Misc

Radio updates in Daytona Beach 12-15-21
Thanks to emailer Anxii for these updates.
FM Translator 99.9 W260DO has been on air since 11/15/2021. It rebroadcasts 1150 WNDB and 93.5 W228CT. They both seem to cover the same areas. Not sure if 93.5 will go off air in favor of 99.9. FM. Translator 94.1 W231CN (rebroadcasting WHOG-HD2) appears to be moving to 104.7 and at a new location under the new call sign "W284DQ". Current translator seems to be less powerful as I used to get a full signal to almost all static now since a week ago. Not sure what is going on.

Looking back at the news
From The Orlando Evening Star newspaper March 10, 1966 (11-4-21)

Tom Sawyer 'Beaten'
Widely known Winter Park radio station president and manager Tom Sawyer is in Winter Park Memorial Hospital with "multi-fractures about the face" after reportedly being beaten up early Wednesday. Winter Park Police Department records stated that a nurse at WPMH (Winter Park memorial Hospital) called the department at 3:08 a.m. Wednesday notifying them that Sawyer had been brought to the hospital after a "fight." The investigating officer in his report stated: "He has been beaten up by two colored males in Eatonville and robbed. Gave information to sheriff's office." A spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff's Office said that deputies sent to question Sawyer about the incident were not allowed by hospital authorities to see him. Investigator Bobby Tanner, who has since been assigned to the case, was unavailable for questioning by The Star at press time. Sawyer, who is president and manager of Radio Station WABR, was formerly employed by The Sentinel Star Co. and at one time wrote a column for the newspaper called "Swamp Cabbage." The hospital listed Sawyer's condition Thursday as "satisfactory."

From The Orlando Sentinel newspaper Dec 19, 1971 (11-4-21)
Arsonists Again Hit Station
Arsonists hit a Winter Park radio station for the second time in a week Saturday, destroying a garage and gutting an engineering building, the Killarney Volunteer Fire Department reported. Fire Chief Robert Illyes said incendiary devices "well-placed by someone with a lot of know-how" destroyed the outer structures and charred a wall of the main studio building of WBJW(-AM 1440), 222 Hazard Drive. State Fire Marshal Tom Easterling joined the investigation. Tuesday, a firebomb was tossed through a door at the station, but the announcer on duty, Cameron Harper, quickly stamped out the wick. Harper was on duty again early Saturday when the fire began, but by the time he noticed the blaze telephone wires were already out. He had to run to a nearby residence to call the fire department. Station officials and fire department investigators could turn up no motive for the arson. The station is undergoing an expansion and remodeling program, fire officials said. Easterling collected samples that will be sent to the Florida State Fire College at Ocala for analysis. Although some equipment in the engineering room was lost in the blaze, and a car suffered heavy damage, officials said the major broadcast equipment was saved. The station was forced off the air for eight hours Saturday.

Big Bill Love Is On The Move 5-16-21
Big Bill Love, Evansville, IN, market legend is leaving Townsquare Media country WKDQ (99.5) after 29 years to become the morning host at Midwest Communications crosstown format competitor “93.5 The Lloyd” WLYD, effective Monday, May 17. “We are incredibly excited to have Bill on board,” Midwest Evansville OM Aaron Santini said in a release. “You don’t have the opportunity to bring on a guy like him, with his resumé and market presence, very often.” Love began his career in 1959 as a high-school junior at a 1,000-watt station in his hometown of Paintsville, KY. Stops prior to WKDQ included WHOO-AM 990 Orlando, WKGN Knoxville, TN; WPOP Hartford, CT; WKLO Louisville, KY; WHK Cleveland; WFBC Greenville-Spartanburg, SC; and WSLR Akron, OH. He also has served as an instructor at Kentucky Wesleyan College.

Pat Campbell Calls it Quits 5-12-21
Former morning host at WFLF-AM 540, Pat Campbell has called it a career at KFAQ-AM 1170 in Tulsa, OK. In 2020 a seizure revealed three cancerous brain tumors, which were surgically removed and followed with a course of chemotherapy and radiation. Pat returned to the station later that year. He has decided to retire recently to deal with health concerns.

Where Are They Now? 2-25-21
Jim Kerr has become the longest-running morning radio host in the city of New York City. What's the Central Florida Radio connection? Early in his career he worked at both WORJ-FM 107.7 and WLOF-AM 950.

Susie Cerrone long time traffic reporter and host of "Passion Phones" on WTKS-FM 104.1 in 1993 is also in the "big apple" reporting traffic for the iHeart owned Total Traffic Network.

