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Feedback on Ron Jacobs Proclamation re: Randy Michaels
(Click here to read Ron jacobs' Guest Viewpoint)
(Click here to e-mail your comments)

Shannon's Corner ... "Randy and Ron -- When giants clash and collide"
I don't know Randy Michaels personally. I've never met Randy. Never worked with Randy. I know many who do, have and did. Each has a different opinion of him, I'm sure. My views were formed from a dispassionate distance ... (continued)

I'm just now getting around to sending a response to Ron's brilliant commentary. I worked for Gabe Hobbs in the 80's, and met Randy a few times when he came to the station. I was impressed with his knowledge of this business, and with every station on the dial in the town where I worked. But when Jacor decided to sell us, all support stopped from Cincy and the bloodletting began. Longtime employees like myself and several others were the first to go. It's happened before, and it'll probably happen again. But never have I been so, shall we say, heartlessly and cruelly treated by people I formerly called family.

I will also say this: Tom Owens, who was Jacor's programming head at the time, was the hatchet man...but I never met him. He came to the building and hid out in the PD's office the whole time. What goes round comes round.

I've given radio nearly 30 years of my life and I still love it. I'm fortunate now to be working for a family owned shop which does care about and serve the local community, and allows me to be as creative as I can be. Long live Ron Jacobs!

Hogrider

As a lay person observing the aforementioned material regarding Clear Channel in general and Randy Michaels specifically, I must salute Ron Jacobs for his creative redressing of the mighty "Evil Doers" of radio!

Having traversed the amplitude modulation and frequency modulation dials up and down the great state of California for 40 years, I have this to add:

We hear much talk of strip mining and clear cutting in our society by the ever present watch dog groups who wish to keep our environment as pristine and natural as possible.

It is long over due to scream out in anguish at the powers to be who have out of sheer GREED ,STUPIDITY, and a complete lack of creative ability neutered the radio airwaves!

Growing up in the S.F. Bay Area, at any given time during the 50's -70's,between the Top 40 outlets, MOR stations, Talk Radio, Underground fm etc. One could experience the ultimate in pure IMAGINATIVE entertainment. Talent, an extinct animal for our discussion here along with healthy COMPETITION went by the wayside after 1996 and the GIANT CONGLOMERATES sucked the life out of anything worth listening to.

Randy Michaels, is the focus today. A meer pawn, henchman, representative of the heinous crimes perpetrated by Clear Channel and others under the guise of good radio and creative [TALENT]?

Once again good folks of La La Land, I'm only a simple lay person who never cracked a mike in any decent civilized area. I'm only one of many who yearn for the days of GOOD RADIO !

Major kudos for the overdo lambasting by R.J. from the Islands and thanks man, someone needs to point out the OBVIOUS!!!!

I remember reading about the Clear Channel game plan for radio in the 21st century and thinking that in order for these buffoons to accomplish there goals they'd have to really piss off a lot of people in our business. The person who initiated all of this was a guy named Tom Owens, who at one time programmed the Jacor stations out of Cincinnati.

I'm one of those guys who got into this business well into the 80's and way past the Boss era of the 60's and 70's. Luckily I could ignore the cue cards while most PD's and consultants respected my shtick since the numbers played out. Clear Channel changed all of that.

It didn't matter what the numbers were and how you connected with the audience. Today it's nothing more than playing a few songs or fielding some titillating calls that keep a commuter tuned in for twenty minutes until the 8 minute spot break hits on the :20.

And Ron I do agree with Pat O'Day on some issues here. Most of my peers have never been mentored and are earning a check on sheer luck and talent. Most programmers today are really nothing more than great ass-kissers. And I'm familiar with the old school since my uncle did Top 40 on the West Coast in your era. You really had to know your station and it's listeners in order to survive back then. Nowadays programmers schedule weekend shifts and count pennies.

In my market Clear Channel owns 8 stations, a TV outlet and the major entertainment facility. There's no competition. I enjoyed your rant. Today I'm multi-tasking my ass off because Randy and his crew drove up the cost of doing business for everyone. And yet I'm concerned with his departure. It could get even worse with Lowrey running the show.

