tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12055006.comments2023-05-12T05:58:15.192-06:00Signifying nothingClint Gardnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534333959460032669noreply@blogger.comBlogger2796125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12055006.post-16864028771038267972013-10-20T21:23:46.171-06:002013-10-20T21:23:46.171-06:00Oh, and by the way, Paul Droubay wasn't 'r...Oh, and by the way, Paul Droubay wasn't 'rich enough' to buy the place. He started B-101 from scratch as a brand-new station in 1975. When he sold it to Albimar in 1986, Mike and Don stayed on for a year as part of the deal, and then they were on their own. Paul lived the American Dream...he built up a business from scratch, made it all it could be in his hands, then sold it for a tidy profit, moved to Arizona and retired. Maybe that's the problem for nospam. Paul was successful.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12055006.post-55876618794517339792013-10-20T02:48:15.749-06:002013-10-20T02:48:15.749-06:00The 'jack of all trades' as you describe i...The 'jack of all trades' as you describe it at B101 that made the above entry wasn't Mike Droubay, or even a member of their family, it was me, Jeff Blair. I went to work there in November of 1978 babysitting the automation on Sundays for 13 hours while I was still a senior in high school. A few months later the production director, 'James Kay' Florence moved to Texas to take a job and I took over the production department when Mike Scott (the RC Willey guy after Ray LeBreq) was the program director and morning man. The chief engineer then was Bob Chamberlin, but he quit in a dispute he had with the Droubays and was replaced by Brent Sylvester and me. I also took over the traffic dept in 1979 (which was a hand-written log) and later developed some software to run it off an old Apple IIe clone. We moved the studio from the Ben Lomond Hotel to the Eccles Building in the spring of 1981 and around that time Mike Droubay's younger brother Don came on board after he graduated from Westminster College and became the sales manager. He was quiet and a nice guy but I don't think he wrote a single piece of copy in the 4+ years I knew him. Mike's older brother Greg (who worked for a TV station in SLC) phoned in a news bite (calling himself 'Paul Gregory') once in a while but I never met the man in the 6 1/2 years I was there. Mike Droubay did the afternoon drive show every weekday for about 4 years, including the news. Because it was a small town operation, we all had to be flexible and we all did a variety of jobs. Once in a while, I wrote a little copy and did some voice stuff on a few rare occasions...I even had the unenviable job of going live on the night of December 8, 1980 and telling Northern Utah that John Lennon was dead. As I witnessed it, Paul Droubay wanted to get into the SLC market, which was impossible to do with an FM signal and the transmitter tower out at Little Mountain at ground level in the swampy shoreline of the Great Salt Lake. By moving the transmitter from there to Farnsworth Peak, he not only reached a much larger audience, but he also actually improved the signal strength in Ogden. My experience with the Droubays was a positive one. It wasn't always smooth, but they recognized I was a valuable asset to the station, so they worked around my schedule for years while I went to Weber State during the day and worked at the station at night so I could realize my dream of moving away, going to grad school and becoming a dentist. I guess my mileage varied from nospam above...and the funny thing is, I don't recognize nospam as anyone I worked with...and I was there almost every day from November 1978 until August 1985. Who are you, mystery man and Droubay hater? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12055006.post-83633877764860436712013-06-20T18:57:18.715-06:002013-06-20T18:57:18.715-06:00This has been entertaining and very informative. ...This has been entertaining and very informative. For some strange reason I want to go make some coleslaw.Cordeliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13628357937461378086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12055006.post-61595685673313639082013-05-07T11:45:11.231-06:002013-05-07T11:45:11.231-06:00I grew up in Prescott & Tucson, AZ, among othe...I grew up in Prescott & Tucson, AZ, among other places, so I was familiar with Wallace & Ladmo. When I moved to SLC in 75, it was clear Hotel Balderdash was almost a franchise of W&L, being such a direct copy of the main characters. What sucked was Utah school bus rides meat the only time I could see much of Balderdash was when I was sick.<br /><br />I also recall KSTU TV-20 when they first came on the air- I had to go buy a UHF loop antenna to receive it, but I was lucky enough to know about it before they debuted because I was a producer at KSXX in Salt Lake (next door to a porno theater, so the call sign was organic) and was up on "the Industry", as it was (and is) in Utah.