Questions?

Welcome back!

I mentioned in my first post here on the blog that people are curious about radio stations and how things work. When I'm out in public I get a lot of questions about the various facets of radio broadcasting; technical questions (I'm weak there), questions about personalities, how we pick the music, how we do remote broadcasts, how stations are licensed etc.

Since I'm new at this blog thing maybe the best use would be to try and answer some of your questions. I have already answered the number one question I hear concerning "Maggard's Live", but I'm sure there are more. If you have questions, send me an e-mail and I will do my best to answer your query. If it's a technical question I'll talk to our chief engineer Paul Manuel. If it's about the business in general I should be able to come up with some sort of layman's answer to satisy your curiosity. Send your e-mail to wdhr@wdhr.com. That address comes straight to my desk and I will watch for your questions. Maybe it would catch my attention more if you would put BLOG in the subject line.

I will not limit the blog to just questions as every now and again I will have some subject to ramble on, but this might be fun.

Stay tuned
Randy

Maggard's Live!

Hello There and Welcome!

Folks ask me a lot of questions about my job. People want to know how we decide what songs to play, how do we get those sports broadcasts on the air from a gymnasium, is Bobby McGee a real jailbird and who is he in real life, whatever happened to Opal Dawn, and all sorts of things. Since I was a little boy radio has fascinated me, as it does a lot of folks, obviously. Maybe we can use this blog to explain a lot of things about this business and answer some questions.

However, in this post I am going to explain some things related to the most frequent questions I hear; "who are those people on "Maggard's Furniture Live" with you, what do they look like, are they really warped, how do you decide what to talk about 3 days aweek?

Question #1; Who are thos people?

Answer: Belinda Maggard and her husband, Jim Stan, own Maggard's Furniture with locations in Paintsville and Harold. They are both Paintsville natives. I became acquainted with the Maggards when I returned to East Kentucky Broadcasting 10 years ago. Jim Stan's grandfather started the business, his father, Mark, took over and continued to build, then Jim Stan and Belinda took over and built even more. A very attractive lady, Belinda is the same in person as she is on the air; always happy, outgoing, and perky. She is a savvy business person and, more or less, handles the day to day business of Maggard's, while Jim Stan is the investment and numbers person, a very intelligent, forward thinking businessman. They are a very smart couple, and by recognizing each others strengths and applying them as a team, they have created a successful business. Belinda and Jim Stan are two of the kindest and most generous people I know.

Alan Burton is the owner of WKLW radio station (K-LITE 94.7) in Paintsville. He is a Paintsville native. I got to know Alan in the late 1960s when we were both young DJs. He worked in Paintsivlle and Prestonsburg and I worked mainly in Pikeville. It's much the same today as it was then, you get to know the other people in the business in your market. Alan was one of the original staff when WDHR went on the air in 1973 and lived in Pikeville for a few years. Alan aspired to own his own station and has accomplished that, I admire him greatly. He is also a member of the Kentucky Broadcasters Association Board of Directors. We've been buddies a long time.

Ron Smith is also a longtime radio guy. He worked here at WPKE in the 80s, where he was known as "Rondell Rock 'n Roll Smith", after he graduated from Morehead with a degree in radio broadcasting. A lot of us old guys still call him "Rock". Ron works the morning drive slot at WSIP in Paintsville and is a sales representative. I got to know him from his days here at East Kentucky Broadcasting and we've been buddies ever since. It may interest you to know that Ron's great-uncle (I think it's great, maybe it's uncle) was the legendary and beloved Congressman Carl D. Perkins.

Question #2; What do they look like? Here ya' go.

That's Alan and Belinda sitting down and me and Ron standing. Ron's holding a toy cellphone that Belinda bought him as a joke. He got his first real cellphone about a month ago.

Question #3; Are they really warped?

Yes.

Question #4; How do you decide what to talk about 3 days a week?

We don't decide. There's no plan. It's just like when you and a friend get together. You are comfortable with the people you're with and you just...talk. We once had a format, but the dog ate it.

Well, that's kind of the story behind "Maggard's Furniture Live". The show just had its 4th birthday and we're still chugging. I'll have to say, I probably look forward to the show a much as anything I do. All four of us are very busy, personally and professionally, but I think I can speak for all of us and say that Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings at 10:30 are 3 of the high points of our week.

Stay tuned

Randy

HOWDY!

Hi there and welcome to the new blog!

I've never really fancied myself a writer, and after you read some of my ramblings you'll figure out why. This is an all new experience, so I hope you enjoy your time here. It'll be serious at times, funny at times and probably just some gobbledy-gook at others; if you know me personally then you understand why the gobbledy-gook will, more likely than not, be dominant. Another thing too, don't expect postings everyday. I wear a lot of hats here at WDHR and East Kentucky Broadcasting that take up bunches of my time, but if you check in here regularly you'll see new stuff.

Now on with the show!

As many of you know, my partner here in the "A.M. Asylum" is Peter Girouard. Peter is also the co-owner of a neat little business in Pikeville called "Ambience Gifts". "Ambience" is a cute little store that sells what-nots (he hates that term), candles, notions, brick-a-brack, smelly stuff, fru-fru food and...well...you know... stuff like that. Peter has scheduled, for the first time ever, a remote broadcast.

Of the 5 billion people that inhabit this planet, Peter has asked me to broadcast from his store. I've been doing this broadcast thing for a long time and I have done more remotes than I can count. I've been to car lots, motorcycle shops, grocery stores, restaurants, convenience stores, drug stores and about every other type of business you can imagine, I even broadcast a canoe race from the old Pikeville middle bridge one time, but never a store that I would describe as "cute". Asking me to describe "cute" is like asking a hog to sing "Bringing In The Sheaves" #173 in the Hymnal. If you tune in to this broadcast and hear glass breaking in the background, then you'd better come on down for some special discounts. Noone has ever described me as coordinated and graceful.

It will be interesting, to say the least, and if I didn't owe him 20 bucks I wouldn't go. He said he'd cancel the debt.

Stay tuned
Randy