Georgia Wavelengths (™): Podcasts from the Friends of Georgia Radio

With 30 years of experience across radio, print, and cable, Bob Klomp now serves as Regional Sales Manager for Cumulus Savannah and Charleston. There, he leverages Cumulus’s vast digital division and local assets to provide clients with a sophisticated "toolbox" of marketing solutions. By accessing a database of 300 million segmented consumers, Bob delivers hyper-targeted campaigns across web, soc...

Ken Johnson has a long history as a smart programmer, from his days in markets like New York, Philadelphia, and DC-- just to name a few. He's also the former VP for Urban Radio formats for Cumulus, iHeart, and the ABC Radio Networks. Now, he runs his own company, Mean Ole Lion Media, a podcast production company and content distribution network. Ken knows how to create compelling podcasts, and he...

Dennis Winslow sits down with Kevin and Taylor. After a long, and tremendously successful run at 104.7 The Fish, the station was sold and they were "on the beach." But, in September, they emerged as morning co-hosts at Star 94.1. Hear how they got their start, who influenced them along the way, and how they were able to seamlessly switch from a Christian to a pop music format.

Dennis Winslow talks with  Beth Bacall , longtime personality at the now defunct  104.7 The Fish/WFSH . Bacall had a storied broadcasting career at legendary stations like KFRC and KYCY in San Francisco and Jammin’ 105.1 in New York City, and anchored afternoons at The Fish for over 13 years. She’s a talent coach, a network personality, has won awards from Gabbys to an Industry Achievement Award f...

Howard Toole started as a jock in 10th grade in Augusta and quickly earned first-class ticket right after high school. He continued his radio journey at WRFC in Athens while finishing his degree at Georgia, then moved on to Louisville and New Orleans as an air personality and PD. Soon, he switched to sales, and ended up in Atlanta when Plough Broadcasting flipped WPLO-FM to Disco V-103. From there...

He's a UGA graduate who got his radio start in Augusta, then spent 12 years in Houston, 6 in Memphis, then 16 years in Atlanta as Market Manager and then Regional VP for Radio One, and now, he's retiring after an incredibly successful career. He'll talk about his career, the new realities of radio today, and pass on great advice for young broadcasters today. It's all here, in Georgia Wavelengths #...

Steve Craig has spent 30 years so far in Georgia radio -- all in Atlanta-- and almost all in Program management and on air, all at highly rated and well respected stations. Now, he’s back at 99X as PD and middays, and successfully reclaiming the heritage station's position, and the ratings, of the Original 99X. Here, in Part 2, Dennis Winslow hears from Steve how the staff was put back together, h...

Steve Craig has spent 30 years so far in Georgia radio, all in Atlanta, almost all in Program management and on air, all at highly rated and well respected stations, and now, he’s back at the station he started in Atlanta radio at – with a slight change in dial position—and leading the charge that’s so far done a pretty good job atreclaiming the heritage position, and the ratings, of the Original...

He started in programming, but Steve Hegwood hada bigger vision. After a very successful career as a high-level programming guy - he was the VP/Programming for RadioOne when they launched what is now Hot 107.9 in Atlanta — he found he had a taste for ownership. He built a company by parlaying a translator whose programming originated on a leased HD channel, into a group of stations, all carrying t...

A bigtime record executive comes back to Atlanta to do what he loves best—radio. And, a pretty crafty GM sees the possibility early on and parlays a collection of translator licenses into a new tower site and vastly increased coverage. Oh, and by the way, this little-but-mighty noncommercial station was streaming well before the other Atlanta operators saw the future. How has WCLK earned its reput...

More great radio stories from their Fox 97 Morning Show days. Plus, both offer advice for building a successful morning show. Hosted by the Fox 97 PD who brought them to Atlanta, Dennis Winslow.

A conversation with Fox 97's iconic morning duo Randy and Spiff…where they spent 14 years right up until the station flipped out of the oldies format. That didn’t stop ‘em, they went on to Atlanta iHeart oldies Cool 105.7, then over to Lite 94.9, then to news talk GST, and finally to WYAY/106.7 when it was doing oldies. A total of 21 years in Atlanta radio, and still as entertaining and funny as e...

For 25 years, Bob Neil ran Cox Radio and Cox Media Group, successfully leading one of the prestige media companies in the country while increasing its size from 13 to 83 stations. Now retired, but still consulting, Bob re-caps his career, tells some great behind the scenes stories, and looks to the future of the medium we all love.

