We seek to understand and document all radio transmissions, legal and otherwise, as part of the radio listening hobby. We do not encourage any radio operations contrary to regulations. Always consult with the appropriate authorities if you have questions concerning what is permissible in your locale.

Author Topic: You Were In Radio, When!!!!!!!!  (Read 1760 times)

Offline ThaDood

  • DX Legend
  • ******
  • Posts: 1212
  • Likely, not where you are.
    • View Profile
    • Extreme Part #15!
    • Email
You Were In Radio, When!!!!!!!!
« on: July 07, 2020, 1833 UTC »
Yeah, been about 20 years since this was out, so here it is, again. Catch y'all in 2040!!!!

You were in radio before 1970 if you...
>
>Remember Joe Pyne and "Mooo-tual News!"
>
>Threw away the transcription disk players to put in Tapecaster cart
>machines.
>
>Can name the Conelrad frequencies...or even remember what Conelrad was.
>
>Worked at a campus radio station that used carrier current
>transmission...on AM.
>
>Managed to pass your "third phone" and took meter readings every thirty
>minutes during your on-air shift...or at least faked them.
>
>Think Wolfman Jack or Clint Eastwood in "Play Misty for Me" is the
>greatest jock of all time.
>
>Can name the first record you played by Elvis or The Beatles.
>
>Wouldn't put a song on the air if it had "damn" or "hell" in the lyrics.
>
>Got your start in the biz doing anything that had to be done at a
>daytime AM in Bum****, Egypt.
>
>Bleeped out spots for Martini and Rossi vermouth during network
>newscasts because the station was located in a "dry" county.
>
>Had an opening and closing theme song for your show.
>
>Know what Don Imus did before WFAN and CNBC.
>
>Carried a rate card with only two prices...one for thirties, one for
>sixties.
>
>Got your first real job in radio on a classical music FM with a total
>audience of six people.
>
>Know who Arthur Godfrey was...and probably ran board for his show
>somewhere.
>
>Worked at a station where somebody who got fired loosened the bolts on
>the tower guy wires.
>
>Scratched up tracks on an LP or a "B" side with a screwdriver so your
>jocks couldn't "accidentally" play them on the air.
>
>Quoted ratings from Pulse and Hooper.
>
>Stopped "spinnin' the hits" to join CBS News at the top of the hour.
>
>Worked at a station where the weekend guy was always named Johnny
>Holiday and the night jock was named Dan Dark so the jingles didn't have
>to be changed when they ultimately got canned.
>
>Got your on-air "chops" practicing in the production room after
>midnight.
>
>Brought records from home to play on your show.
>
>Got "hot-lined" by the owner...or the owner's wife.>
>Ever tried to hoist your station banner to the top of the competitor's
>tower.
>
>Sent an aircheck to a prospective employer on reel-to-reel tape.
>
>Had a show on the air that didn't fit the station's format at all...just
>because some sponsor had been buying that slot for years.
>
>Air-checked your show on the big Ampex in the production room.
>
>Tried to look up your old on-air staff and found some of them selling
>spots for the competition.
>
>
>
>You were in radio before 1980 if you...
>
>
>Ever had a client tell you that rock or country music would never make
>it on FM...and had an owner or GM who agreed.
>
>Did a promotion to give away FM car-radio converters.
>
>Put a quarter on a tone arm so it wouldn't jump off a warped demo 45 you
>just had to play...and it was the only copy the station got.
>
>Could remember the intro time and the color of the record label on every
>song you played...but couldn't recite any of the lyrics except the first
>and last lines.
>
>Know what PAMS were.
>
>Ever sped up the turntable to get more songs in during an hour and to
>make the competition sound "draggy."
>
>Worked at a campus radio station that was on FM but ran less than ten
>watts of power.
>
>Started a 45 at 33 1/3 or vice versa...and didn't notice because you
>were on the phone with a listener of the opposite sex.
>
>Air-checked your show on a boombox beneath the console.
>
>Ever interviewed an artist on the air who was too stoned to be coherent.
>
>Wouldn't put a song on the air that had any of George Carlin's famous
>words in it...but pretty much anything else went.
>
>Know what Erica Farber did before Radio & Records.
>
>Sent an aircheck to a prospective employer on a cassette swiped from the
>sales office or newsroom.
>
>Worked at a station that had a newsroom!
>
>Can remember the first record you played by The Doors or Janis Joplin or
>the Allman Brothers.
>
>Got your start in the biz running preacher tapes on Sunday morning.
>>Think either Scott Shannon or that guy in the movie "FM" is the greatest
>jock of all time.
>
>Accidentally let a listener say something obscene on the air because you
>didn't really have a delay.
>
>Got your on-air "chops" doing a 3 AM-to-5:30 AM shift for minimum wage.
>
>Worked at a station where somebody got fired and, on his way out, ran a