A Look Back 6-17-20
John Graham, formerly the morning feature reporter at WOFL FOX 35 when GOOD DAY ORLANDO started back in 2000. (I'm a freelance writer/producer/ host/ whatever you need these days, still in Orlando.) Has dug up clips from the week he broadcast at a bunch of morning radio shows in the summer of 2001. https://youtu.be/ky2ixsD1lwk.

Moira The Politician 6-15-20
Lynn “Moira” Dictor has thrown her "hat into the ring" as a candidate for Seminole County Tax Collector. Moira, a radio-talk show personality known to Central Florida listeners as Moira from her 20-year stint on the Philips Phile on Real Radio 104.1 (WTKS-FM 104.1) in Orlando, is one of four candidates, two Democrats and two Republicans, seeking to challenge Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg in the 2020 elections. Dictor is one of the Democrats. Dictor, 59, of Lake Mary, also has been a news reporter and anchor, news director, and talk show host. She is a 2019 recipient of the Harvey Milk ally award from The LGBTQ Center, and is on the board of directors of A Gift for Teaching. She’s also served as president o the Congregation of Reform Judaism.

9-8-19 Paco Lopez PD In Las Vegas
Paco Lopez has been promoted to the position of Program Director at Beasley Media Group’s Jammin’ 105.7, KOAS-FM in Las Vegas. In his new role, Lopez, who originally joined the station in June 2019, will also continue to serve as the afternoon drive personality on the station. The radio veteran has held programming, music director and on-air duties for nearly four decades. Prior to joining Beasley Media Group in Las Vegas, he served as the midday personality for nearly six years at WOCL-FM 105.9 'Sunny FM", WNUE-FM 98.1, WJHM-FM 101.9 "102 Jamz" and WPYO-FM 95.3 in Orlando.

7-18-19 There is a new Facebook page about "KO 860 Knockin' Out The Hits" WWKO-AM 860 and WKKO-AM 860 check it out here.

1-22-19 Flagler Broadcasting Adds Stations
Our friends at Flagler Broadcasting have announced a New radio station for St. Augustine. St. Augustine Country 106.3 FM will launch Feb. 1. The 106.3 studios are co-located with Beach 105.5 in the St. Augustine Record building and owned by Flagler Broadcasting LLC. “We’re not afraid to mix in the older country classics from the 80s and 90s,” 106.3 program director John “JT” Merriam said in a news release. “Country 106.3 is a fun, leave-it-on-all-day and let-it-play radio station.” St. Augustine local news, traffic and weather will also be part of the programming as well as air time for local charities to promote local events and fundraisers. Flagler Broadcasting family of local radio stations has grown with four in Flagler County and now two in St. Augustine. All Flagler Broadcasting radio stations can be heard on smart speakers, streamed on social media or by downloading the Flagler Radio mobile app.