<br /><br />For the first few years, KSTU was owned by Springfield TV, and was pretty independent because it wasn't so heavy-handedly another arm of the LDS church. They started out with a lot of test patterns and Tom & Jerry cartoons, then added WB toons, "Battle of the Planets", Rocky & Bullwinkle, Dick Van Dyke, etc. <br /><br />Lighthouse 20 took a few months to get going, but I recall it being the first locally-produced show on the channel. I watched it a lot because I was old enough to enjoy it for the production values and gaffs- it was like watching Dark Shadows being made on a much smaller stage, and even when I was 5 I used to get a kick out of all the lighting mistakes and mis-cues on Dark Shadows.<br /><br />Still, Captain Scotty was a good host, and the show soon got better, and the kids' value was always there.<br /><br />As I mentioned, I worked at KSXX as a kid- 12-13 or so. It's GM was Starley Bush. Had I known KDAB (B-101's call sign)stood for 'Droubay And Bush', I never would have gone to work at B-101. Most of the staff were great, but the Droubays were incompetent buffoons. Dad wad rich enough to buy the place so his snot-nosed, talentless kids could run it into the ground. At least it kept Mike off the streets, I suppose. Man, they treated their staff like scum.<br /><br />I can only think the person above claiming to be the "Jack of All Trades" (chief engineer, traffic mgr, copywriter, news and commercial voice) is Mike Droubay. First, there was no engineer. Everyone running the tape decks (it was early automation) was an engineer, taking the elevator down to the managers office at the Ben Lomond Hotel to calibrate and take readings. The traffic manager was a computer-designed schedule and, again, the tape ops keyed in cart/ad rotations into the automation system. Not Mike. That position, too, did not exist. Mikes brother, who I rarely met and never had a beef with- seemed nice, decent sense of humor given the joke copy he'd come up with occasionally- was the ad man of the company. He sold ads and wrote the copy. Mike occasionally did news, but that was incredibly rare. Mike was the PD (Programming Director). As you may have gleaned from my lengthy description, the place was automated, so his job was 99% being an a**hole to the folks running the station.<br /><br />His dad, Paul, is also the jerk that successfully sued the FCC in order to make it so a station didn't have to broadcast from their market. Winning that terrible decision by the FCC, it helped rush the death knell of radio, broadcasting, and journalism in general in America. B-101 was, in fact, the prototype of mindless, faceless, corporate mass media that is American Broadcasting today. Way to go, Paul Droubay, you a**hat!<br /><br />Sorry to spend so much time on B-101, but I had to. I think anyone with a brain and a heart that was ever in broadcasting back in the 40s-70s can see how the suits and the Droubays of the industry made it impossible to see locally-produced talent. In fact, everything now is the mindless droning of Big Brother.<br /><br />nospamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16688714570084025623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12055006.post-5120921134713855632013-05-07T11:44:37.901-06:002013-05-07T11:44:37.901-06:00I grew up in Prescott & Tucson, AZ, among othe...I grew up in Prescott & Tucson, AZ, among other places, so I was familiar with Wallace & Ladmo. When I moved to SLC in 75, it was clear Hotel Balderdash was almost a franchise of W&L, being such a direct copy of the main characters. What sucked was Utah school bus rides meat the only time I could see much of Balderdash was when I was sick.<br /><br />I also recall KSTU TV-20 when they first came on the air- I had to go buy a UHF loop antenna to receive it, but I was lucky enough to know about it before they debuted because I was a producer at KSXX in Salt Lake (next door to a porno theater, so the call sign was organic) and was up on "the Industry", as it was (and is) in Utah.<br /><br />For the first few years, KSTU was owned by Springfield TV, and was pretty independent because it wasn't so heavy-handedly another arm of the LDS church. They started out with a lot of test patterns and Tom & Jerry cartoons, then added WB toons, "Battle of the Planets", Rocky & Bullwinkle, Dick Van Dyke, etc. <br /><br />Lighthouse 20 took a few months to get going, but I recall it being the first locally-produced show on the channel. I watched it a lot because I was old enough to enjoy it for the production values and gaffs- it was like watching Dark Shadows being made on a much smaller stage, and even when I was 5 I used to get a kick out of all the lighting mistakes and mis-cues on Dark Shadows.<br /><br />Still, Captain Scotty was a good host, and the show soon got better, and the kids' value was always there.<br /><br />As I mentioned, I worked at KSXX as a kid- 12-13 or so. It's GM was Starley Bush. Had I known KDAB (B-101's call sign)stood for 'Droubay And Bush', I never would have gone to work at B-101. Most of the staff were great, but the Droubays were incompetent buffoons. Dad wad rich enough to buy the place so his snot-nosed, talentless kids could run it into the ground. At least it kept Mike off the streets, I suppose. Man, they treated their staff like scum.