>magnet up and down the commercial-cart rack.
>
>Got "hot-lined" by the PD.
>
>Had a customized jingle with your name in it.
>
>Once pretended to (or maybe really did) smoke a joint on the air.
>
>Got your first real job in radio...doing mid-days on an AM
>easy-listening station with a total audience of six folks.
>
>Took a trip to a "showcase" at record company expense and never actually
>got around to hearing the label's act perform.
>
>Worked the overnight shift and had to wake up the morning guy (who was
>sleeping off a bender on the lobby couch) so he could do his show.
>
>Arranged to meet people of the opposite sex that you talked to on the
>request line, but some place where you could see them before they could
>see you.
>
>Did a remote with a mic amp and a pair of alligator clips connected to
>the telephone mouthpiece.
>
>Included the words "FM Stereo" as part of your legal ID.
>
>Watched your music director put colored dots on each record shuck to
>tell you which category they belonged in.
>
>Never worked for a station that was not actually licensed to the city
>where the studio was located.
>
>Paid money for air checks of Don Imus, Don Steele, Cousin Brucie or
>other big market jocks so you could emulate their style.
>
>Assumed that syndication meant "King Biscuit Flower Hour" and "Earth
>News."
>
>Tried to look up your old on-air staff and found them working for an FM
>station somewhere.
>
>
>
>You were in radio before 1990 if you...
>
>
>Had to re-dub a seven-minute song to cart because you forgot to run it
>through the splice finder first.
>
>Recorded spots on half-inch multi-track.
>
>Ran an EBS test off cart and forgot to punch the tones button on the>unit in the rack.
>
>Could take a job at the big rival station across town without being
>afraid your old station would buy them next week.
>
>Had a "jock shout" jingle with your name.
>
>Quoted ratings from Birch.
>
>Worked at a campus radio station that played music nobody in the frat
>houses had ever heard of...but that was so-o-o-o cool to you and your
>friends.
>
>Know what Lee Abrams did before satellite radio.
>
>Got "hot-lined" by the consultant...from poolside at his place in
>Malibu.
>
>Had your girlfriends/boyfriends aircheck your show at their places so
>the processing would make your voice sound better.
>
>Can remember the first record you played by George Strait or Madonna.
>
>Never worked for a station that was actually licensed to the city where
>the main studio was located.
>
>Thought all records came from the label rep with cash or a small baggie
>of controlled substance shoved inside the sleeve.
>
>Think Tom Joyner, "The Greaseman," or Dr. Johnny Fever is the greatest
>jock of all time.
>
>Worked at a station where somebody who got fired put sugar in the gas
>tank of the station van.
>
>Made sure your music director did a music log on the computer every
>day...but he sometimes forgot to leave the print-out in the control room
>for the overnight guy.
>
>Ever worked for a station that proudly proclaimed its format to be
>"Soul," "Underground," "Countrypolitan," "Easy Listening," "Disco," or
>"Hot Hits."
>
>Got your on-air "chops" doing a weekend shift.
>
>Got your first real job in radio...as promotion assistant, washing the
>van, delivering registration boxes to sponsor locations, and sorting tee
>shirts by size.
>
>Ever had an FCC inspector walk in and tell you to turn the transmitter
>off and then back on using the remote control.
>
>Quoted ratings from Accuratings.
>
>Thought "Clear Channel" was an AM frequency that had only one station in
>the whole country licensed to it.
>
>Try to look up your old on-air staff and find them doing talk radio
>somewhere.
>
>>
>You were not in radio until AFTER 1990 if...
>
>
>
>The only kind of "vinyl" you know about is the material covering the
>walls in the sales lounge.
>
>You think a 45 is some kind of new spot length the corporate guys want
>you to start selling so they can get more units in a break.
>
>Tape, turntables and cart machines, so far as you know, are only to be
>found in the Museum of Broadcasting or non-rated Arbitron markets.
>
>You ever airchecked your show from the station's Internet stream.
>
>You tell people your morning show's live...and so what if it does come
>from Charlotte, Dallas or LA?
>
>You worked at a campus radio station that ran commercials and had a
>sales staff.
>
I was asked, yet another weird question, of how I would like to be buried, when I finally bite the big one. The answer was actually pretty easy. Face-down, like a certain historical figure in the late 1980's, (I will not mention who, but some of you will get it, and that's enough.) Why??? It would be a burial that will satisfy everyone: (1) My enemies will say that it will show me where to go. (2) On the same point, I can have my enemies kiss my butt. (3) It will temporarily give someone a place to park a bicycle. See??? A WIN / WIN for everyone.

