Maybe it makes me a dinosaur, but I still love radio.I won't deny any of the transformational aspects that the web brings, nonetheless I still love the magic that can occur with great live radio.
Which brings me to WKRP in Cincinnati, the CBS comedy that ran from 1978 - 1982. The show originally aired primarily during my college years and, other than the lack of the announcers wearing headphones, it showed the communal life in a radio station from the mysterious evening DJ to the cool and inspiring PD to the plaid mismatched Account Exec. The WKRP Team, as dysfunctional as they are, is what makes this series memorable.
As a Radio Manager now for a pretty long time, the escapades of Arthur Carlson makes me shutter in denial. But as the clip below demonstrates, the show offered brilliant management advice.
Timing is just an essential element of most comedy and the scene is perfect in that sense. My only disappointment when seeing WKPR in reruns today is that much of the great music has been removed due to rights issues.
I'm certain that WKRP in Cincinnati inspired many others like me to explore a life in radio. Is there an equivalent today in the web world?
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2 comments:
All of my favorite people in radio are fans of WKRP.
I can't tell you how many times friends outside the industry have asked, "It's not like WKRP, is it?"
We know the truth.
As for today, I've not gotten around to watching it yet, but the little I've seen suggest might be close.
I used episodes of WKRP for my broadcasting classes and told my class the program wasn’t too far off from how it really worked back in the day nor is it different from today either. This year a former student who has been in radio for a few years now told me none of the class believed me at the time until they started taking jobs in radio. He has since ordered season 1 boxed set.
The content of the show so good that I don’t mind the alternate music cuts in the recently issued DVD. It is very hard to mess up the first season.
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