In recent days I had the good fortune to sit down and chat with longtime Detroit radio personality and programmer Lori Bennett, most recently PD at Magic. She left the industry in recent months after more than two decades, including many years at WMGC rival WNIC. We had never met in person but had followed each others careers both in front of and behind the microphone.
Get two “old” radio vets together and the conversation invariably becomes dominated by what the airwaves could be, should be and used to be. I’ve always maintained that personality, communicating the right content in the right doses, is key to setting radio stations apart from terrestrial and satellite competitors. On exactly the same page and in a position to put words into action, Lori was responsible, over the course of the past year, in bringing back two talented, long-time radio vets to the full-time air at Magic: Chris Edmonds (Afternoons) and Kevin O’Neill (Evenings). We can all thank her for that.
Just south on the dial at 104.3-FM, ace PD Tim Roberts, meanwhile, is proving that he is not just one of the best Country programmers around but also has a knack for “Classic Hits.” Dick Purtan’s absence aside, the station sounds its best in years with an up-tempo melding of talented jocks, jingles and music – all packaged and paced ala the Top 40 super-AM stations of the 70s. Roberts also had the wherewithal to bring back Jim Johnson (Middays) whose pipes and lineage deserved it.
And, in case you hadn’t yet noticed, kudos to News/Talk 760 WJR for allowing us, although fleetingly, to once again enjoy the sultry-voiced Lynne Woodison on many of their “positioning” jingles. I am privileged to call Lynne a friend and look forward to hearing more from her in the days ahead as well.
What’s the old saying: You can take the man out of radio but you can’t take the radio out of the man? As I continue to listen, critique and admire, it is always rewarding to hear and hear of talented industry professionals who are doing things the right way to the mutual listening benefit of us all.