While browsing images last night, I came across this photo of my little corner of the office I shared with Jim Lipsey when Learfield HQ was on McCarty Street in downtown Jefferson City. The photo –probably taken around ’86– reminded me of how much things have changed. Check out the “Notes” on flickr image.
My first official day at Learfield Communications was June 4, 1984. I’ve posted on enough anniversaries that I don’t have anything fresh to add, but didn’t want the day to slip by without note.
A surprising number of people who were there on my first day are still with the company: Clyde, Roger, Charlie, Bob Priddy, Derry (no longer technically part of Learfield but always in my head and my heart), Greg, Clarice, Joyce… who am I missing?
The company has grown so rapidly in recent years, it bears little resemblance to the company I started with. But that is as it should be. Like that old Saturday Night Live bit… “Learfield has been berry, berry good to me.”
Off to Des Moines for a couple of days. Can’t remember the last time I was there. Couple of years ago? But I remember the first time. It was early in 1997 1987 and we (Learfield) were starting a statewide radio network. I was managing our news networks in those days and –with help from Roger Gardner– was tasked with hiring staff. We did most of the interviews in the bar and lobby of the Savery Hotel. I clearly remember meeting Kay Henderson and Todd Kimm, two of the original staff who are still with us.
I was also responsible for signing stations to the network. I couldn’t tell you how many times I criss-crossed Iowa in my little Toyota Corolla, but I hit every town with a stick. And broadcasters were very receptive. I think we had 30 affiliates by the time we went live in July.
Seems like yesterday.
Probably can’t make it happen this trip but I’m gonna sit down with Kay and Todd and record a little oral history of the network. Be fun to remember those that worked in our newsroom; the big stories; the funny stories; the affiliates. It might be too hot to share but we’ll keep it someplace safe until we can.
Learfield CEO Clyde Lear proudly displays his new MacBook Pro. Clyde insists it’s for his lovely wife Sue. If that’s true –and we hope it is– Clyde will soon be trekking back to the Apple Store in St. Louis. I think it would be nearly impossible share a MacBook.
For now, we’ll add Clyde to our gallery of Mac Sliders. Someone call Cupertino, we’re gonna need more Kool Aid.
Former Learfield and uber-blogger Chuck Zimmerman just purchased his first Mac. When was the last time you were so excited about something you bought that you immediately told the world about it?
My alternate headline was, “Gomer Does the Big Apple,” but the Jim Nabors reference would be either too dated or unflattering to Learfield President and Chief Operating Officer Roger Gardner, the latest Learfielder to break down and “Get A Mac.”
Like Phil and me, Roger has been flirting with the idea of buying a Mac for sometime. He’s been teetering at the precipice for weeks and finally went over the edge this week and purchased a 17″ MacBook Pro (with all the fixin’s)
In all fairness, Roger has two teenagers at home and they needed another computer and –like a lot of folks these days– couldn’t come up with a good reason not to try a Mac.
Radio Iowa reporter Stella Shaffer produces “Radio Iowa: Week In Review” and it’s a nice toe-in-the-podcast-water for the network. She pulls together the top stories of the previous week:
“The old governor’s got a gig teaching law at Drake, the new governor wants a dollar-a-pack increase in the cigarette tax, and an economist tells us what that might cost. The new improved state minimum wage may also have unanticipated consequences, according to HeadStart heads. Bitter cold played a part in the apprehension of an auto-theft suspect, OSHA offered a helping hand to migrant workers while one mayor wants a fulltime cop to bust them, and we mourn two more Iowa soldiers lost.”
Another of our networks began repurposing feature programs as podcasts last year. But RIWIR is our first true podcast (by my definition).
We have some really good reporters working in our newsrooms. Historically, if they came up with a good idea for a new program, it could only fly if we could convince enough affiliate stations to “clear” it.
In the world of podcasts, they are only limited by their imaginations and the hours in the day. I’m hoping to hear some good stuff in the coming year.
One of the first Learfield networks to have a website was Radio Iowa, our state news network in Iowa. That must have been around 1996 and it was created (using Frontpage) by Dan Arnall and Allen Hammock, a couple college guys we hired to help us figure out “this Internet thing.”
Dan and Allen went on to pursue new adventures a long time ago. And we’ve added lots of websites –for our company and for clients– since those early days.
This week we relaunched RadioIowa.com. We relaunched WRN.com a about a month back and we’ll be putting up the new Missourinet.com in a couple of weeks.
Our news networks are pretty narrow in focus. We cover the legislature, state government and –with the help of our affiliates– news from throughout our respective states.
Our websites reflect that focus. State news and sports, with an emphasis on the sounds of the news. We are, first and foremost, radio networks. Our websites are designed to complement them. They are not high-traffic, destination sites. Time will tell if this strategy is the correct one. The next couple of years should be interesting.
Our new sites are very blog-like. At WRN.com, we blog the sports and our news director maintains a blog. At Radio Iowa, News Director O. Kay Henderson is generating a real following for her political blog.
Time will tell if I have taken us in the right direction with these sites. If you like what you see, email me and I’ll put you in touch with Andy Waschick, the man behind all of Learfield’s websites. If you don’t… please don’t tell me.
Because I don’t own a Blackberry or “smart phone,” I have not done any “texting” and have no thumb typing skills (I’m not even sure it’s called that). But many people are very adept at this, including Learfield’s own Tyne Morgan. Tyne is majoring in ag journalism at the University of Missouri and working part-time for one of our networks.
This little clip does not do justice to her amazing skill. She was keying –with one thumb– as fast as many people type with all ten fingers. And she doesn’t have to look at the keys. This might be more useful than the ability to make yourself invisible.
The first election covered by The Missourinet (a network owned by the company I work for) was in 1976. News Director Bob Priddy orchestrated that first election night and every one since. Prior to The Missourinet, radio stations throughout the state focused on local races and relied on the wire services for news and numbers from throughout the state.
The Missourinet brought the sounds of election night from the state capitol and campaign headquarters throughout Missouri to the hometown audiences of our affiliates.
The technology has changed… and is changing… but insight and understanding Missourinet reporters bring to their election night coverage remains the focus of their reporting. Bob reflects on the past 30 years in this 10 minute video.