Slick

I can see where Ron Jacobs is coming from... but I suspect that the Mays will rue the day they let Randy slide from the CEO's job... the NEXT radio company that hires him..THAT'S where I'm buying stock... so I can make up for the losses I've suffered at Clear Channel in the last year... and the $5 a share loss on Tuesday... (hell, that was almost enough for a downpayment on a new house... Thanks Lowrey!)Randy has been aggressive, creative, and has hired good people to run things... yes, some of our friends have fallen by the wayside... but they needed to adapt to the new realities, the consolidation, and the voice tracking era. We all miss working 12 Midnight to 6 AM...which is where we really learned to be air talent, but CC stations continue to be major market forces...requiring more of a competitive effort. He's been a pioneer, and that should be recognized as well.

RM

Ding-dong, the witch is dead!!!!! Thanks for your lovely post, Ron. It has been forwarded to many friends, and I've received 44 copies of your fine article. God, I hope that CC has cooked their books, and Randy winds up sharing a cell with Tyrone, who will protect him.

All the best,

PW

DEAR RON: YOUR RANDY MICHEALS PIECE WAS THE FUNNIEST THING I HAVE READ IN YEARS. WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND. THERE ARE MANY THINGS TO DISLIKE ABOUT RANDY.... ONE SMALL ONE WAS CANCELLING THE SYNDICATED VERSION OF GARY BURBANK.... MOM EM'S

Larry,

I remember when I worked for Storz and McLendon in the late 50's and early 60s; some people were saying, "I miss the old radio days with radio drama etc". Television took that ole time radio's place. It's not the same comparing radio today and radio in the 60s and 70s.

The difference with exciting top 40 radio back then were the dynamic engines that were overseeing talent. People like Graham Richards, Storz national PD; Bill Stewart, a major PD with McLendon; Chuck Blore; who took Mclendon's concept to L.A. (and half of McLendon's staff) and made KFWB a powerhouse.

O'Day and Jacobs have this in common:

Both of them were able to recognize talent and polish that talent. This is a talent within itself but seems nowhere to be found these days. So who dropped the ball in developing future radio stars? It was the greedy corporate radio station owners who have become Mega-World. Competition is no longer a factor it seems. One station owner with several stations in a market and some with the same format isn't a breeding ground for competition.

Ron, Pat, and I were fortunate to be major players in radio when it was fun and our listeners had fun listening to us have fun. There was never a morning that I woke up at 3:30am to get ready for my gig and thought, "I hate to go to work today".

Our radio was called 'creative radio'. Instead of having talented radio professionals like O'Day and Jacobs encourage radio talent we have snotty nosed ass holes whose major job is to: not rock the boat, write those no talent cue cards, and daily memos saying, "Shut up and play the music"......

It's good to see Jacobs tell it like it is. It's also good to see an outlet like Radio Daily News explore the reality of what's going on in a business that was our love and life's blood for many years.

Lan Roberts

Ron ...

Do you have any idea how funny you are? I give you an A++!!!!

I would declare this Ron Jacobs Month ... However I would have to be as witty as you, write up my proclamation, and it would be NOWHERE near as FABULOUS as yours!

You made my day (and I'm sure a lot of others)!

P

Sir,
I laughed so hard, that I am wiping the tears...
Thank you,
MS

Ron,

Like Seymore Burns (Simpsons) would say, "Exceeeelent"......

Best rant I"ve seen in a long time....Keep the fire burning.

LR

...clever! Let's raise a cup of grog and praise the day!

Magnificent put down.

RJ,

I'm getting email right and left thanking me for forwarding your Clear Channel proclamation. Yes, it made my day and apparently it's making other people's day. Got one from a major jock (well by today's standards I guess) at Clear Channel who loved it and said he didn't know anybody in the org that liked the guy....I love it when you get pissed.
Much aloha ole friend,

Great reading Ron - I am enjoying it all thoroughly. Your proclamation is classic.

Ron, glad to see you haven't lost your sense of humor!

Brian

RJ,

Your Randy Michaels Proclamation is one of the funniest damned things I've read in a long time. My wife even had to come into my office to find out what was so funny. She read it, and she, too, went into hysterics.

Dear Ron Jacobs,

I don't know you, but I assume you're getting a lot of laudatory emails on your Randy Michaels Proclamation. Please let me add my name to the list of people who think you got it just right. (Although describing him as "pea-brained" may have been insulting to peas.) Well done!

Katie Pruett

Dear Mr. Jacobs:

Although having never come close to your distinguished career, I loved radio for the twenty five years I was involved in it. I grew up in Southern California in the 60s and, as such was exposed to the most amazing radio in the history of the medium up and down the coastline, from San Diego to LA - all of which you so passionately impacted.