3-18-18 John Schmidt Tells Stories About WRKT and WRMF
My name is John Schmidt. I hung around and did some engineering work for WRKT(-AM 1300) from July 1967 to the end of the year. I worked for Grumman, which had sent me from New York to Cape Kennedy while LM1 was being prepared for launch. Having an FCC first ticket and being rather bored in the evenings, I had wandered around the local radio stations looking for something to keep me occupied. I stuck my head in WRMF(-AM 1050) (I was living in Titusville), but then happened to find WRKT, where Rick Morton was nice enough to let me hang around.
I soon met Don Fleming who was the part time Chief. He also worked at the Cape, for the communications contractor. Fringe benefit for WRKT-FM (104.1), they were piped into the NASA headquarters building cafeteria, courtesy of Don. Don liked that I had a First and was a EE with some ability to fix stuff. I liked that I kept busy evenings and weekends. The deal was, if I wandered in and, on my own, fixed broken stuff, I did it gratis. If they needed someone with a First, like when they did a remote and the DJ was at the remote, they paid me (not much...) But up to then, my experience with radio was a carrier current college station and a 3KW class A FM station, so I figured, correctly, that I'd learn something from their AM directional and 100KW? FM operation.
WRKT AM, at least when Rick was on, was some version of Rock and Roll, I don't recall it being MOR. It was pretty popular. The station, like many others, signed off at midnight, or thereabouts. Sometimes Don or I would put it back on the air in the middle of the night to make some adjustments or test a repair. And within minutes the request line would start ringing, at 3AM... Some times we even took the requests! The daytime 5KW covered pretty well, I had no trouble picking it up in Titusville where I lived. The night 1KW pattern I think mostly fed Cocoa Beach and the fish in the ocean. My car radio couldn't pick it up until I got pretty close to the transmitter.
The FM was beautiful music, I think Bonneville. Schafer automation, I think 6 Ampex tape decks, model 300 decks with I recall custom playback only electronics. There was a "time" machine with a pair of oversize cartridges that would, if selected, play an announcement of the time of day, and there was the "spot tape" machine for playing back commercials (very few) and PSA's (a lot).
Another funny issue, on Sunday mornings they aired a bunch of pre-recorded religious programs. They would rack them all up on the automation tape decks to play in sequence. But they had to remember to reset the silence sensor from the usual 3 seconds or so up to a minute or so. If they forgot, the preacher on the tape would say "a moment of silent prayer", and after three seconds, the next tape would start, the silence sensor would trip before the moment of silent prayer had ended and the rest of the first program got cut off.
Now about WRMF. At that time a 500 watt daytimer. Format appeared to be 'whatever the record company sent us for free'. I stopped by the "studios" at the transmitter site, actually before I found WRKT. As I recall, they had a Gates Yard and two turntables on a sheet of plywood resting on two sawhorses, visibly sagging in the middle. The DJ had no headphones, and he would "finesse" the program-audition switch for the mic so the mic would be on but the monitor wouldn't be muted, so he could hear when the song ended to begin his announce. I decided I really didn't want to be involved there, and went on to find WRKT.
Anyway I used to listen to WBZ, 1030 AM from Boston on my table radio in Titusville some nights. (I grew up in the Boston suburbs) So one evening I get home from the Cape and turn the radio on, still tuned to 1030, and hear a strong, unmodulated carrier. Silence. I realized this had to be WRMF, and I thought of calling them, but thought, 'well they've received dozens of calls and are trying to fix whatever died' So I listened to the silence for perhaps half an hour and finally dialed the station phone. The phone is answered by a woman on the first ring "Hello WRMF, how can I help you" with music blaring in the background. I say "Are you aware that you have no modulation?" hoping that the woman knew what modulation was. She says "Hold On" a few seconds later, I hear the audio on my radio come on, go off, and come back on. She comes back on the phone and says "Is it OK now?" I say "Yes", she says "Thank you for calling." I say goodbye and hang up. Was I the only listener? How long had the audio been off?? Wow, talk about no audience!

11-22-17 Robert D. Raiford Passes
Robert D. Raiford, a North Carolina radio personality whose career spanned decades, died on Nov 21at age 89. For 30 years, Raiford served as the so-called “curmudgeon at large” on the “John Boy and Billy Big Show,” a program originating in Charlotte and syndicated to 57 stations nationally.

5-26-17 Boom 97 Uno Goes Bust
Oi2 Media took Alma 97.1, (WRUM-HD 3) which was playing Spanish Christian music, changed the format to Bilingual Contemporary Hits Radio and used the slogan "Boom 97 Uno" on two translators. Unfortunately, the "Boom" was already trademarked by Radio One. So Oi2 Media has rebranded the stations as "Oi2 97 Uno"

11-28-16 A Great Book For Broadcast History Buffs
Donn Colee has written a book about the history of broadcasting in Florida. Towers In The Sand covers broadcasting, TV and radio in the state of Florida.

11-26-16 WMEL Sharing The 1510 Frequency
WMEL-AM has moved their call letters and most of their programming to WWBC-AM 1510. WWBC continues some of the Religious/Talk programming as well. Astro Enterprises, Inc. still owns the 50,000 watt station as well as 3 translators. Two in Cocoa and one in Melbourne.

4-21-16 Bob Opsahl To Retire
WFTV channel 9 news anchor will retire in May after 38 years at the station. Did you know Bob was a country DJ? That's right around 1976, Bob graduated from the University of Central Florida, majoring in Radio and Television Communications and it wasn't long until his first broadcasting job at WFIV-AM 1080.

11-21-15 Radio Connection Live on KJSC
Tim O'Connor, former production director at WELE-AM 1380 has taken over the hosting responsibilities at Radio Connection Live on KJSC radio. This is a show done by radio fans for radio fans and we discuss all aspects of broadcasting Sunday afternoon from 3PM-5PM. The show invites live phone calls about anything radio related and is also a podcast which can be downloaded at www.kjscradio.com. KJSC is an internet station located in Phoenix and many of it's co-hosts are young enthusiastic visually impaired radio fans who live in small, medium and major markets across the country. We discuss the broadcasting industry news of the week and often focus on Central Florida radio and play market scoped airchecks from all over the country. Feel free to join in on the discussion at 602-399-7983.

