Knoxville Media Hard Times

Word got out earlier this week
that the only major newspaper
left in Knoxville is again
cutting their staff.
Just a few weeks ago
the Knoxville News Sentinel
closed their Maryville paper (Blount Today)
and now the ax has swung again.
Reports say over thirty
staffers at the "KNS are gone.


Personally, I have so known
what it is like to be fired from several
"media" jobs and although
it hurt there was always
something else to do. Today, the
complexion of the job market
is totally changed.
Since 2008 the country
has been in a nose dive
and unless things in
D.C. change in the next election
finding work will be out of the question.

That said, the constant slashing of
veteran staff at the KNS has impacted
their news product greatly and
this last round of cuts will continue the slide.
But again, what about those
who were told to get out?
Yep it is Christmas and yep
there apparently was little
to no regard given to their
family situations or even
the season we are in.

When Profits are not where they should be,
the first to go under the bus are PEOPLE,
nothing new there, been going on for years.
KNS will suffer from this move as they suffered
from the others and the readers
will continue to drift away until
our area is left with nothing
but hack bloggers (I KNOW ONE OF THOSE) and
local TV as our only news source.

If you are asking your self could it be worse..
the answer is HELL YES!

WIVK is on the cusp of a major feces storm brought on by
a new set of owners hell
bent to squeeze every dime of profit
to the extent it turns into a dollar.
With zero regard to
what has made WIVK
what it is (number one for more years than
most can count)
these carpet bagging rectum pits
are about to
first cut the legs
out from under said
Frog and then slice just enough
of the heart to where
it will still beat and not go toes up.

Friends this is not going to be a good Christmas for
many people who
you have read or listened to over the years.
If you really want to make
the hairs on the
back of your neck dance,
look at it this way..
what is going on here
at home is being repeated
across the country daily.

Jim Dykes Passes

East Tennessee lost a print media icon this week. Jim Dykes wrote for the long dead Knoxville Journal, published a series of books, was an unofficial ambassador to the 1982 World’s Fair and the secret ruler of Rockford, Tennessee. Because he was mostly a print guy and because he worked for a newspaper that was much better than its competition he wasn’t front page news, but those who knew Dykes would say he would have been just fine with that.

Personally I only had three contacts with him; the first was in 82 at the World’s Fair where I found him lounging around early one morning in the pressroom. I was working for a radio station that had a remote studio down the hall from the press area and on a news break I walked out to see if any of the foreign press had come in. Dykes was on a couch, draped out like a dead man with his dirty boots resting on one of the pillows. It was my first physical encounter with the guy and I was taken by how long he was, had to be well over six feet, and how big a foot he had. Looking at him and hearing him snore with such conviction reminded me of the old adage about letting sleeping dogs rest and I did. Two hours later when my show was over Dykes was awake, enjoying a free beer, a Little Debbie snack and working the door to the press room like a Wal-Mart Greeter. As I walked by him, headed to the hall I complimented him on his derby.

Encounter number two was in Gatlinburg. We (CP and I) were working a big Christmas party for a very large oil company. After we told our jokes, helped give out gifts and turned the evening over to the DJ we moved to the bar for a few bracers to get us back to Knoxville. The room quickly filled with inebriated dancers trying to do “The Bump” and various free form interpretations when a side door opened. Due to the fact that one full wall of the hall was glass, allowing those walking by to see the festivities, Jim Dykes and his bride Peg spotted the private gathering as they strolled past. Without hesitation Dykes and said bride entered the far end of the hall, embraced and executed a very good waltz right through the gyrating throng. Without missing a beat, Dykes managed to open another door and continue waltzing right out of the room and into the hall toward the lobby. CP and I both gave the couple 10s for style, grace and balls.

The third and final encounter with Dykes came in the mail, as in the real mail that you walk across the yard to retrieve. I had been fired from something, can’t remember if it was a newspaper job or radio, but whatever it was he had found out about it. On the side flap of a Pall Mall carton in real ink (not the ballpoint pin crap but the real deal) he said he saw I now have some free time and suggested I come visit him at his estate (Condorhurst) in Rockford. I had moved to Rockford in 1978 and to the founders like Dykes I was more or less an outsider. Getting such an invite from a guy I had admired, read and in a left handed way stalked over the years made the dark situation I was in fade away. Unfortunately I did not get to visit him, meant to do it, and thought about it but a combination of shyness and a touch of inferiority kept me from making the drive over. I so wish I had now that he is gone.