<br /><br />I can only think the person above claiming to be the "Jack of All Trades" (chief engineer, traffic mgr, copywriter, news and commercial voice) is Mike Droubay. First, there was no engineer. Everyone running the tape decks (it was early automation) was an engineer, taking the elevator down to the managers office at the Ben Lomond Hotel to calibrate and take readings. The traffic manager was a computer-designed schedule and, again, the tape ops keyed in cart/ad rotations into the automation system. Not Mike. That position, too, did not exist. Mikes brother, who I rarely met and never had a beef with- seemed nice, decent sense of humor given the joke copy he'd come up with occasionally- was the ad man of the company. He sold ads and wrote the copy. Mike occasionally did news, but that was incredibly rare. Mike was the PD (Programming Director). As you may have gleaned from my lengthy description, the place was automated, so his job was 99% being an a**hole to the folks running the station.<br /><br />His dad, Paul, is also the jerk that successfully sued the FCC in order to make it so a station didn't have to broadcast from their market. Winning that terrible decision by the FCC, it helped rush the death knell of radio, broadcasting, and journalism in general in America. B-101 was, in fact, the prototype of mindless, faceless, corporate mass media that is American Broadcasting today. Way to go, Paul Droubay, you a**hat!<br /><br />Sorry to spend so much time on B-101, but I had to. I think anyone with a brain and a heart that was ever in broadcasting back in the 40s-70s can see how the suits and the Droubays of the industry made it impossible to see locally-produced talent. In fact, everything now is the mindless droning of Big Brother.<br /><br />nospamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16688714570084025623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12055006.post-87044710749667403172013-04-10T09:02:33.046-06:002013-04-10T09:02:33.046-06:00I could look for one of those at the next doll sho...I could look for one of those at the next doll show, but I'm pretty sure they've all been destroyed.Cordeliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13628357937461378086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12055006.post-41450733051259014722013-04-05T05:48:32.910-06:002013-04-05T05:48:32.910-06:00I did not know how much I missed ye.I did not know how much I missed ye.Cordeliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13628357937461378086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12055006.post-53691329963320615502013-01-19T10:02:36.563-07:002013-01-19T10:02:36.563-07:00I am her sister...we shared a closet full of skele...I am her sister...we shared a closet full of skeletons in our childhood! Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14139266912164466142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12055006.post-69428736475271387372013-01-19T10:00:33.489-07:002013-01-19T10:00:33.489-07:00I am her half sister...She does not like me to giv...I am her half sister...She does not like me to give out information, she is very secretive...too a fault...YES, she and I have had a very disturbing childhood, we grew up in a closet filled with skeletons! Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14139266912164466142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12055006.post-79339718062599096152012-12-06T09:33:47.754-07:002012-12-06T09:33:47.754-07:00I can't believe how long it took me to look at...I can't believe how long it took me to look at this. But I also can't believe how amazing this bird is, and that I had never heard of it. Wow, and thanks.Lisa B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/10646181766775405935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12055006.post-16421904256152989192012-10-11T06:11:18.520-06:002012-10-11T06:11:18.520-06:00This is the opposite of foodie mentality or for so...This is the opposite of foodie mentality or for someone with absolutely no self control. I know people that hate grocery shopping. I don't get it, I like to go grocery shopping.Cordeliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13628357937461378086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12055006.post-23679160864070574832012-09-06T23:58:55.230-06:002012-09-06T23:58:55.230-06:00" The title of my problem is in the To Lisa, ..." The title of my problem is in the To Lisa, Lisa, boring and pick that up. Sharlene year. I need to stuff. Okay. The saying my god, I'm saying You say, no memory loss in that looked over you're saying that las 7 discovered discovered. I'll talk to you after quite foolishly in the instead the meets Apple, but it was. I mean nothing, follow up on the existing, hey it's about. And that should be longer listings. But I'm over loan like Keith, within helpful and scene your, larine overtaking, Web, the stroking Let's see here and just received. But. But here's the, but. And they're celebrating up on the apartment. If you could, your shop. The mean you are simple song song. 12. 