Good Old Radio Days (Before Automation)

[TomR]

I just had to say thanks for the reminder of how radio use to be. I grew up listening to both WKLO and WAKY. I always had a desire to be a DJ and spent 2 years at WNAS-FM (New Albany High Schools station) where I learned the basics and received "on-air" experience. For a short time I worked parttime at WREY in New Albany and got to know Ed Phillips & Mac Hunter while there. Unfortunately, that was about it for my radio career. The good part was that nothing was automated like it is today. You had to do it all (without computers).

[Mike Griffin]

I did WNAS when I was in High School and I worked at WREY after school. While at WREY I met Lee Kelly who was just starting there as I was leaving for college. This was 1969. Exciting times, times when such a small station could make a go of it and be a training ground for the big stations.

Now the national networks and automation have most stations sounding alike and there is no good training ground for new talent.

WKLO and WAKY were the stations to aspire to. In 1969 they each had shares in the 20s and battled each other tooth and nail for an edge. Now a station can be number 1 with a 12 share and since a lot of stations are under a single management umbrella it doesn't matter much to the owners which one is ahead (as long as it's one of theirs). The owners may counter program more than one station against the competition, so now it's team radio and not a case where everyone goes out and does their best.

In 1969 there were many voices on the air, today only a few. A lot of Radio sucks today. Of course a lot of Radio sucked in 1969 too. This includes WREY but people were learning, moving on to the bigger stations and doing fresh new things.

[Max]

You hit the nail on the head. When I first came home from living in Virginia, I rode by our local radio station and saw no cars in the parking lot. Yet someone was chatting on the air. A few days later I walked in with my resume and heard programming and announcing but an empty chair. That's when I realized CHANGE had hit radio. Like you said, the stations where I work part time will have talent live on one station and voice tracking later on at one of our other stations. I hear some girl named Mel on both QMF and then on JZL. You'd like to THINK the dj's you listen to are devoted to one the particular type of music you've tuned in to listen to, but when you hear them sounding like they're the world authority on AC/DC and Def Leppard and then hear them goo-gooing over David Sanborn...and using their same name-it just sounds so generic. At least at our stations you use a different name.

But that's a little off-track. My basic point is that of yours...that radio is just not radio anymore and certainly not fun. When you once aspired to be actively involved in on-air activity and then you're reduced to just a board operator for a computer or satellite out of Denver...it's just sad.

But hey, thank God for the memories we have of WAKY & WKLO!!! Memories kept alive by these two fine sites. I'll probably never tire of telling John Quincy how grateful I am for all his FINE work!

[Max]

In reading this old post, I now know that Mel is Mel Fisher and she still is with a couple of Clear Channel stations. Saw her on Terry Meiners' site.