My
heart had always been in programming. Though I enjoyed being
on the air, my real desire was to find a Program Director's
job. Whatsmore, in the aftermath of the sale of 66
WNBC in New York, I knew the only real place for me
to look for one was on the West Coast where I'd wanted to
live all my life.
In
my naiveté, I looked at a map of California and saw
that Bakersfield was 'just north' of Los Angeles (more like
a hundred miles away!). It might have been a million miles
away, as I had no idea of how colloquial Bakersfield was
(think: Tulsa, Oklahoma in California). Nor was I aware
of the the bias against LA (where I really wanted to be)
that was so prevalent in 'B-Town'.
So
when I learned that Q94 (KQXR was named after the Classical
Music station WQXR in New York) was looking for a Program
Director, I applied for the position, flew out for an interview
and was offered the job. Blinded by my desire to get to
California by any means possible, I accepted the position.
Q94
was the #1 contemporary station in Bakersfield when I arrived
in 1988. But it had only gotten there by default several
months earlier when long time market leader, KKXX (owned
by Country legend, Buck Owens) was blown up to go Country
when an upstart elsewhere in the market had the audacity
to start playing Country music on FM!
That
station had no real chance of combating Buck Owens' KUZZ
(AM or FM) with its massive promotional budget, history,
heritage and authenticity. Sensing a greater opportunity
with Top 40, it got the now available KKXX call letters
and within 90 days brought the station, along with its staff
back from the dead. The library however was skewed much
more rhythmic than it had been before, a blocking measure
so that Q94 (which historically had a Rock lean to it) wouldn't
be able to do so in an effort to cater to the highly dense
Hispanic make-up of the market. All this occurred before
my arrival and unbeknownst to me.
Hence
I walked in to a no-win situation. Predictably, Q94 which
had never been #1 until KKXX went away briefly lost it's
#1 contemporary ranking after only one book and I was ceremoniously
offered as the sacrificial lamb. After my exit the station
did not rise again in the ratings. The new KKXX catered
heavily to the ethnic composition of the market and continued
to grow with each ensuing book. Ultimately, Q94 gave up
the fight and changed format to Oldies, the very format
I had done in New York at 66
WNBC.
I however had no desire to remain in Bakersfield (much like
the 'Oakies' in 'The Grapes Of Wrath').
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