One day in the early 1980’s I was watching one of the funnier shows on television – WKRP in Cincinnati. WKRP was a situation comedy, running from 1978-1982, based on a struggling major market radio station. I had what writers call an epiphany, a sudden and striking realization. WKRP was not a comedy. WKRP was reality. WKRP was me! It was time to move on.

When you have worked in radio broadcasting, WKRP has a special place in your heart. In my radio career, I have occupied pretty much every role in a radio station at one time or another. If you want a serious description of radio station jobs, read this booklet from the National Association of Broacasters. Or, follow along as we consider the jobs in a radio station and their representation by the WKRP characters.

• The WKRP on-air personalities, illustrated by Johnny Fever (bottom center) and Venus Flytrap (top right). During that era, there was a trend for on-air personalities to migrate away from being fatherly figures towards the farther out. Venus and Johnny depicted this well, with the former being serious but crazy, and the latter just being seriously crazy. These two characters showed announcers making up silly names (many did) and moving from market to market as they pursued their careers.
• The program director and peacemaker, Andy Travis (middle right). While responsible for a station’s on-air sound, program directors spent a lot of time arbitrating between competing opinions and making peace between large egos. Andy delivered this role perfectly.
• The sales guys, represented by Herb Tarlek (middle left). It’s all about selling the dream, making the deal, pulling the station towards the needs of the advertisers rather than the listeners. Coming up with promotions. The world centers on sales. Sales guys did not need to be really bright, although many were. They just needed to close the sale. And it helped to be able to come across as an ordinary guy.
• Then, there was the station beauty queen, in this case Jennifer Marlowe (in case you can’t figure it out, bottom left). Every station seemed to have one, the dominant statuesque blond that was hands-off and a bit mysterious. Usually, the Jennifer had a singular job, such as personal assistant to a senior manager or a distinctive role like promotions or community relations. Competent but coy.
• Baily Quarters (bottom right) represented the many, many behind the scenes female staff that kept most stations going. Competent but quiet, a new generation of career-oriented women finding their way in a man’s world. Young women kept the engine room humming along – writing copy and commercials, scheduling and billing for commercials. And most important, building confidence.
• The earnest news types, embodied by Les Nessman (top left). Most news guys I knew were competent (Les was not) but often took themselves and their jobs far too seriously. WKRP specialized in running gags, perhaps the best of which was Les’ desire for his own office. He could not have one, so he used masking tape to mark out his “office” on the floor. Would he have done any better in the world of cubicles?
• And finally, the big guy, the station manager Arthur Carlson (top center). Arthur and his mother represented the typically out-of-touch ownership. Out-of-touch, in the sense that the owner was often far removed from both the market and the front lines. Out-of-touch, in the sense that by the time you became general manager, you were well trained for the previous generation of broadcasting, not so much for “the now”.

WKRP and Reality

So, I came to the conclusion that WKRP was, in addition to being a comedy, also my reality. Radio is a great career when you are young. You get to develop your personality, communicate with lots of people, learn about how communities and business work. But most people are in the business for love, not money. I was once told by the owner of a radio station in one of Canada’s wealthiest communities that yes, his market had a very high per capita income, but that was certainly not because of his station’s payroll. While a few of the top on-air personalities, executives and sales staff get rich, most do not.

There is also a certain repetitiveness that gets to you after a while. Someone has said that twenty years’ experience in broadcasting is really just one years’ experience twenty times. As with many jobs, there is a daily, weekly, monthly and particularly annual cycle that just repeats and repeats. Christmas, Easter, Summer Holidays, Back to School, Thanksgiving.

Ah, yes. Thanksgiving. I could not end an article about WKRP without recounting how I laughed and cried during the seventh episode of the first season. It was called Turkeys Away!   A new idea for a Thanksgiving promotion turns into disaster. Or, in the closing words of the Big Guy: “As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.”

My WKRP epiphany made me realize that I had played all the roles; there weren’t any more. And I had been all of the WKRP characters (except Jennifer, sigh) and I needed a new show to perform in. So, back to school and move on.