Detroit has always been different. Oh the ratings battle is the same, formats are strict and have been over the years; but there is something different about the people. I don't mean people on the air. I mean people who listen and watch. In the Detroit market, in the past and to some extent now we hold those on the air to a different standard. A standard generally held for people who are our personal friends.
I have been around long enough to appreciate this difference. Many of the people we hear and see every day are our friends. We may never have met them face to face, but they are more than voices and faces. They are there in our ears, radios, TVs. They ride with us to and from school and work. They are not strangers.
The list of examples I can think of would take most of Google's space, but I'd like to mention a few. JP McCarthy wasn't just some roving air personality reading the cue cards. He was our friend. What he said and what he did made a difference to us. We could depend on him to be there every morning. "Good Morning World". JP (Joe) was a personal friend of mine but his "on the air" friends were legion. People cared about him. The day he passed, the city basically shut down. We all mourned. It was a personal loss to thousands who had never met him face to face.
All the years that Bill Bonds was on the air. Controversial, outspoken, unafraid to tackle the tough subjects he was Detroit. He was our friend. A personal friend.
And who could forget Ernie. No need to even write the last name. He was not the machine gun sports guy giving "brought to you bys" every minute. He was right there with us on a warm summer day. He was everywhere. In our back yards, cars, work place. No need to worry about missing anything when you went shopping. There Ernie was in every store. Even if it wasn't loud enough to understand what he was saying, the voice was there. The unmistakable voice, a warm and close trusted friend.
There are scores of others. It depends on your age and era if you remember them. But if you, do each name brings back a memory. A mental picture. Robin Seymour, Don McLeod, Clark Reid, Paul Winter, Fred Wolf, Dave Diles, Dave Shafer, Dave Prince, Dick Purtan, Bob Green, Erik Smith, Ralph Binge and Joe Gentile, Marc Avery, Joel Sebastian, Dick Osgood, John Kelly & Marilyn Turner, Soupy, Bud Guest, Lou Gordon, Bill Kennedy, Sonny Eliot, Don Zee, Jim Davis, Fred Wolf, Arthur Pennhallow, Jim Harper, Mickey Shorr, Ed McKenzie, Deano Day, Jac Legoff, Jerry Goodwin, Byron MacGregor, Jim Hampton, Tom McIntyre, Jim Rockwell, Ross Mullholand, Bob Maxwell, Tom Clay, Barney Stutesman, Rita Bell, Johnny Ginger, Bud Guest, Charley Park, Deano Day, Johnny Randall, and the list goes on. I know I have missed a few hundred. All friends who were, or are part of our lives and who made personal impact with us.
Not so in other cities. Most of them have names that are quickly forgotten. I honestly do not remember the names of more than one or two in Las Vegas and that's only because I worked with them while producing The Frank Sinatra Story on the radio there.
Things are rapidly changing for radio and television these days, but its always been that way. The stations have always had formats, rules, operational procedures for everyone to follow. However those people we remember and became friends had the unique ability to follow all the rules, stay within the format, and somehow still reach out through the speaker or tube and invade our souls in spite of all the rules.
Other cities and states have a marvelous Hall of Fame for radio and television people who have made their special lasting mark. Not as personal as our "Detroit Friends" but they have a Hall of Fame that recognizes their talent and work.
Not so in Detroit. Oh the Michigan Association of Broadcasters has its Hall, but they are mostly managers, sales people, owners, VPs, etc., rarely recognizing the on air talent that made it all happen. It might be a good idea for the Michigan Association of Broadcasters to consider adding some more of those most memorable "friends" to their Hall of Fame...before it's too late for them to know the honor.
Unlike almost any other city - they were.. .are our Friends
See This Site: www.leealancreative.com/friends
Thanks for "Listening"
Lee Alan
