I was born in a great Radio Town; Jacksonville Florida. So it was only natural that I joined WUSC (AM at the time) in my first semester 1963. I went on to a career in commercial radio and television in Columbia, WCOS AM & FM, WIS-TV, WIS Radio, SCETV and PBS. I'm retired now, giving back since 2010 to the station that started my career, WUSC-FM. If you did the math you will know that I celebrated the 60th anniversary of my first radio show ever in November 2023.
Other TV RemotesFrom 1976 through 1985 I joined what is called a “Pick-Up Crew” in the business. A Pick-Up crew was a loose group of TV professionals who were hired by the networks to televise mainly sporting events around the country instead of using network crews who were generally tied up ...
Transition Back To Television During my time at Cosmos Broadcasting the parent company for WIS Television and Radio, the company owned four TV Stations; WIS in Columbia, WSFA in Montgomery AL, WDSU in New Orleans and WTOL in Toledo OH. In the summer of 1979, they acquired an AM radio station in Florida ...
On the Air at WIS Radio There is a phrase that often appeared in job descriptions back in the day; “Will perform all other duties as required.” This was a catch all term that meant that you had to do whatever the station wanted you to do. WIS Radio had a huge International Good Music (IGM) automation ...
Having Fun on Talk Radio Now, Jerry Dean Pate was almost as crazy as I was! He was doing a late morning talk show on WIS Radio. WIS was not a talk station, but we did have a talk show that ran for a couple of hours on weekdays. Bill Benton was the original host of the show, but he, along with Gene McKay, ...
Gamecock Football When I made the transition from WIS TV to WIS Radio, one of the skills I brought with me was the ability to operate the audio console for live sports, having done so at both WCOS and WIS TV. I was already the de facto chief engineer of the Gamecock Radio Network because WIS Radio was ...
Radio AnimalsWIS Radio was in a suburban setting northwest of Columbia. It was also down in the basin of the Saluda River that was occasionally prone to flooding. The station building was built on 15’ pilings that put the floor above the 100 year flood level for the area. The bases of the three towers ...
One of the most notable things about the Columbia skyline in late November and December is the array of Christmas lights at the top of the 400’ tower downtown, in the shape of a Christmas Tree. Back in the 70s the tree would be lit as soon as possible after the State’s Christmas Tree was lit by ...