UPDATE??

I know where da heck has the staff been? Most are in rehab and the rest are still in prison.
Just thought something should be on here so here is something.

Old pictures:

I gave this mat to the word famous BOOMSDAY MARY, the Promotion Director at the old WMYU who did BOOMSDAY every year. She was one of the good ones at that strange station and tipped me off weeks in advance of my pending firing! Gave me time to get my lawyer in the loop, clean out all my joke files and have several new keys made to the front door. No I never went back in the building but I did give them out to folks living under a bridge with directions on where they could sleep inside and find free coffee. BoomsDay Mary reportedly is living in Floria now and BooMSDay has been taken over by the city of Knoxville.



A TV spot pushing a show in Murvel. Sammy is the best Barny living and
David (director) has been in more movies than I can count. Lots of fun doing
it.
This had to be at least 8 years ago or more. CP and Walker guesting on
a show that Eddy Beacon was doing. The station was 1180 AM and although it was 10K
I never could hear it outside of their parking lot. Again, can't remember the exact show but I do remember both of us being so so SLIM and FIT back then!

RUMORS...
none.

OWNERSHIP CHANGES IN KNOXVILLE
none.

OPENINGS IN KNOXVILLE
none.

Personally? Glad you asked!
Playing in a band...all acoustic and all
REALLY OLD tunes.
Drop by our blog and check us out.
http://themfrband.blogspot.com/

HAPPY B DAY to 63 years of excitment

In total celebration of "Self" (its a radio thing) I
realize that 40+ out of my 63 years
have been spent in radio either on the air or bitching
about it!

The "Book" and trust me most older radio folks
are always going to write one, will cover
not just my career (stilted as it was) but
the total fun that was had by those of us who
never took the industry seriously but rather
used it to party, make a little money,
five finger discount countless records, CDs,
T shirts, dinner coupons, gas trades (I remember
drawing partial pay in total trade because
the stations let their sales managers do it and
they told me none of the suits were even remotely
concerned with that pesky income tax question) and
countless bar and hotel room tabs.

It was so much fun, even getting canned! No really,
getting fired followed a pattern of being the first out
when the engines were in flames and the pilot had already
hit the silk. Looking back, I can't remember a station
that told me to pack up my office, that is
even remotely successful today. Naturally I would LOVE
to believe rolling my head on a Thursday (to let staff know
you really hate someone be sure to fire them midweek)
was the reason those who canned me either ended up selling
advertisements for the Yellow Pages or leaning against a used
GM product on a hot Saturday doing the math on how many
sleds they had to sell to make the payment on the boat.
Truth was often the small
cadre of suites that asked
to see me when I got off the air, were
always gone within the year. Again, NOT because they
ran me off but simply because their current radio adventure
was collapsing around them months before they were forced to
pay off my contract and demand my key.


I know it sounds bitter, but trust me I
never was and never will be. I really had fun
and what they didn't know
was I would have paid them to have played in
their sand boxes. As for little things like
being able to afford food and brown whiskey
after being told I was no longer needed,
I was raised by a man who taught me never to
live above my means. That, coupled with a
great wife who was on tenure, made it easy to
either find another job or not. In fact it was
so easy to pick where and even if I wanted
to work that I was privileged to always stay
within 30 miles of where I was born! In those days
that was unheard of, most radio types kept
their box of jokes in the trunk of their
used car and the trailer hitch polished.
Best shut up or I will give away the "Book"
and the tens of (unfortunately my family has
passed or there would have been twenties) buyers
will have no reason to fork over the three bucks
and download it to their Kendle. Best just end by saying
happy birthday to my favorite person and
send out great karma to all those still
out their "chirping" away. Hang in there
and if things get tight remember you
can always bore folks with a blog!

Hamilton is still loved?

Yesterday local sports radio talk show hosts, along with the ink kids were introduced to Gonzo.Gonzo's real name is Cuonzo Martin but because
some of us who only speak East Tennessee have trouble with learning the
proper pronunciation of new names we often just go with what is close
and familure as in Cuonzo sounds like Gonzo. That said, today
Martin is becoming the read deal, the next big thing, and
the BB Moses that shall lead us to the promised land of at
least the Elite Eight and maybe through the golden gates of the
Final Four.