5-10-12 The Latest On Gene Burns
Clear Channel has announced that Gil Gross will take the 4pm-7pm time slot at KKSF-AM 910, the slot was to be for Gene Burns. Gene is making progress and will continue to blog for the station.

Before Arbitron There was Mediastat
Kris Earl Phillips sent along a sample of the ratings for the Daytona Beach market from 1972.
Thought you might like to remember the days when AM really was the dominant medium. Since Arbitron really was an upstart at that time, Mediastat was the ratings leader and used to do the surveys in the area. Brief and pretty much to the point...before the days of mega-demographics! BTW, I was doing 6p-Mid at the time on WMFJ. This was pretty helpful around 'raise' time."

Click photos for a full sized view

The Passing of a Legend
On January 29, 2005 an Orlando Radio pioneer passed away. John Rutledge was an integral part of what radio sounded like in Orlando, at WHOO-AM 990, WLOF-AM 950 and he also put WLOQ-FM 103.1 on the air. Visit our Tribute to John Rutledge and read his Biography

Late Night Reception
Gerald Lostutter sends along a video produced by himself and Jeff Steele. Ken Thorne provided the music. The video was sent to Late Night with David Letterman. Unfortunately NBC couldn't use it, but here it is.
What's the radio tie-in you ask? The exterior shots were filmed at the WCOT-AM 950 studios and tower also "appeared" in the film.

Late Night Reception

WLOF Tour
On July 30, 2004 we had the pleasure of joining a group of folks that worked at WLOF-AM 950, Orlando, on a tour of the old studios. Wilma (my wife) took lots of pictures and we share those here.

My Daddy the DJ
by Martha Cowell Calloway

I am Brad Cowell’s oldest daughter, Martha, and I treasure the memories of my Dad taking me to work with him when I was a little girl. I live in Franklin, North Carolina now, but seeing my father’s name as a
WMFJ-AM 1450 personality brought back so many warm memories, that I just had to write.

First, Brad Cowell is listed as a WMFJ night personality during the late 1960’s, when, if my memory serves me correctly, the mid 1960’s would be more accurate.

He was first at WMFJ when it was located in the lower level of the Plaza Hotel. The Seabreeze beach approach tunnel ran through the building and I remember you could look out the window of the DJ booth and watch the cars drive through the tunnel to the beach.

When my Dad worked in this location I was probably 5 years old and it was such a thrill to be with him at work. I would sit quietly and watch him, spellbound by the way he talked and all the knobs and buttons and the music he played, and when I wasn’t there and at home, I would listen to the radio at night when I went to bed and would fall asleep listening to his voice mixed in with the music and that classic AM band static. Back then, I thought my Dad was a movie star!

I was also star-struck with the other DJ “celebrities” that I met there, and who always treated me, like my Dad did then, as a “little princess”. I remember Rick (?) Shira, and a couple of others who were called “The Good Guys”, and I had an air-brushed sweatshirt that had their faces painted on it with “The Good Guys WMFJ” in big black letters above them. I also remember having a cowboy hat with “The Good Guys” airbrushed on it too, and if I’m not mistaken both are still in my father’s old closet in my Grandmother’s house in Daytona Beach!

My Dad was still working for WMFJ when it moved from the Plaza location over the river to a narrow street that ran parallel to Bay Street. It was located behind the old Volkswagen dealership. I don’t know if that is where it still is now, but that is the last place I remember it being. I didn’t go to work as often with my father to that location, but do remember once, in the middle of what I think was a Hurricane or Tropical Storm situation, going with him to check the station tower which was right next to the building. I stayed in the car (an old bathtub Porsche) while my Dad climbed part of the way up the tower in a yellow rain suit to secure it. It was raining so hard I could hardly see him out of the window of the car.

After WMFJ, if I am remembering correctly, my Dad worked briefly at WROD-AM 1340 when it was located in a big round glass building on the West side of Ridgewood Avenue (US1) between Daytona and South Daytona. Although I don’t remember him working for WROD in the building they are currently in (the one in the photo on your website under WROD) it is possible he did for a short time before moving to South Florida.

Around 1966, my Dad moved to West Palm Beach, Florida and worked as an evening/night (4-11) Disc Jockey under the name of “Rick Savage” first for WHEW and then for WIRK. I stayed in Daytona Beach with my Grandparents (father’s parents) but visited as regularly as possible and once again loved going to work with him when he would take me. My Dad remarried while working for WIRK and also had a second daughter.

