Posted by chicagomedia.org on November 10, 2008 at 10:47:29:
Some of radio's best gathered for the National Radio Hall of Fame ceremony Saturday night.
If I start name-dropping - beyond the inductees who where there, like Art Bell, Howie Carr, Dr. James Dobson, Mickey Luckoff, Charlie Tuna - I'll have to leave a lot of people out. So let me just paraphrase the classy remark of KGO/KSFO, San Francisco Mickey Luckoff - he just hopes he's been as good to radio as radio's been to him. Truth is, radio's been good to the entire roomful of people at Chicago's Renaissance Hotel, including the large and vocal cadre of supporters for Dr. Dobson and Focus on the Family. (The protesters to his induction outside the hotel were also vocal, but I'll get to that in a moment.) The concern you kept hearing in private conversations was about radio's next decade or so - whether these continuing waves of cutbacks endanger the future. (It's the issue that Ed Christian crystallized on last week's Saga call as "eating our seed corn.") But it was a great night for radio, and one that listeners everywhere could share through a live broadcast on Westwood One, ably announced by its Jim Bohannon, and acerbically emceed by Adam Carolla. Here's Adam, cracking wise about dapper and mustachioed presenter John Gehron of Harpo Radio: he said Gehron looks like a cross between Martin Landau and John Waters. The time constraints of a one-hour broadcast window meant that a lot of material got left on the floor - though frankly, its speedy pace is something other awards shows could study. The whole shebang had to be over by 10pm Chicago time, and it was.
The anti-Dobson protest gained impetus from last week's Prop 8 win in California.
Some protesters charged that Dr. James Dobson and the conservative Christian Focus on the Family were a prime mover behind last Tuesday's surprise passage of the one-man/one-woman definition of marriage. That added fuel to their opinions about Dr. Dobson's alleged homophobia and intolerance. (One hand-painted sign: "Focus on your own families"). So it was a lively crowd outside the Renaissance Hotel, maybe 50-75 - enough to attract the local Fox TV news van and a reporter, on a slow Saturday night. Mostly the demonstrators waved signs at passing motorists on busy West Wacker Drive, and chanted slogans about tolerance. The only unruly moment I'm saw came during the awards-show cocktail hour up on the second floor, when a couple of protesters hopped the elevator to evade security. They briefly shouted some slogans and were efficiently escorted down the escalator. Bruce DuMont of the sponsoring Museum of Broadcast Communications took a very balanced approach to the protests that began just before the end of the balloting. He wasn't going to change the rules after the fact (even though Dr. Dobson actively encouraged his listeners to vote for him, while Howard Stern discouraged his). And if nothing else, the protests earned the 2008 National Radio Hall of Fame awards even more mainstream publicity.
Check the video of Saturday's Radio Hall of Fame show at the new MBC website.
They put the Museum's new-design website up this past weekend, and it's already got the full broadcast presentation of the 2008 show, hosted by Mr. Announcer Jim Bohannon and emceed by a very funny Adam Carolla. Some quotes to watch for - the history of how Art Bell moved from traditional talk into paranormal stuff, to create "Coast to Coast AM"...Howie Carr of WRKO, Boston thanking predecessors like Jerry Williams and wishing for the speedy arrival of the Internet in autos...the humble remarks of Mickey Luckoff, and the salute to KGO's astounding winning streak in the ratings, by Marty Greenberg...Larry Lujack introducing his pal Charlie Tuna (he didn't like being told to shorten his bit, and he kept saying "I'd love to tell you this great story - but there's no time")...and the remarks of Dr. James Dobson about the spread of Christian radio. See the video and easily fast-forward to the stuff you want to see:
(Tom Taylor)