As for the man who did the actually hiring
of Martin, the jury is SO still out. Get this, the time chosen to
shine the Big Orange spotlight on Martin was less than 4 hours
before the Lady Vols played their last game of the season in
the NCAA! Naturally, Hammertime (the current AD at UT)
was questioned on his timing and naturally he skated beautifully,
although this is the same guy that said Pearl was
toast the day BEFORE the men's first and last appearance in
this years NCAA.

That said, some think Hammy is still walking on a solid
foundation of quicksand and his job security is right
up there with Kadafi.

This morning the realization that Bruce is really gone and
the cold gray truth of Hammertime giving Gonzo 5 years of contractual
security and a pay raise of a tad over a million over what
he was pocketing at his now former job is starting to set in.
That hard core pocket of "IF THEY ARE PLAYING I AM GOING" UT fans is
starting to find sparks of genius in Hammy's (I so wish the East Tennessee
sports writers would pick ONE derogatory nick name for Hamilton and
stick to it) hire.



As for Hammy/Hammertime..only one local sports radio talk
show is left sucking up to him. Could be their deep fear
of offending the Large Orange AD department, their honest to
Budda feeling that fans love anything Orange including the AD
or they just might be a tad too lazy to see the big picture.
No matter what their motive, at least in a world of
dot connectors and fans who pay hard cash to UT for
the right to BUY a ticket they are about the only
dog left in the ring that thinks the AD is a positive
force for both the fan base and the University. Their
blind love for the AD reminds me of the old adage
concerning the difference in democrats and republicans.
All dogs are born democrat, then when they open their eyes
they become republican. Love dem old adages!

Tomorrow I get my car back, the one with satellite radio,
and I can leave the local terrestrial world. If there was
ever a time to revisit "local" sports talk radio these last few days
have been it.

NEW BB COACH AT TN

Not sure but I think this is the guy? Well after
listening to local sport talk kids trying to say his name
this is about as close as they got.

Could be a two and done?

James A stories

When I found out James A. Dick
passed last night I instantly remembered
the first time I met the man.

It was in the 70s and I was afternoon
news anchor at WKGN. In those days both
WKGN and radio news in-general were highly
respected. The adage was if something made an
earth shaking boom, the radio instantly told you
where, that night the TV news had a picture of the
hole and the next day the newspaper had the name of the owner of the
still (today it would most likely be a meth lab)that
got everyones attention the day before.

In a nutshell, radio news was a big deal.


Norman Majors was Mr. Dick's News Director at
WIVK and we had gotten to know each other
by covering some of the same stories. Norman was and
still is a great guy who could get facts out of
anyone by just talking to them over the phone for a few
minutes, a trait vital to radio news folks in those days.
More importantly he had my trust. So when he called to
tell me he was leaving IVK and suggested I would make
a good News Director for James A. Dick I believed him.

Norman set up the interview at the station on the hill
on Kingston Pike, told me I would like Mr. Dick and
added that those who worked for the man just about never
left him.

The meeting was easy and I thought I did fine. One point
Mr. Dick kept asking my opinion on was the idea of putting
someone in a helicopter to report on traffic. I told him
that traffic was a big part of what we did at WKGN and
there was no need at all for a "flying" reporter because
our news department was required to monitor all the police scanners
and the instant a wreck came over in drive time we had the
power to break into programming and report it. When we were
finished talking I asked him if he needed a tape of me
and he said he had been listening for a very long time and
enjoyed my delivery and voice. Yep, walked out of WIVK
with the job in hand..or so I thought.

Turned out Mr. Dick had
already bought into the idea of
a flying reporter
and although the man dearly loved the idea
of saving money,
my idea was not going to fly.
Up side was a
few months later a part time guy
at WKGN told me he was going
to send a tape over to WETE
because their afternoon DJ (Mike Beach)
was leaving to come to WKGN.

Because I so wanted to get back into
jocking and also because I flat learned
the art of throat cutting
at the first station I worked for,
I hand delivered my tape to the Program Director
at WETE.
Don Patrick was both the PD and a very talented news guy,
He liked my sound and hired me
without listening to the tape. Less
than two years later, WETE was sold to
Basic Media out of Asheville and Curtis Parham (the WETE morning DJ)
suggested they keep both himself and me and do a team show in the morning.

That worked out rather well!


As for Mr. James A. Dick, his station did
better than great and the only ratings problem
they had was with those two new guys on WRJZ
(CP and Walker) in the morning.

