April 2014 – Motor City Radio Flashbacks

PLAY OF THE DAY

If I Could Get You (into my life) – Gene Cotton – 1982

WAY-BACK DETROIT RADIO PAGES: WJR . . . JULY 10, 1943

From the MCRFB radio scrapbook: 1943

WJR Wins Clear Channel Special Award Citation

WJR TALKS ABOUT RADIO

WJR Awarded Citation for Intelligent Promotion of Radio As Entertainment Medium

(Billboard 6th Annual Radio Publicity Exhibit; New York, July 3, 1943)

NEW YORK (July 10) — In many ways the most important award in the clear channel class went to WJR, CBS-affiliated 50,000-watter in Detroit. This station’s publicity philosophy is unique: “Don’t talk about yourself. Do something that causes others to talk favorably about you.” They don’t go for stunts. they don’t rap on other stations, they don’t ignore competition. All of which is so sane, fresh and shrewd as to rate ramming down the throats of the trade.

WJR operates in a community where newspaper antipathy towards radio resulted in every local daily yanking its radio column. Taking the long-range attitude, WJR built a backfire by buying space in two dailies, The Free Press and The Times, and publishing radio columns. And, as to prove that this sane approach was no accident, to column was devoted to all radio, to rival stations as well as WJR, including WWJ, a station affiliated with The Detroit News. In addition, WJR supplied about 400 rural and small town sheets with a “Radio Jake” column. Here again the space was devoted to all stations even though WJR prepared the material, supplied mats and proofs arranged for publication.

“Army Caravan” Build-Up

Another unostentatious promotion to WJR’s credit was its Army Caravan. This stemmed from the realization that Michigan farmers had planted less acreage than usual. Thru its Farm Bureau announcer, Duncan Moore, the station, in cooperation with the U. S. Army, organized and routed an army caravan that toured the hinterlands, paying tributes to farmers and urging increased bean and beet acreage. The army sent tanks, artillery, jeeps, munitions carriers, field kitchens, etc. The station bought space in The Free Press to say “The Army Salutes You” — mind you, not WJR. The Department of Agriculture assured the station this project averted a serious food shortage.

Gestures With Strings

Again, when in September of last year, WJR announced a $5,000 scholarship for the student best qualified to enter radio, the Detroit Board of Education handled all details, from selecting the co-operating committee to publicizing and promoting the competition. Again, it was no flash bally, but a sincere effort to promote radio.

And for the benefit of the cynic who is bound to comment that WJR can well afford to take this subtle publicity slant it should be noted that what this situation did was done by no other, even though any station could do as much in relation to its ability.

Thus for making publicity incidental to, not the motivating factor of, a worthy public service, the Awards Committee gave WJR a special citation for intelligent promotion of radio as an entertainment medium. END

(Information and news source: Billboard; July 10, 1943).

PLAY OF THE DAY

Downtown – Petula Clark – 1965 – Extended Version

ROGERS JOINS WCLS AT DETROIT’S ‘CLASS-FM’ . . . DECEMBER 1, 1984

From the MCRFB news archive: 1984

Rogers New Morning Drive; Replaces Bob Christie As PD

DETROIT — Eddie Rogers has taken over program director and morning drive duties at AC-formatted WCLS (“Class FM,” formerly WABX) here. He replaces Bob Christie, who departed six weeks ago to open his own consultancy firm in Bend, Oregon, and who remains as group consultant to WCLS owner Liggett Broadcasting.

WCLS-FM Detroit 1985 promo ad. (Click image for larger view) — **WCLS-FM Detroit 1985 promo ad** *(click image for larger view)*

According to WCLS general manager John Piccirillo, who took over that position three and a half months ago, after predecessor Grant Sentimore suffered a heart attack, acting PD Gary King will remain at WCLS on the 7 p.m. to midnight shift and may be named assistant program director. Also new to the WCLS staff is former WMJC production manager Steve Cassidy, who takes over mid-mornings from 9 a.m. to noon.

Piccirillo, who who had worked with program director Rogers at adult-contemporary WYYS (now WLLT) Cincinnati in 1980, says he’s looking forward to teaming up with him once again. “He’s a great morning man, and he’s never been given the opportunity to be the dominant morning man, which I think he’ll be in the next two years,” predicts Picirrillo.

The WCLS GM took up his new position after a year in Cincinnati with Warner Amex as vice president of ad sales. Prior to that, his twenty years in radio included VP/GM stints at with the aforementioned WYYS, top 40 WIKS (now WZPL) Indianapolis in 1979, and WNDE/WFBQ Indianapolis.

Rogers, who most recently served as afternoon drive personality on rival Detroit AC WMJC (Greater Media’s “MAGIC”), is a well-known name in Detroit radio. A native of North Carolina, where he earned early notoriety in the ’60s as “The Royal Flying Doctor” at WLOS (now Kiss 99.9), Rogers put in time as morning man and assistant PD at top 40 WEAM Washington before signing on the FM drive shift at CKLW Windsor during its heyday.

After two years at Heftel’s 13Q (WKTO) Pittsburgh, Rogers returned to Detroit to join ABC affiliate WXYZ. He has served for the last two years at Magic.

“Greater Media is a great place to work for, but I had a better offer,” comments Rogers. Greater Media, he adds, unsuccessfully sought an injunction a month ago to keep Rogers from working anywhere else in the city. With the injunction denied by Wayne County Circuit Court, Rogers says, “There are no hard feeling on either side.”

Rogers and Piccirillo say they intend to sharpen up the AC format instituted earlier this year at WCLS. Liggett’s prior experiment with top 40 after purchasing AOR-formatted WABX from Century Broadcasting 18 months ago was not successful.

Since the AC format has been in place, Piccirillo notes, WCLS has gone from a 1.6 to a 2.6 in the summer ratings. “This is a scrappy market, and everybody’s trying to get a leg up,” comments Piccirillo. “It’s clean competition.”

“Detroit’s one of the most competitive markets in the country,” agrees Rogers, “especially in AC.” WCLS opponents in the AC race include, in order of prominence, WNIC (historically the AC leader), WOMC, and WMJC, with WCLS currently pulling up from the bottom.

“We’re the new kids on the block,” says Rogers, “so we plan to program the most precise music for the audience we are trying to reach.” END