That influence was a part of my career. It is sad to witness (and hear) what the medium has become. Local radio has diminished in importance as to have virtually no impact upon its service area. I compare that absence to the genuine excitement one felt just hearing the words "Boss Radio!" blasting out of the speakers as spoken by the Real Don Steele et al and am stunned by the fall of so mighty a medium.

I really enjoyed reading your proclamation. Your assessment of the end product of such influences is, unfortunately, a correct one.

Sincerely,
J S

A couple of words. You may not have liked him personally, and he sure could be abrasive when he chose to be...however, he was a helluva programmer and knew how to extract the best of talent. I personally think that the Mays family will regret having him sent out to pasture. I respected him, I enjoyed his sense of humor, and sometimes I disagreed with him, but he is a helluva talent, and cared for the company that paid him. Ask yourself what would you have done if you were in his shoes? You would be lucky to equal his track record. Burt Sherwood

Randy gets offed because he's a blight on professionalism. Good riddance! All the best from a fan.

Agreed..(Randy Michaels/OBIT) I worked KGB San Diego. (I've had 20 years plus in the bus.) They treated us like beginners.…put on free DJ's from the Promotions to voice track....fired me, and others...I won’t go on.

But, the amount of talent...the thousands of radio personalities that they put out on the street nationally, and the family's that had to put up with the unemployment situation...is unbelievable, and was unnecessary.

They had the money to have live talent all day long…they said they didn't have the money to pay the same week, but they buy 80 million dollars worth of more stations, and fire more people.

Where was I to go…they have 11 stations...(or more) in town. I'm now doing voice stuff.

Thanks for saying what we all have lived, but haven't said because we in some way or another still have to live with the rat bastards..of Clear Channel.

Jeez, I like Randy.

Nicely done. Standing O. Will be celebrating the rest of the week. Maybe the rest of the career! whodaguy? YOUdaguy!

Cheers

How wonderfully put! Good riddance to the man who prostituted the business we all love so much. I was a victim of the Chancellor takeover when I had top 5 ratings at Jammin' Oldies doing mornings, when he blew it up just to blow up that format!

Fuckin A! I just read Radio Daily News. Being a second generation radio man from Texas, I am always a big believer that the first reaction is always the best one. The dark cloud that looms over most Clear Channel broadcast facilities throughout the country is finally beginning to lift. I hope that one day the reputation and pride of Clear Channel Communications will return. Sending Randy to the house was the first step.

My sincerest respect and thanks for all of your contributions and wisdom,

Ron Jacobs is so wrong about Randy Michaels. Randy Michaels and Gabe Hobbs
were two of the best radio people I ever worked for, and I've worked for a
lot of them. What has happened to radio is not the direct fault of Randy,
but of Congress, and a public that has been largely brainwashed to think the
airwaves belong to them. When in fact they never have going back to the
1900's. Randy just moved with the times like any smart business man would.
Do I like the state of radio today? No. Having just returned from across
country drive this summer, I've never heard such, boring, sloppy radio. All
the same music, dead air, bad production things we would never have
tolerated twenty five years ago. Is this all the fault of one man? How about
all the freedom Randy gave those of us who worked for him at WFLA and other
Jacor stations? How about the great job Randy has done in the past in
putting on some of the most original music and talk radio in this country?
Ron, I grew up in Los Angeles, and I remember when people complained about
KHJ destroying personality radio, because now the jocks had to shut up, and
play the music. I liked KHJ at the time, but I loved KRLA even more. Why?
The dj's had something to say, and played great music. Jimmy Rabbitt was
better than Frank Terry any day. And he played better music. It's time for
us to stop pointing fingers at people like Randy, and start looking at the
real problem: radio is dying, and Congress has provided big corporations the
dirt to bury it with. Where do you find the most interesting radio these
day? There's not much left. I find that sad. For record I loved working for
Randy Michaels, and would do it again. He and Gabe Hobbs have been major
influences on my broadcast career. And for that I thank them both,

Jay Marvin
9-11am
WLS Radio
Chicago

Larry,

As much as I truly do admire your writing skills, I really don't think there is even a remote possibility that anyone in the world could have said it better than Ron Jacobs on Randy Michaels (or...The God of Radio on the Antichrist of Radio).

Andy

To Ron Jacobs: AS WAS ONCE SAID: RIGHT ON!" The pressure on CC is showing cracks in their system. Enron, Global Crossing, Worldcom,next up ..Clear Channel. Hopefully this will signal the beginning of returning radio back to its roots...SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITY..not the accountants!..RAY

A comment on Ron Jacobs interesting declaration pertaining to Randy Michaels.

