An iconic Cincinnati radio station celebrates its 30th anniversary today.
It’s a radio station that never actually existed on the dial, as you might be able to tell from our quote from its opening theme song in the title of this entry.
Television’s “WKRP in Cincinnati” provided a surprisingly accurate, and hilarious, look at the radio industry in its run on CBS in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. It also gave Ohio’s Queen City a national “home” on the tube, and spawned a brief syndicated-only sequel in the 1990’s.
“WKRP” is run these days on at least two cable outlets, with superstation WGN America recently adding it to the Sunday “Retro Night” lineup.
Tonight, to mark its 30th anniversary, The Mighty ‘KRP rides with a mini-marathon on WGN America, from 7 PM to 10 PM (Eastern).
The show also regularly airs Monday nights up in high-numbered digital cable land on something called the American Life Network.
And this being OMW, we note that ‘KRP ended up on WGN America not long after Tribune COO Randy Michaels showed up. Randy, of course, is the former WLW programmer who owns a Northern Kentucky home within sight of many of the Cincinnati landmarks shown on the WKRP opening.
Oh, and speaking of that opening…
Cincinnati.com has brought back a 2007 “Then and Now” video that compares the shots featured in the show’s 1978 opening, with what they’d have looked like in modern times. It’s well worth a view.
We’re wondering in our heads if some radio folks could do a similar comparison for radio as it existed (fictionally) in the late 70’s and now.
Remember the ‘KRP episode where a station tried to lure away Venus Flytrap, by making him the program director of an automated station… revealed when a massive wall of spinning reel to reel tape machines comes out from behind a curtain?
Today, that’s incredibly common…well, except that the reel to reel machines are long gone, replaced by a program on a small personal computer that fits under a desk.
And even the gifted ‘KRP writers and producers couldn’t possibly imagine today’s remote voicetracking, where that “automated station” could have live-sounding voices piped in via the Internet from across the country.
“WKRP” was about as accurate as the visual medium ever got about radio. Our only minor complaint – the jocks never wore headphones.
But everyone in radio knew a Herb Tarlek, a Les Nessman, and a “Big Guy” manager, at their own station or one across town. You probably wanted to work with an Andy Travis, a cool, friendly program director who seemed to know what he was doing…and sympathized with him and with Dr. Johnny Fever as they moved “town to town, up and down the dial” to get ahead -or even stay – in the business.
Though, we’re not sure about that whole Jennifer Marlowe-as-receptionist thing actually happening at most stations…let alone both Jennifer and Bailey Quarters in the same building. The whole “Jennifer vs. Bailey” debate became the “Ginger vs. Mary Ann” debate of its time.
The show inspired a legion of radio people to get into the business. And even some of them haven’t been driven from the business or laid off…yet.
Despite WLW being “The Nation’s Station” and still booming 50,000 watts all over the Eastern U.S. each night (not to mention being on satellite radio nationwide)….despite sister WEBN being one of America’s most known rock stations…and despite other powerful and influential stations in the market…
WKRP will always be the best-known radio station in Cincinnati…
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