult to do. 🙂
For a peek at upcoming Blogs or to see some that you may have missed, go to GeorgeJohns.com. On Twitter @GeoOfTheRadio. Sharing and commenting are appreciated.
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When I read your comment:
“Why do the words “Trust me” make me do the opposite?”, it made me think of a another expression that bugs me. People who say, “Bless you” or “God Bless you”. In my experience, when I’m told that, it is about one second before or after they have already decided to really put it to you and use that expression to get you to think they either have your best interest in mind, when almost exactly the opposite is true. I don’t trust anyone in business who says, “God Bless You” or any variation of it. I don’t allow sales people to use that phrase either. I think it is often a crutch people use to do the work they were not able to do in their presentation. I want their money for the merits of the business, not because a religious connotation guilted them into buying. The churches do a fine job of doing that already.
Doug Erickson: I never heard your Canadian stations, George, but I was paying attention to KVIL when it became HUGE. You had THE BEST Air Talent in EVERY daypart that anyone in Dallas could hear: Ron Chapman, Bill Gardner, et al. Even your news people and traffic reporters were clearly better than anyone else in that market. KVIL was the complete package 24/7 and I just never hear that anymore. How quickly could you capture any city if you were allowed to pay (hire) the best air talent anyone in that city had ever heard of?
Geo: In Canada, Doug, I was learning through trial and error, but by the time I hit Dallas, I knew how the diary worked. (It started in Canada a few years earlier.)
It was kinda an unfair fight, and even though we were exhilarated when we achieved the top position, it wasn’t unexpected.
Doug Herman: The Radio Wars back then were epic. Jack’s and my company working with you and a few other big-$$$, top-end programmers was the stuff that legends and life-long friendships are made of. There was adreneline and money flying about everywhere. I’ve always thought that must be the same feeling NFL players have when they cash their checks and show up for work. I can’t think of a single other thing I would rather have done with my time in the biz than The Last Contest, the Prize Catalog, the interactive telephone promotions, RAM Ratings (OK, that turned out to be a stiff, but mostly because everybody wanted it, we had a ton of clients, they just didn’t want to PAY for it….). Can you imagine having done anything else with your life and career? I certainly can’t.
Geo: I can’t imagine doing anything else, Doug.
I’m very interested to see more News from you.
I’ll try to put you on the list.