Ron, there would never have been a Randy Michaels if you, me, Bill Drake, Paul Drew, Kent Burkhart, and many others would have taken the time to develop enough young program directors to supply an ever growing industry as FM came into play. We chose instead to try and "consult" our wisdom to individual and chains of stations, circumventing skilled, local, programming and the development of the individuals to who would provide same. We created an industry that de-emphasized everything that made radio great in search of a master plan that didn't require talent! I am guilty of "Voice Tracking" KYYX FM in Seattle back in 1978. Forget my reasoning, I did it and did the industry I love a great dis-service! I therefore contributed to the sterile mess the industry now encounters. We forgot to preach that radio is live, talented people or it's nothing extraordinary! Radio is live, talented, local, instant communication or it's nothing extraordinary! We allowed a great growing industry to revert to voices that all sounded the same, reading our stupid cue cards, and talking their empty brains right up to the post! We should have been screaming our objections but we didn't.

As it turns out, we always worried about the inroads of tape players, then the eight track cartridge as the enemies of radio. Later, we worried that streaming audio was the enemy. Turns out, radio's only enemy was itself! The sharp decline in teenage radio use tells us that radio has been successful in doing great injury to itself! We should all be congratulated!

Ron, we were damned good. You were very special, but we forgot to plant and water the seeds for the next generation! As a result, that beautiful garden called radio, is overgrown with weeds and the soil has become toxic!

Pat O'Day

To: Pat O'Day
From: Ron Jacobs

Hey Pat,

I'm answering via through Larry because you wrote him at RADIO DAILY NEWS and I wish to respond equally in public.
You know that I enjoyed the one day we worked together cutting tracks for a CRUSIN' album, BUT . . .

I do believe I "nurtured" my share of talented pros during my time in radio. My FCC ticket is dated December 23, 1953. That is quite a while.

I shouldn't have to tell you, Pat, that I left RKO in 1969 to get away from all the activities to which you object, none of which in your list ever involved me.

You say: "We chose instead to try and "consult" our wisdom to individuals and chains of stations," Speak for yourself. I was never a consultant. Any station with my name on it had my footprints in the transmitters, my sweat dipping in the production room and many hours logged by me listening to and tuning the sound until it was #1, which they all were. Since you were never in any of those markets, don't take my word for it; dozens of talented folks who worked there will vouch for the facts

You can melodramatically take the blame for Top 40 radio's ills, man, but don't tar me with the same brush as yourself, Bill Drake, Paul Drew, Kent Burkhart, "and many others." For your information, I have never met, other than to say hello to, Drew or Burkhart, let alone worked with them. My association with Bill Drake ended when I walked out the door at KHJ in July 1969. While there I had nothing to do with any the Drake-Chenault Xeroxed clones of our Boss creations.

As for "(Taking) the time to develop enough young program directors to supply an ever growing industry as FM came into play," Pat, don't ever lay that on me! Of my many accomplishments in radio, I am proudest of my colleagues that went on to bigger and better things following our association.

Example: Rick Leibert, assistant PD at KGB-AM-FM-San Diego, was voted PD Of The Year the year after he took over from me. That meant more than when I won the award. And when KGB-FM was declared Billboard's Progressive FM's Station Of The Year for 1972, Rick and I both felt we accomplished our goal of constructing a new form of post-Drake radio.

The news directors, production directors, music directors, promotion people, deejays with whom I worked over the years will tell you that I always too the time to coach, suggest and work with them. Then there are those who went on to be successful GM's, PD's and owners. They included- and I apologize to all I've left out, but I'm pissed off-Tom Rounds, Tom Moffatt, Steve Nicolet, Bill Watson, Bill Hergonson, Jerry Jolstad, Gary Price, Phil Melrose, Bill Wade, Art Schroeder, Jon Badeaux, Dave McCormack, Brian Lord, Robert W. Morgan, Mike Buck, Frank Terry, Scotty Brink, Tom Maule, Gary Mack, Bob Coburn, Jesse Bullet, Ernesto Gladden, Michael W. Perry, Steven B. Williams, Ed Kanoi, Jim Price, Kamasami Kong, Art Astor and Keala Kai,

As for what I did after radio, I must accept part of the responsibility for "the lone, repetitive voice and copy written on cards" that local stations played instead of hometown talent, week in, week out. But Casey Kasem made "American Top 40" the top music program in the history of broadcasting, running worldwide from 1970 through 1995. I still hear from board operators who say they learned quite a bit from being at the controls when the show aired, Pat.