Offline ThaDood

  • DX Legend
  • ******
  • Posts: 1212
  • Likely, not where you are.
    • View Profile
    • Extreme Part #15!
    • Email
Re: You Were In Radio, When!!!!!!!!
« Reply #1 on: July 13, 2020, 1824 UTC »
Ya know... It looks to me that this list could be extended now from Y2K and onward. Anyone care to add-in?
I was asked, yet another weird question, of how I would like to be buried, when I finally bite the big one. The answer was actually pretty easy. Face-down, like a certain historical figure in the late 1980's, (I will not mention who, but some of you will get it, and that's enough.) Why??? It would be a burial that will satisfy everyone: (1) My enemies will say that it will show me where to go. (2) On the same point, I can have my enemies kiss my butt. (3) It will temporarily give someone a place to park a bicycle. See??? A WIN / WIN for everyone.

Offline Josh

  • DXing Phenomena
  • *******
  • Posts: 4322
    • View Profile
Re: You Were In Radio, When!!!!!!!!
« Reply #2 on: July 14, 2020, 1737 UTC »
We had carts for psas and promos/commercials, giant reel to reels from the 40s that were used every day and looked almost new, and a vcr (audio only lol) to record the sat feeds we time slotted. I'd say the station got its moneys worth outta those reel to reels.
We do not encourage any radio operations contrary to regulations.

Offline redhat

  • DX Legend
  • ******
  • Posts: 1586
  • USA
  • Music is my drug.
    • View Profile
    • Email
Re: You Were In Radio, When!!!!!!!!
« Reply #3 on: July 14, 2020, 2339 UTC »
I walked into a small market station in 2000's and they were using alarm clocks to start Otari MX-5050B's to record satellite feeds.  By the time we rebuild their studios, they had a hard disk based logger to time shift things, and real automation.  They were nominated for a Marconi award the next year.

+-RH
Somewhere under the stars...
Airspy HF+, MLA-30/Mini-whip/Chi-Town Loop
Please send QSL's and reception reports to xfmshortwave [at] proton [d0t] me

Offline Josh

  • DXing Phenomena
  • *******
  • Posts: 4322
    • View Profile
Re: You Were In Radio, When!!!!!!!!
« Reply #4 on: July 15, 2020, 1545 UTC »
Ahhhh the reel to reels. I recall a fine day when a promo was slotted for my show and the jock before me hadn't lined me up with the tape. When you walked into the console you would (or were supposed to) have a pile of paid advertising and promos that were for your slot, and this hour long special from the ryman auditorium was nowhere to be found and I am all alone.

Suddenly the sm shows up and I report to him the tape's not here and is on in 4 minutes, he gets mad and starts running all over the station with veins bulging trying to find it, I find it in the pile to be erased in another room and tell him, he gets even madder and pretty much blames me for everything. I walked over to the console after setting up the tape and slammed the feed from the track that was ota to the special, f the sm in his face, who didn't say a word. I didn't last much longer there, the place was falling apart and continued after I jumped ship, the owners fired pretty much everyone including the sm and started over. There was the finding of inappropriate materials in the booth wastebasket as well as the scandalous use of the station vacuum cleaner on a home carpet that ruined said vacuum, everyone talking about everyone else and on and on insane shit. I was thinking my god this place is worse than high school.

The guy who came on after me said there'd been a few complaints and I was like that's all I needed to hear, I'm out. And he panics and is like whoa wait you gatta give them some time before you jump and I was all like nah bruh I'm out, laids.

You couldn't pay me enough to do that job again.
We do not encourage any radio operations contrary to regulations.

Offline John Poet

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 917
  • Lansing, Michigan, USA
  • I survived the Mad Lagomurph
    • View Profile
    • Free Radio Cafe forums
    • Email
Re: You Were In Radio, When!!!!!!!!
« Reply #5 on: July 31, 2020, 2348 UTC »
They were still using carrier-current AM in dorms at Michigan State University in the early '80s.  I dated this girl who was a disk jockey at one of them... and she actually appears in an old TCS promo "where the rock is always hard, and never stops coming" which she also helped to write. lol.    Damn, what was her name ??  lol




John Poet

"A treasonous voice of dissent"

The Crystal Ship Shortwave
Free Radio Cafe Forums