During his time at During his time at WHEW and WIRK he became interested in law-enforcement and ultimately became a police officer (around 1969) for the Riviera Beach Police Department in Riviera Beach, Florida, just outside West Palm Beach.

In 1971, my Grandfather passed away, and my Father, Stepmother and new Sister, moved from West Palm Beach back to Daytona Beach and began working as a police-officer for the Daytona Beach Police Department. He divorced around 1974 and remained living in the Cowell family home on Peninsula Drive.

Around 1991 he retired from The Daytona Beach Police Department, and around that same time married his long-time girlfriend of 16 years, Cheryl. Around this time as well he purchased a home on the St. John’s River in Astor, Florida, and shortly thereafter became a father again, twice (two girls two years apart)!

In 1998 my Grandmother passed away and though my father still resides at the family home on Peninsula Drive, he and his wife, Cheryl, and daughters, Lacey (12) and Ashley (10), spend as much time as possible at their house in Astor, which is much more peaceful than life in Daytona Beach these days!

Well, I guess that’s about it! I have so many wonderful memories of being with my Dad the DJ at the different radio stations he worked at when I was little, that I just had to tell you what I remember.

Bobby Andrews Remembers...
Bobby Andrews, son of radio legend Bob Andrews relays some great stories and personal memories about Central Florida radio and his dad.
On WLOF(-AM 950)- "...The "weird beard" (Bill Vermillion) told me a story in the late 70's about the day WHOO(AM 990) changed to country. He and the others at WLOF caught wind of the move and proceeded to buy and borrow every country record they could get their hands on. At the time WHOO made the move, 'LOF started playing country too, confusing most of Central Florida."
On Bob's bio and flying-"...One thing your bio didn't include was your pioneering of "eye in the sky traffic reports". You got your (pilot's) license from that. One of the funny clips from 'LOF was their eye Chris O'Condor. You couldn't understand what he was saying due to prop noise, but it didn't matter. The engine started to sputter and you heard the plane go into a dive and the DJ would break in "We'll check back with Chris later".
About WDBO(-AM 580)-"...Another great comedy spot ran on WDBO (in) 72-73 called the "Stoned Ranger". It featured a hippie cowboy "far out, Indian" and his sidekick Toronto. The traditional roles were reversed. When entering a country store, the owner states, "I don't talk to your kind" and the Indian replies, "That all right, him with me" Comedy use to have a big place in radio and I miss that."

"Radio Tales..." Wonderful stories about radio personalities from Anne Jeffries

"WKIS(-AM 740) used to have a morning man named Al Dunaway and the infamous Bud Brewer did overnights. One morning Al was making the drive time "KIS cash call" and boy did he get a wrong number as the dialog went like this:

Al: Good Morning this is the WKIS cash call, what's your name?

Caller: Al?, what are you doing this is Bud.

Al: Well good morning Bud, can you give me the count and the amount?

Caller: Al, I don't think you understand. This is Bud...Bud Brewer...I work here.

Al: Bud? gee, how did I get your number.

Caller: Beats the sh*t out of me AL..!!

It seems that Al had awakened Bud who had just gotten off from his overnight shift. This "phoner" led to WKIS issuing a policy that all phone calls had to be taped in advance of being aired. It was a story frequently told at the media lunch table at Malcolm's Hungry Bear (restaurant) and "beats the sh*t out of me Al" had become somewhat of a catch phrase. One morning while working at WHOO-FM 96.5, Frank Vaught who was doing sports for the AM station, tapped me on the shoulder and called me into the production room. Much to my surprise Frank actually played me an air check of this infamous phoner, proving once an for all it was a true story.

"Being fortunate enough to be an accepted member of the lunchtime media group at Malcolm's (Hungry Bear restaurant on Colonial Drive-next door to the old Dancing Waters restaurant) I have many stories I can share. Back when Carole Nelson was doing news at WDBO-AM 580) she was having lunch one day at Malcolm's with the media group. (One of the nice things about Malcolm's were those comfortable captains chairs with arm rests at the tables.) Well one of the fellows at the media table was on the OPD (Orlando Police Department) force and as a prank, handcuffed Carole to her chair. After making a couple of jokes he got up, paid his check and promptly left. After about 10 minutes or so it became apparent that he was not returning and Carol needed to get back to the DBO studio for her newscast. Quickly running out of time they called a cab, loaded Carole and the chair in the back and headed for the studio. As luck would have it they made it back to WDBO just in time for Carole (still handcuffed to the chair) to grab her copy and do her newscast! From what I understand it was completely hysterical and proved Carole once and for all to be a "good sport".