Adventures in Airtime: Personal Stories of USA Radio People Volume 1

By Don Barrett

Don Barrett has covered the radio broadcasting business for nearly 20 years at www.LARadio.com and he is the radio columnist at the Orange County Register, Santa Ana, California. His engaging series of eBooks entitled Adventures in Airtime: Personal Stories of USA Radio People showcases compelling, personal stories of radio people who have reinvented themselves and succeeded against all odds in a highly competitive industry.

Volume 1 is entitled "Secrets of Selling" and features three compelling stories. The thread that weaves through each narrative is the basic instinct to sell. Each account takes you on a very different journey, yet all conclude with lessons that have changed the history of LARadio.

**Wally Clark, former general manager at KIIS, promised KIIS would be the first station to crack the $1 million mark in sales for a single month. He takes us back to his early selling days, convincing markets to carry braunsweiger meats. Clark later parlayed his experiences to accept the challenge of taking a dysfunctional KIIS (#22 when he started) to incredible heights. Wally also reflects on working with two radio icons – Howard Stern and Rick Dees – who continue as friends today.

**Norm Epstein got his first radio sales job by proclaiming, “I’ll be your best salesman or fire me.” Not only did he become the best salesman the first month he went to work, Norm became the successful general manager and owner of several Los Angeles radio stations. His creativity and selling techniques propelled him to a spot of being admired and envied by those who worked with him. Norm finds himself fondly remembered by those in LARadio who got to watch his meteoric rise.

**For decades, George Green was the storied general manager of iconic KABC. He took the radio station from its early struggles with the advertisers who didn’t understand Talk Radio to a place of appointment listening that revolutionized the talk business and took 790 to the pinnacle of success.

You will be inspired by these stories of success.

This series of eBooks is dedicated to the men and women of radio who spun records or told stories while sitting in an empty room, taking the listener on a magical mystery tour. Radio invited the listener on a journey that began early in the morning while getting ready for school or work, continued while the listener was stuck on a clogged freeway or thoroughfare, and remained a steadfast companion as the listener tried to get to sleep at night.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Don Barrett
• Release date: May 5, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301675296

Don Barrett

I grew up an only child in the 1950s on the beach in Santa Monica and experienced the explosion of rock 'n roll music and with it Top 40 radio. The men and women, who played the music, told the stories about the artists and became my imaginary brothers and sisters. My dream to be on the radio was crystallized while listening to my transistor radio. A blessed career of being a disc jockey, program director, national program director for legendary Gordon McLendon, and eventual general manager of WDRQ and W4 in Detroit and then launching KIQQ (K-100) in Los Angeles made dreams come true. After 25 years in motion picture marketing for Columbia, Universal and MGM/UA, I returned to my first love of radio and I began to chronicle the industry, writing three books on Los Angeles Radio People and publishing a radio-themed website, www.LARadio.com. In 2013 I was appointed the radio columnist for the Orange County Register. I continue to chronicle Los Angeles Radio People and listen to the ever-changing radio landscape from a unique perch and perspective.

Book preview

ADVENTURES IN AIRTIME:

Personal Stories of USA Radio People

Volume 1 – Secrets of Selling

by Don Barrett

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Published by Don Barrett at Smashwords.com

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ADVENTURES IN AIRTIME:

Personal Stories of USA Radio People

Volume 1 – Secrets of Selling

Copyright © 2013 Don Barrett. All rights reserved.

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

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Dedication

Adventures in Airtime: Personal Stories of USA Radio People is dedicated to the men and women of radio who spun records or told stories while sitting in an empty room, taking the listener on a magical mystery tour. Radio invited the listener on a journey that began early in the morning while getting ready for school or work, continued while the listener was stuck on a clogged freeway or thoroughfare, and remained a steadfast companion as the listener tried to get to sleep at night.

This book is dedicated to those who feel at peace in the solitude of a lonely room with only a cup of coffee as a friend.

I’d sit alone and watch your light

My only friend through teenage nights

And everything I had to know

I learned it on my radio

From Radio Ga Ga (1984)

written by Roger Taylor

and performed by Queen

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Life could be a dream

If I could take you up to paradise up above

From Sh-Boom (1954)

Performed by The Chords

Contents

The First Million Dollar Month in Los Angeles Radio

Former general manager at KIIS, Wally Clark takes us back to his early selling days convincing markets to carry braunsweiger, to his challenge of taking a dysfunctional KIIS to new heights, including the first $1 million month.

I’ll Be Your Best Salesman or Fire Me!

Norm Epstein’s proclamation not only got him his first job in radio, but his selling techniques propelled him to the top spot of a number of radio stations and ventures.

Green With Envy

George Green was the face of KABC for many decades. He took the radio station from early struggles with the advertisers and listeners to appointment listening that revolutionized the embryonic 24/7 Talk Station and took it to the pinnacle of success.

Foreword

Like many creative people, Don Barrett has already enjoyed several successful careers, but the one that captured his heart and still has a strong hold on him, is radio. Radio is his passion. Radio and the people who make it happen. 

Through his daily columns at LARadio.com, Don kept his subscribers up to the minute. In 2013, Don was appointed the radio columnist for the Orange County Register. His access to media newsmakers is unprecedented and may be partly attributed to his commitment to fair play. He’s been known to stay up until all hours, waiting for a message from some far-flung person, just to check the facts, to make sure he has both sides of a story before releasing it.  

Don’s informed opinions about radio and radio people have, for years, provided food for thought, along with boundless supplies of encouragement. During times when radio was (and is) changing so quickly, Don has always made himself available to listen, to advise, to connect people with others who might help. 

It seems a natural evolution now for him to share some of these tales of reinvention. With this compilation, he takes us down new paths, featuring stories that will resonate, not just with radio people, but with everyone. These new books, along with his earlier, encyclopedic volumes, form a comprehensive body of work.

As one of the thousands of radio people who call Don friend, I’ve witnessed up close his dedication to the personal side, the narratives, both happy and sad, that inform us about each other and gather us into a worldwide community. No one knows more about us. No one is better suited to tell our stories.

Anita Garner

AnitaGarner.com

San