Beginning in 1960 when the Al Evans family bought WVLD in Valdosta, the little AM with a limited signal in a market of around 30,000, sounded like it belonged in a much bigger market. And the talent it attracted proved it! Ron O'Quinn, Wayne "Kevin O'Connell" Buttram, and Bob Raleigh-- who were there is different decades-- reminisce about "the little station that could"!

Smaller market radio can be rewarding, and challenging-- especially if your stations are in the coverage area of multiple, bigger markets. Yet, Jeff Batten's Batten Communications, KJ Allen's OconeeComm, and Bill Maine's WDUN/WGGA Jacobs Media owned cluster in Gainesville, have somehow decoded a lot of the secrets to being successful AND making money. All three have a great perspective on how to t...

In the late 1970s, there were only a small handful of commercial stations featuring jazz programming. But WQXI-FM ("94Q")-- a extremely successful Atlanta pop rock station--- added a 5-hour jazz show Sunday nights 7 to midnight, and generated double digit shares-  Sometimes 20+ shares Adults 25-54!  Here's the inside story from Don Benson, the PD who put it on, and from Fleetwood Gruver and Russ D...

We gathered three incredibly bright Georgia college students who finished two weeks of intensive workshops and radio training at the GAB’s Radio Talent Institute at Grady College at UGA. We’ll find out what they learned, whom they met (A Who’s Who of Georgia and national radio leaders), and what they will do with all their new knowledge. Dennis Winslow talks with GAB President Bob Houghton, Brenau...

Mike Roberts and Carol Blackmon anchored mornings at heritage Urban powerhouse WVEE from the late 80s thru the late 90s – dominating morning ratings and winning accolades and awards. (Mike’s a Georgia Radio Hall of Fame and a GAB Hall of Fame inductee, and Carol was inducted into the National Black Radio Hall of Fame, and recently honored by the Library of Congress as she joined the Black Women in...

The voiceover business-- then and now--- with three of the most successful voice talents in the industry. All worked in Atlanta radio, all still live here, and all are still working. How they got started, the challenges of the business today, and a few secrets, plus advice for young talent who want a career as a voiceover talent today--- it's all here in FoGRPod #16 with Randy Reeves, George Robin...

ABC/CapCities imported PD Neil McGinley to Atlanta from flame-throwing CHR WKBW in Buffalo to their new country property, WKHX 101.5 in Atlanta.  And Neil imported a morning guy from a top-rated rock station in Houston, where he had a reputation as a “shock jock.”  Together, they built a heritage country morning show brand in the heart of the South.  Back together again, in one of the last recorde...

Brian Philips-Chief Content Officer, Cumulus Over 30 years ago, Susquehanna radio put their Top 40 “Power 99” to bed, and birthed a new station – the original “99X.” With a legendary morning show – “The Morning X” – and a unique roadmap (there really wasn’t one in the beginning), the station carved out a place in Georgia radio history but eventually was itself replaced. Fast forward, and the visio...

FoGRPod # 13- “History of WRAS-Part 2”  has some really great guests – two Atlanta natives who both got started at “Album 88” in different eras: John Asante , who was a show host and News Director from 2007-2009, and then ended up at WNYC and NPR in New York, helping to produce such iconic shows as “Ask Me Another,” “The Takeaway,” and “Talk of the Nation.” From there, he headed for Los Angeles wh...

WRAS’s Drew Murray and Jeff Walker- In addition to arriving at WRAS during the station’s infancy in the early 1970s, Drew Murray has the distinction of being the very first voice on the brand new “96 Rock” when WKLS flipped from beautiful music. And Jeff Walker is the WRAS staffers who just can’t leave! Jeff was PD in 1981, then GM, then Operations manager and Advisor off and on from 1986 to today...

Savannah icon Jerry Rogers talks about programming and managing some of Savannah's classic Top 40 stations, and how he now owns, operates, and does afternoon drive on Savannah's Quality Rock 105.3, WRHQ.

A native of Pittsburgh, one of Dwight Douglas’s first broadcasting jobs after college was as a video guy for TV’s “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.” Later, radio successes led him to a job with the ABC O&O radio stations helping revitalize their FM properties.  He eventually ended up at the largest radio consulting firms in the world-- Burkhart/Douglas and Associates-- consulting some of America’s be...