WE MADE IT TO 08!

Most rags had year end stories for New Years..
but we are such next level we thought we would look back
at YEARS of old stories. Also the staff is still jail
in Key West so Old Joe (our sanitary engineer)
felt he could keep the joint alive with a fast
look back and then some cut and pasting!


Here are some things from two columns (not a clue which
rag they were in) from late 2002 and also the first week
of 2003.

Enjoy and don't forget to slide over and check out
the local radio history history on this outstanding
blog!






Dec 2002

A former Knoxville TV anchor
is returning to his home state.
John Gilbert has worked for
WPEC in West Palm Beach, Florida,
KDFW in Dallas, KETK in Tyler, Texas,
KLAS in Las Vegas, and locally for WVLT.
Gilbert, an A & M grad and a Texas native,
starts in January at Waco-Temple’s KCEN.
He will be the 6 and 10 p.m. weeknight
anchor for the NBC affiliate.



Jan. 2, 2003

A full column about a local
Fulton High alumni who hit it
big in Chattanooga!


How many times has the radio traffic
guy told you the road you were on was clear,
while you sat at a dead stop watching
a child in the next car lick a window
and look deeply into your eyes?
You switch to another station and
the same guy is affirming clear sailing as
the elderly couple in front of you exits
their Buick and start pouring charcoal into their grill.
What is going on?
Can’t the guy see everyone
is growing old and a few have even passed away
as he continues to rattle on about the lack
of wrecks or stalls in the morning commute?
The truth is even with all the modern technology and
fast single wing airplanes flying our skies,
reporters around here sometimes just blow it.

One local kid has made both
money and a career out of
telling actually where the traffic is stopped.


Butch Johnson got hooked on radio at
Knoxville’s Fulton High School.
In 1984 he was learning from the master,
former WKGN pioneer Dr. Al Adams.
After a stint on a Clinton radio station
Butch learned to fly at Island Home.

Today that Fulton alum is the only
helicopter pilot/reporter in the State of Tennessee.
His company, Butch Johnson’s Chattanooga Eye
in the Sky Traffic, is also the only company
in the U.S. providing live aerial traffic online.


Johnson is much more than just
the guy with the inside on who
hit who on the interstate.
He also feeds live video to
Chattanooga TV news departments
during breaking news and he is also
the only traffic reporter in the Tri State
area to bring “Electronic News
Gathering Live Eye” video to both TV and the World Wide Web.
His coverage is on over 20 local stations.


Johnson is not only accurate,
but he takes a very dull job and makes it fun.
He would never think of saying a car was on fire,
but if you hear him mention a “Carbecue” you get the idea.
Vehicles are never stalled in Butch’s reports;
they just become “Wrecker Bait” and if you want to see a judge,
just ignore his warning about “Kojack with a Kodak” on your route.


Although Butch has saved
many a commuter a trip to
courthouse he is still
in good graces with the law.
In the Chattanooga area he is
the only reporter to ever have
direct radio contact with Hamilton County EMS,
Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department,
TDOT Help Dispatcher,
Soddy Daisy Police Department,
Signal Mountain Police Department,
and the Collegedale Police Department
using his police call sign “Hamilton County Airwatch One.

I talked with Butch over the holidays
and asked him if he would be interested
in bringing helicopter traffic reports back to Knoxville.
The last helicopter doing traffic on a
full time basis was owned by
WIVK back in the early 70’s.
Since then the local reporters
either use cars or in a fixed wing airplane.
Butch said, “I’m expensive, but I can be had.
I’m not motivated by money.
I’m motivated by the amount of money.
There is a big difference.”
If Johnson did bring his helicopter
into play locally,
Knoxville would join the bigger
markets in both traffic reporting and news coverage.
When major news happens
in large markets the news helicopters
look like bees going to the hive.
Years ago WATE had a helicopter,
but today none of the local stations have one.
If Johnson did come home not only could
you hear about a “Carbecue” on the radio you could watch it
live on both the web and TV. Could it happen? Stay tuned.


The first trend of the Winter Arbitron
came out December 30th.
Trends are just that but like the name says,
strung together they can show a station falling or rising.
This first report showed a few doing both.