Seattle Broadcasters' Lunch

Special thanks to Bill Wippel for the invite to last week's Broadcasters' Lunch in Seattle. I've been to a few of these events in the past and always enjoyed myself. Bill performs a much-appreciated service in making the arrangements and getting the word out.

I was fortunate enough to sit next to Don Riggs, who shared some great stories about KFKF, KBES and KOL (which became KMPS the day Don started a 33-year career there in 1975), and about his friend and former colleague, the late Phil Harper.

As the lunch took place a few days after the passing of Harry Wappler, many former colleagues and old friends shared memories of the popular KIRO meteorologist (who was always nice to me when I was first a lowly intern and then a lowly part-timer at KIRO-AM in the early 1990s).

Broadcasters' Lunch Attendees in Photo (photo courtesy Bill Wippel):

First Row (L-R): Esther Druxman, Todd Bitts, Cliff Murphy, Dick Paetzke, Glenn Williams. Second Row: Chris Wedes, Dick Cross, Bob Adkins, Don Riggs, Bill Wippel, David Lee, Andy Gronning. Third Row: Gary Engard, George Toles, Dean Smith, Larry Rice, Dave Severence. Fourth Row: Larry Lomax, Paul Bishop, Duane Smart, Jim Dai, Tom Henning. Not shown: Jack Allen, Vic Bremer, Les Metrovick, and Jack Morton.

Geography of Early Seattle Radio

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer last week published a piece I put together about the early history of Seattle's network-affiliated radio stations that included speculation about why the studios were all clustered around the telephone company building downtown. I've been kicking around the theory since I put together a walking tour of old Seattle radio studio locations back in 2003 for MOHAI.

The reader comments following the article — particularly those from someone identified as "FMEng" — provided much valuable additional information, and I received a number of interesting emails from people with similar interests and/or stories to share. Also, readers of a Portland, OR radio blog were equally helpful in correcting errors in the piece and further illuminating the subject. Lastly, a bit at Blatherwatch put up a flattering link and used a title that was so good, I simply had to steal it for the title of this post.

Early Alternative Radio in Seattle

Please check out my piece about 1980s Seattle "alternative" (though commercial and, oddly, AM) radio station KJET posted on Crosscut.com on September 23, 2009, the 21st anniversary of KJET leaving the air.

Also, be sure and click here for my homemade aircheck of KJET's final moments (which also includes the opening minutes of the "Cool Gold" oldies format that replaced it). Definitely stick with the whole recording until the end--there are some odd gaps and long silences here and there as, I imagine, the "Cool Gold" crew grudgingly played the last of the KJET stuff and figured out how to play their stuff.