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.
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 ...
Making SC Broadcast History Just five days later, the Ikegami HL-35 would be back in the headlines. WIS-TV was in a race to be the first to use the camera dubbed the “Mini-Cam” with another SC Broadcaster live in a newscast. We had received our camera first and had it and all the required equipment ...
Shooting News Video For The First Time November 12, 1975, is the date that it all started to change. On that date, WIS-TV received a delivery of one of the first shoulder-mounted video cameras to arrive in SC: an Ikegami HL-35. Short aside: HL stood for Handee Lookee; I kid you not. It ...
Getting Up In This World When people find out that I worked at WIS, I often get asked if I have ever climbed their towers. The answer is yes, both of them; the 400’ self supporting triangular tower with a 30 ‘ base at the studio downtown and the 1,200’ Tall Tower at the transmitter site in Kershaw ...