The next time I met with James A. was when WRJZ was sold and everyone
was trying to find a new job.
Word was WRJZ was going country and the worst manager any of us had ever
experienced was going to remain at the station to run it.

My thought was CP and Walker could still work on AM if we could find
a place to land.
Mr. Dick thought that putting us on his AM along with
a format similar to the one we did at RJZ just might be the answer to
reviving the AM station.
I will never forget being in his office after the deal was cut
and someone knocking at his door
with a big bottle of champaign.
The card said it was from Rick Kirk a friend and a Jock at the now sinking
WRJZ. Mr. Dick read the card and
broke out in a giant laugh as he passed it around.
Rick's card said..
"I would so much rather work for a Dick than a Prick,
can we
talk about it?" Rick Kirk.

James A. dies

Dick Broadcasting founder James A. Dick has died
The group he founded with WIVK, Knoxville in 1953 had grown by 2000 to include clusters in Nashville (WGFX, WKDF), Birmingham (WAPI, WJOX, WRAX, WYSF, WZRR) and Greensboro/Winston-Salem. WIVK's Knoxville sisters at the time were WNOX-AM/FM, WOKI-FM and WXVO. The family sold all their stations except the two FMs in the North Carolina Triad: classic rock "Rock 92" WKRR (92.3) and CHR WKZL (107.5). James A. Dick died today (Sunday, Feb. 6) following what WIVK's Dave Foulk calls a lengthy illness. Foulk says, "James Dick not only helped launch the careers of several broadcasting legends, he was a community leader, founder of charities and a tireless supporter of several community endeavors in Knoxville." His former station WIVK, now at 107.7 and owned by Citadel, remains #1 in the age 12+ rankings for the market.


In December, 1952, the FCC granted James A. Dick a license to build a daytime only, 1000-watt AM radio station, and Dick Broadcasting was born. On March 20, 1953 WIVK-AM-860 signed on the air with a mixture of country (with the legendary “Cas Walker Live Country Music Show”), jazz, and gospel music, and such future stars as the Everly Brothers and Dolly Parton.

As the 50’s neared an end, radio was undergoing a massive change. Programming became more “formatted.” WIVK continued to air a broad range of music until 1961, when a strictly “Top 40” format was adopted. It was during these days that a young DJ named Bobby Denton started his career at WIVK.

In 1964, it was decided that Top 40 would be dropped in favor of country music, which seemed to have a much broader appeal throughout East Tennessee. The next year, Dick Broadcasting was granted a license to build an FM radio station. In December 1965, WIVK-FM signed on the air at 107.7 and an application was made to upgrade the signal of WIVK-AM. In November, 1966, WIVK-AM boosted its power from 1000 to 50,000 watts and moved to 850 on the dial. WIVK-AM became known as the “Jolly Green Giant.” The on-air lineup on WIVK at this time included Kenny Dearstone, Norman Majors, Claude Tomlinson, Bobby Denton (now our VP of Community Relations), Ed Brantley, Mike Hanes, and Terry Womack.

bout time!

Last post was in May of 10? OK
reason is simple we have been trying to find
a sponsor for the Media report that was both
Conservative, loved the Lord and believed in
the power of their product!

So let us welcome our new BUICK dealership
sponsor, be sure to ask for the man in the
polyester coat and the blond hair for your
next BUICK!




In the news....

Steve Crabtree VP News & Operations at WVLT,
better known as (Crabs) announced his exit
from the station last week.

On his face book page
Steve clarified some of the
facts about his departure.


While head of the news at 8 the station
left the lowly number three (last in the local TV news)
ranking slot by kicking the blue heck out of former number two rival, WATE.

Oh speaking of 6, after the coldest and
wettest (snow) December on record in
East TN WATE felt it time to fire
three quarters of their Weather
Department last week. Smooth move ex-lax!

MSNBC reportedly had to say CYAMOFO to the
only hate monger with ratings on their
small but failing cable news outlet.
Keith (Bathtub Boy)Olbermann didn't even tell his staff
he was leaving...and you are shocked?..until
he waved good-by last Friday on the air. If you
really WANT to know more about him cleaning
out his desk and packing his box check out The National Ledger.


Local radio is about the same.

Local TV is about the same (except for 8 and 6)

Local social media (don't you just love that stuff)
is about the same.

We shall try to report in
a more timely manor
in the near to distant future.

Thank you for your support..

Staff