DETROIT FREE PRESS: CKLW: ‘Meet Ed Busch, The Sunday Man’
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(Above CKLW related article is courtesy freep.com newspaper archive. Copyright 2017. Newspapers.com).
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A SPECIAL THANK YOU
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It has been nearly two years (January 2016) when our friend, Detroit radio historian, Greg Innis, suggested Motor City Radio Flashbacks should “discover” the Detroit Free Press Newspaper Archives@Newspapers.com.
Your suggestion has been well appreciated. Thank you!
What a Detroit radio, “treasure trove,” this website having uncovered pouring through the Detroit Free Press newspaper archives. What you read here has not been read nor seen since the very day these articles were first published. We have literally hundreds upon hundreds of newspaper features on Detroit radio (and some related Detroit music) saved in our archives to date, set aside for future posts.
And we keep finding many, many more. So look for more ‘Detroit Radio Back Pages’ on Motor City Radio Flashbacks. It is a refreshing, altogether different look back at Detroit radio history. As was first read in newspaper print for the very first time decades ago.
Ed Busch of WKNR participates in a frisbee match between Mayor Cavanaugh’s staff and local radio DJs in downtown Detroit. August, 1968.(Click image 2x for largest PC view. eBay; 2012)
2004 – 2005 – Producer, writer, interviewer for Black History Month television features for Cadillac and Chevrolet. Identified subjects to be profiled within the African-American community, conducted interviews, wrote scripts for profiles and voiced the segments. Aired on CBS 11 and channel 21 in Dallas/Fort Worth.
1992 – 2003 – Voice, writer/producer of audio newsletters for Frito-Lay, Interstate Batteries and La Quinta Inns. This consisted of interviews with the public, experts, authors and employees.
1986 – 1993 KLIF-AM Dallas. Talk show host and fill-in host.
1986 – 1988 Consultant to KLIF-AM Dallas. Responsible for helping change the station from a country music format to a talk format.
1984 – 1986 Host/producer of the “Ed Busch Talk Show” national call-in talk show in joint venture with the Associated Press and carried by their network.
1982 – 1983 “America Overnight” programmer/host of national call-in talk show. Joint venture with RKO Networks and carried on 100+ stations.
1976-1982 WFAA-AM Dallas Talk Show Host
1975-1976 KNBR (NBC O/O) San Francisco Talk Show Host
1980s – 1990s freelance work: Talk program consultant to WPLP-AM Tampa, WCKY Cincinnati, KFJZ –AM Fort Worth, KTBB-AM Tyler and KOA-AM Denver. Hosted daily mid-day movie on Channel 27 (“Ed Busch and the Movies”) and a weekly TV version of my radio show on WFAA-TV Channel 8 with audience.
Recognition/Civic Highlights: San Francisco Bar Association media award for staging a trial on my program with the audience as the jury. Dallas Independent School District award for swapping jobs with the Superintendent. Dallas Observer voted Best Talk-Show Host. Elected on the first-ever ballot to Texas Radio Hall of Fame. Two-term president SPCA of Texas. Mabank ISD bond committee member.
So adding to the earlier line up, it brings us to early 1968: WTTO-AM Toledo
1968 WKNR FM
1969 WKNR-AM
1970, 1971: WCAR
1972 WWWW-FM
1973 (my first talk gig) WERE-AM Cleveland
And then to WFAA-AM…
Okay, I think that’s my whole life George.
Ed
PS, Dick Purtan once told me I was talented but my problem was I’d go across the street for another $50 a week. I guess he was right.
WCAR DUMPS MOR CONSULTING SERVICE; NEW PROGRAM MANAGER NAMED
DETROIT — WCAR, the 50,000-watt station here, was revamped in a surprise move last week as the firm consulting the station, Programing db, was replaced by a full-time program manager, C. J. Jones. Neil McIntyre, the previous program director, resigned.
First move by the new program manager Jones was to chop the playlist to 30 records, while adding five new hitbounds. In addition the station will be playing selected cuts from two to five albums, The firm of Programing db had consulted the station for more than a year and only recently switched the format from MOR* to rock. Jones said that when he took over the station Monday (November 1), there were more than 70 records on the playlist. “The air personalities had format clocks that had no real direction and the station paid very little attention to mechanics.”
1130 WCAR-AM Detroit, with overnight shift personality Jim Keene in 1970. (Click on image for larger size).
Under Jones, WCAR air-personalities (and he plans to retain them all, if possible) will be allowed to rap between records to some extent — “say three seconds… or even 25 seconds… but I can’t visualize anything so super important that it needs 25 seconds to say it,” as Jones reiterated. Basically, the station will be a “more music” station, “but with personality, we’ve got some great radio professionals on the air here.” Air personalities include Dan O’Shea 6-10 a.m., Dave Prince 10-2 p.m., Scott Regen 2-6 p.m., Ron O’Brien 6-10 p.m., Ed Busch 10-2 a.m. and Jim Keene 2-6 a.m.
From the MCRFB Aircheck Library, featuring:
(Note: three airchecks when WCAR was MOR before the format switch).
“WCAR is a real rarity–the best radio opportunity in the nation. It has a good frequency, 1130 on the dial, 50,000 watts day-timer and 10,000 watts during nights, and it’s well financed. The major station in the market, CKLW, is more or less a time and temperature station. I feel we can succeed by playing a hell of a lot of music per hour.” And he felt that the ruling calling for Canadian radio stations to play a hefty percentage of Canadian product would be to the advantage of WCAR.
Jones is actually a consultant himself. He took responsibility for taking over WFDF in Flint, Michigan, on October 1, 1970, and took it to No. 1 in the market. Currently, he also consults WJIM in Lansing, Mich. He will continue to serve these two stations as consultant, but his major priority at the moment will be focused on WCAR.
WCAR has acquired a semi-custom set of jingles from TM Productions in Dallas–a set using the basics as the jingles package featured on the Pacific & Southern Broadcasting stations.
Jones will be doing the music chores at WCAR himself. The rotation pattern at the station “will concentrate on the top 10 selling records, plus the up-and-coming records (meaning: the records going up the station’s playlist rather than those dropping down). Oldies will be will be programmed fairly heavily in the morning drive period and in the mid-day, “but the format is by no means an oldies format. We will be willing to break a new record if we feel it’s going to be a hit, but not five in a week,” he said, regarding the new records added each week. Both WFDF and WJIM has a playlist of 40 records, plus five new records per week. Each station’s music is picked separately — the other two stations have their own program and music directors. END.
(Information and news source: Billboard; November 6, 1971).
