THE MOST FREQUENT QUESTION!

Can it really be almost 16 months since I relocated to Phoenix, Arizona? That thought struck me after dinner last night. I've met some wonderful people here in my new city, and the most frequent question I'm asked every week is: "You need to go back 'on the air'. Why don't you?" That question used to bother me. Today, I am flattered by it. I was very lucky to have started my career in a Top 5 national broadcasting market where I remained for 14 years. When you are in the industry, familiar stories of the really big hitters like Regis Philbin and David Letterman are discussed regularly. This is probably due to the fact that each of these men (and others) traversed through unique and unpredictable paths we all admire. Regis Philbin began his talk show career at KGTV in San Diego with a budget similar to my radio music magazine where I served as a writer and producer. David Letterman started his career on WXLW AM and became an anchor and weatherman on WLWI (renamed WTHR today) in Indianapolis. His strongest influence was the late Cincinnati TV talk show host Paul Dixon. Within industry, we all knew "through the grapevine" who was working on producing a new program concept and subsequently who was under consideration to host a promising new television or radio vehicle. A similar phenomenon is occuring today with the interesting shift we are about to witness with Jay Leno relinquishing "The Tonight Show" to rival Conan O'brien. This dynamic of knowing the market place is true of any industry where everyone has an inside track to the comings and goings of others in their respective fields. Still, a few thoughts would be helpful to answer "the most frequent question".

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Like all businesses, the broadcasting industry is constantly evolving. The most dramatic change that I've witnessed arrived in 1996 when the Telecommunications Act was signed into law by President Clinton. I was in Los Angeles attending the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) convention when it became obvious to me that the best I would be able to do in my newly-minted position in broadcast management was to help shore up our failing station for an eventual sale. We had a few good assets, however, too many mistakes went uncorrected for decades before our new team was installed to salvage the "remains of the day". We were simply too weak to be competitive with gloves-off competition on the horizon from the more fleet-footed competitors who adapted to the dictates of the economy and grew to be profitable with a hands-up over our beleagured operation that remained stuck in the 1960's. Media companies with substantial war chests of cash and credit lines were positioned to become titans who were about to be granted unrestricted access to acquire television and radio stations, outdoor billboard advertising companies and newspapers rapidly in each of the markets they served. With this development, competition was of course concentrated among a handful of players. The independent regional station owners reaped millions in buyouts and went on a permanent vacation. Market share was pursued with a vengeance. However, the decline in "originating local broadcasting" outside of the news industry had begun eleven years earlier in 1985.

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To cite an example, actor George Clooney's father hosted "The Nick Clooney Show", an hour long weekday variety show that aired at 12 Noon in downtown Cincinnati. George would sit in the rafters and watch an audience of one hundred and fifty people file into the Central Avenue CBS affiliate studios (since demolished) before air time. After the show, backdrops linked to cables were hoisted to the ceiling by stage professionals to transform what looked like a set for "The Tonight Show" into a single lane bowling alley for the program "Bowling for Dollars". When Westinghouse Broadcasting (Group W Productions) began shuttering the syndicated "PM Magazine" across the country, "Entertainment Tonight" arrived on the scene with a soft focus on celebrity stories. "A Current Affair", and "Inside Edition" offered a harder-hitting focus on news and entertainment. Fast-forward to today's "commodity-driven" economy. "Reality TV" signaled a change in audiences tastes (many would argue this shift as a lack of taste). The swing from syndicated programs to national network staples in New York and Los Angeles markets expanded their focus away from daytime "soaps" ("General Hospital", 'The Young & The Restless") in favor of night time fare. Morning and afternoon programming such as "The View" and "Oprah" blazed new paths along with Hispanic television (firmly established in Miami) as the "New Millennium" began. Cable Television matured from Ted Turners CNN "Superstation" concept of a 24-hour real time news operation in Atlanta to roughly a dozen independent cable television networks including Maryland-based Discovery Communications. Each produces a blinding slate of programming. CNN and Time-Warner entered into a powerful merger and into this maelstrom, regional "known entities"--to coin an industry phrase--like myself found ourselves curiously displaced in a long period of assessment. Hosts of cable television designer programs such as Knoxville-based HGTV typically don't possess a background in broadcast journalism, just as grizzled political reporters in Washington don't possess a degree in interior design. That's a short explanation of the current environment many of us have to navigate. In terms of common sense, the question for local television must be asked along these lines. What would a mutually beneficial transaction for a local cable or network affiliate station look like in a "Morning Show" format that is personality-driven, topical, fun and engaging? I'll summarize an answer in a moment.

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In my case, I was bitten by the Journalism bug in grade school while my brother was serving in Vietnam. I wrote an essay about him during a surprise 10-minute assignment that resembled a "pop quiz" and earned my first taste of recognition with a Blue Ribbon award for creative writing. My Website Homepage summarizes the rest and my future is truly "a work in progress". While I have enjoyed broadcast news, the kind of opportunity I welcome requires tremendous good fortune coupled with a producer with uncommon intestinal fortitude.

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Summary: A friend of mine actually wound up as a guest on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" after being selected among 28,000 contestants as "Garage Sale Mother of the Year". She is so hysterically funny that when we became friends, we laughed each other under the table exchanging tales of funny pranks and humorous takes on life. I finally lamented that we would pair up for a local television "Morning Show". "It's too bad there isn't any real originating television in the form of a morning show, because we would really play off one another as co-hosts. There would never be a dull day", I said. "Think about it", she replied. "What are we inundated with every day? Bad news. People are sick of it! They want to laugh. They want a relief valve. Life is hard enough without ratcheting up the tension we face everyday with dark themes". That, my friends, is where we left it and the task of pitching a local station to risk a new "Morning Show" with a mix of news and fresh comedic sensibilities that are unique is formidable. Until I discover a catalyst and a conduit for resolving this stumbling block, I suspect that I'll be facing "the most frequent question" from well-meaning champions of my work for some time. The good news is that I'm open to the possibilities.