100 million years things and No, this is today. I learned their own. So, or so. Just thought I need your bye hey."Clint Gardnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13534333959460032669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12055006.post-70535280096880838532012-09-06T23:49:05.328-06:002012-09-06T23:49:05.328-06:00This comment has been removed by the author.Clint Gardnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13534333959460032669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12055006.post-83922364593885950562012-08-14T00:31:18.185-06:002012-08-14T00:31:18.185-06:00This is great. This is great. Cordeliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13628357937461378086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12055006.post-76263322085738395812012-08-12T13:30:33.352-06:002012-08-12T13:30:33.352-06:00I believe the female host of Lighthouse 20 took ov...I believe the female host of Lighthouse 20 took over once the guy left the show. It didn't last as she was terrible.Clint Gardnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13534333959460032669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12055006.post-53713539235783913582012-08-12T11:40:52.337-06:002012-08-12T11:40:52.337-06:00I know this post is very old, but I just found it....I know this post is very old, but I just found it. I'm a Utard who remembers Lighthouse 20. It was definitely a man who was the host. When I was a teen, I went house hunting with my folks. One house had a bizarre little Captain Cutlass shrine behinfd the wet bar. Turns out, the homeowner was his mother. I even remember the joke-a-matic. The robot/computer thing that would tell horrible jokes; and I think some dude in a chicken suit.<br /><br />I lament the loss of local studio tv. I was googling that old "Nightmare Theater" from SLC as well. There was narration, but not really studio stuff for that. But I stumbled across a more popular "Nightmare Theater" from Indiana. A local celebrity known as Sammy Terry (Word play on cemetery) hosted B horror movies for decades. I really really miss this kind of TV. I actually work in TV and this stuff is partially why. But I tire of all that overly-polished crap which took over. Stuff that pretends to be more relevant, but is actually less.Matt/Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02846669101341896676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12055006.post-48348709137760189072012-07-28T23:44:47.102-06:002012-07-28T23:44:47.102-06:00Love this.Love this.middlebrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14810341455860537174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12055006.post-79248011298496580052012-07-28T11:38:51.795-06:002012-07-28T11:38:51.795-06:00BrIlliant!BrIlliant!Cordeliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13628357937461378086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12055006.post-64616255367235631452012-07-27T09:59:12.452-06:002012-07-27T09:59:12.452-06:00My viewing is a couple of days late but, ah, still...My viewing is a couple of days late but, ah, still a good yearly 24th tradition.Counterintuitivehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13137134752919050468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12055006.post-90701508214173330282012-07-06T21:38:01.751-06:002012-07-06T21:38:01.751-06:00I marketed this with an ironic and dark post title...I marketed this with an ironic and dark post title.Clint Gardnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13534333959460032669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12055006.post-16413459850223531802012-07-06T21:34:17.253-06:002012-07-06T21:34:17.253-06:00And thank you for that, Lisa. Massively cool.And thank you for that, Lisa. Massively cool.Clint Gardnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13534333959460032669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12055006.post-86529883697225205952012-07-06T11:11:52.793-06:002012-07-06T11:11:52.793-06:00Repaired!Repaired!Clint Gardnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13534333959460032669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12055006.post-62618818665423577782012-07-06T11:10:36.362-06:002012-07-06T11:10:36.362-06:00(...that's Ammons)(...that's Ammons)Lisa B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/10646181766775405935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12055006.post-15176610411810573952012-07-06T10:51:42.277-06:002012-07-06T10:51:42.277-06:00There was one of those in West Jordan once; Jaw Eg...There was one of those in West Jordan once; Jaw Egbert (yes he was called Jaw) blew up the whole show in one fantastic explosion. Only a few people were injured. Jaw never ran the fireworks show after that.Clint Gardnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13534333959460032669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12055006.post-69084398057990294242012-07-06T10:14:28.889-06:002012-07-06T10:14:28.889-06:00I read about this in the paper this morning. Wow. ...I read about this in the paper this morning. Wow. Made me remember a time up in Idaho, when they had a fireworks display at the resort's golf course, and a bunch--a big bunch--of fireworks went off super close to the ground. It was terrifying.Lisa B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/10646181766775405935noreply@blogger.com