Georgia Wavelengths (™): Podcasts from the Friends of Georgia Radio

Howard Toole started as a jock in 10th grade in Augusta and quickly earned first-class ticket right after high school. He continued his radio journey at WRFC in Athens while finishing his degree at Georgia, then moved on to Louisville and New Orleans as an air personality and PD. Soon, he switched to sales, and ended up in Atlanta when Plough Broadcasting flipped WPLO-FM to Disco V-103. From there, he worked in Dallas, San Antonio,...

Steve Craig has spent 30 years so far in Georgia radio -- all in Atlanta-- and almost all in Program management and on air, all at highly rated and well respected stations. Now, he’s back at 99X as PD and middays, and successfully reclaiming the heritage station's position, and the ratings, of the Original 99X.

Here, in Part 2, Dennis Winslow hears from Steve how the staff was put back together, how they all get along (again), and ...

Steve Craig has spent 30 years so far in Georgia radio, all in Atlanta, almost all in Program management and on air, all at highly rated and well respected stations, and now, he’s back at the station he started in Atlanta radio at – with a slight change in dial position—and leading the charge that’s so far done a pretty good job at reclaiming the heritage position, and the ratings, of the Original 99X. this podcast -- Part 1 --cov...

He started in programming, but Steve Hegwood had a bigger vision. After a very successful career as a high-level programming guy - he was the VP/Programming for RadioOne when they launched what is now Hot 107.9 in Atlanta — he found he had a taste for ownership. He built a company by parlaying a translator whose programming originated on a leased HD channel, into a group of stations, all carrying the hip-hop programming from his or...

A bigtime record executive comes back to Atlanta to do what he loves best—radio. And, a pretty crafty GM sees the possibility early on and parlays a collection of translator licenses into a new tower site and vastly increased coverage. Oh, and by the way, this little-but-mighty noncommercial station was streaming well before the other Atlanta operators saw the future. How has WCLK earned its reputation as one of America's best...

In the late 1970s, there were only a small handful of commercial stations featuring jazz programming. But WQXI-FM ("94Q")-- a extremely successful Atlanta pop rock station--- added a 5-hour jazz show Sunday nights 7 to midnight, and generated double digit shares-  Sometimes 20+ shares Adults 25-54!  Here's the inside story from Don Benson, the PD who put it on, and from Fleetwood Gruver and Russ Davis, the first two h...

We gathered three incredibly bright Georgia college students who finished two weeks of intensive workshops and radio training at the GAB’s Radio Talent Institute at Grady College at UGA. We’ll find out what they learned, whom they met (A Who’s Who of Georgia and national radio leaders), and what they will do with all their new knowledge. Dennis Winslow talks with GAB President Bob Houghton, Brenau and UGA's Massimo Bellew, Pied...

Mike Roberts and Carol Blackmon anchored mornings at heritage Urban powerhouse WVEE from the late 80s thru the late 90s – dominating morning ratings and winning accolades and awards. (Mike’s a Georgia Radio Hall of Fame and a GAB Hall of Fame inductee, and Carol was inducted into the National Black Radio Hall of Fame, and recently honored by the Library of Congress as she joined the Black Women in Radio Class of 2023.)

Back togeth...

ABC/CapCities imported PD Neil McGinley to Atlanta from flame-throwing CHR WKBW in Buffalo to their new country property, WKHX 101.5 in Atlanta.  And Neil imported a morning guy from a top-rated rock station in Houston, where he had a reputation as a “shock jock.”  Together, they built a heritage country morning show brand in the heart of the South.  Back together again, in one of the last recorded interviews before Moby's deat...

Brian Philips-Chief Content Officer, Cumulus

Over 30 years ago, Susquehanna radio put their Top 40 “Power 99” to bed, and birthed a new station – the original “99X.” With a legendary morning show – “The Morning X” – and a unique roadmap (there really wasn’t one in the beginning), the station carved out a place in Georgia radio history but eventually was itself replaced. Fast forward, and the visionary program manager Brian Philips ...

FoGRPod # 13- “History of WRAS-Part 2”  has some really great guests – two Atlanta natives who both got started at “Album 88” in different eras:

John Asante, who was a show host and News Director from 2007-2009, and then ended up at WNYC and NPR in New York, helping to produce such iconic shows as “Ask Me Another,” “The Takeaway,” and “Talk of the Nation.” From there, he headed for Los Angeles where he is now an award-winning ...

WRAS’s Drew Murray and Jeff Walker- In addition to arriving at WRAS during the station’s infancy in the early 1970s, Drew Murray has the distinction of being the very first voice on the brand new “96 Rock” when WKLS flipped from beautiful music. And Jeff Walker is the WRAS staffers who just can’t leave! Jeff was PD in 1981, then GM, then Operations manager and Advisor off and on from 1986 to today. (He even retired once, but it did...