Finally, the handful of ultra-elite deejays that worked at KHJ during my shift, and anyone who has seen my book on the subject, know that at Boss Radio we prided ourselves in never doing anything twice.

I would appreciate being removed from that list of radio people you complain about. Pick your bone with them and leave me out of it. My stance regarding that insufferable creep Michaels is a matter of online record.

Aloha from Kaneohe, Hawaii.

I am very embarrassed for Ron.  To make a fool of one's self is bad enough, but to do it on purpose and be proud of it....it's just a
shame.  Ron, a leader of the past, just doesn't seem to understand today's radio and its leaders.  It would have been nice to remember Ron
as an integral part of the successful Drake team, rather than as an angry old man. A real pity.
Terrell L. Metheny, Jr. (Retired)
Columbia, CA

I realize I'm coming into this very late in the game, but I simply have to
reply to Terrell L. Metheny, Jr.'s response to Rogue Jock's classic spiel on
Randy Michaels which I just stumbled across in RDN
(www.radiodailynews.com/feedback-rjproclamation.htm).

Mr. Metheny wrote:

>
I am very embarrassed for Ron. To make a fool of one's self is bad enough,
but to do it on purpose and be proud of it....it's just a shame. Ron, a
leader of the past, just doesn't seem to understand today's radio and its
leaders. It would have been nice to remember Ron as an integral part of the
successful Drake team, rather than as an angry old man. A real pity.
>

First of all, Mr. Metheny, don't be embarrassed for Ron Jacobs; hearing this
criticism from you is quite a bit more embarrassing ... to you. You've had a
less than distinguished career at a bunch of second-tier stations -- with
the exception of the past-its-prime WMCA in New York, which you used as your
stepping stone to "big-league radio" (in major-market Beaumont, Texas) --
and you have the stones to criticize one of the true gods of radio?

I'm not talking about a guy who helped land the Armstrong Tires account for
some pea-shooter in a backwater town like Asheville, NC, or who got
Budweiser to sponsor some third-rate program on a station-in-decline like
you managed in Milwaukee. I'm talking about Ron Jacobs, the guy who
revolutionized Top 40 radio in the 1960s. That style of broadcasting, its
formatics, sound and structure, will go down in broadcasting history, not as
the Drake Format, but as the Jacobs Format.

Do you dare claim that you "understand today's radio and its leaders," Mr.
Metheny? I'll make an educated guess that the answer is definitely no. I had
to stifle a laugh when I read that Sonora is the latest stop in your storied
career. What's the signature accomplishment in your career, Mr. Metheny?
Taking WYNK to #1 in Baton Rouge? Turning Little Rock radio on its ear when
you ran KHLT? You have spent a lifetime in the backwaters and minor leagues
of radio. What talent did you develop during your career? What were your
greatest innovations?

If Ron Jacobs' *only* accomplishment in his career was running KHJ from 1965
to 1970, it would be enough ... except his list of accomplishments didn't
begin there, and they didn't end there. I'm personally embarrassed for you
that you felt it was necessary to add your comments here.

The history of radio has shown that those who can, do, and those who can't
become station managers. You were nothing more than a guy who couldn't, Mr.
Metheny, so you bought yourself a suit and sat behind a desk. Ron Jacobs is
the infamous Rogue Jock, a legend, a Hall-Of-Famer. Since you obviously have
a lot of time on your hands, grab yourself a copy of his "KHJ: Inside Boss
Radio," one of the ten greatest books ever written about radio, and give it
a read.

Do I assume correctly, Mr. Metheny, that your book on how to take a radio
station to #1 in Cheyenne, Wyoming, is currently out of print?

I love radio, and I love the people and the voices who tried and succeeded
at making it a great entertainment medium. Ron Jacobs is one of my personal
heroes. People like Randy Michaels and Terrell L. Metheny, Jr., are sad --
and hopefully forgotten -- afterthoughts in radio history.

David Jackson

Big Kahuna,

Thank you for saying what is on a lot of our minds. Randy I wish you the
hell! you have made others who care about radio suffer.
Crap Channel as well as other corporate radio companies, have violated the
Americans with Disability's Act on numerous occasions, and doesn't give a
damn how they treat people.
I'm just sorry you still have a job Randy. After what you have done to
millions of people, you don't even deserve that. We all hope that Clear
Channel, and other big corporations like it are on the way out of all of our
lives. Now maybe after the bastards get out of our way, we can bring back
real radio stations, like KHJ, and KIMN.
Bob Fedde