The Death of Radio's Great Communicators

Late last night we learned of the death of Larry Lujack. To those of us who have been around the industry for a few decades, that's like losing the Top 40 jock version of Paul Harvey. But there is more to the story. It's about the death of communicators in our industry.

As a teen in Indiana I was heavily influenced by Lujack's show on WLS, which blasted into our town from Chicago. He was different from the rest -- not like a regular DJ, but irreverent and funny. Very funny. I never met Larry, but I followed his career avidly in those days. It was a giant deal when "Super CFL" lured him away from WLS in the 1970s -- and an even bigger deal when WLS lured him back.

Years after I first heard his show, I was visiting Chicago on business and I happened to get up and roll tape on Lujack, as I did frequently in those days. That day, it turned out, was his return from time away after his son's death. Lujack's compelling story had me, and no doubt all of Chicago, in tears. Here was a friend who was suffering a great loss, and he was willing to talk about it to all of us, on the radio. It was that day that it dawned on me what radio is really all about.

Lujack wasn't just a local morning jock. He was a friend to everyone. A companion. Chicago lived his life with him, every step of the way. He held nothing back. He discussed his problems at home, his issues at work, his life -- and most of the time he had fun with it all. It was real.

Lujack's loss is a reminder that a generation of great communicators is moving on. More so, it's a reminder of the value of great radio communicators and the need for the relationships they have with listeners.
 
No, we can't live in the past. Things are different now. Debt is high, pressure is higher. And that means expensive people are being pushed out of our industry every day and being replaced by lower-cost alternatives or syndicated solutions. I recently visited a market I used to live in, tuned to my favorite station, and found that all the air personalities -- people I had a 10-year listening relationship with -- were gone.

That station no longer has any interest for me because only a part of my loyalty had to do with the music. I had grown familiar with their airstaff and had grown to love them. Yet they had all been replaced by less talented -- and presumably less expensive -- people. I was embarrassed for the station.

Larry Lujack's passing reminds me how long ago it was that I fell in love with his unique ability to communicate, and how long ago it was that I was first inspired by guys like Lujack, Fred Winston, John Records Landecker, and others from that legendary station. They inspired me to fall in love with radio and want to spend my life doing it. That was 44 years ago.

The radio industry I fell in love with was about great content. No matter how far we've come, no matter how much has changed or how tight the budgets are, it's still about great content, content that binds us to our audiences and creates deep loyalty. Yet how many times have we heard about air personalities who have been terminated after decades on the air because they "just cost too much"? Billing on a station might drop by half when a beloved talent leaves, even as management pretends one has nothing to do with the other. Larry Lujack made headlines back in 1984 with a then-unprecedented multimillion-dollar contract. If WLS was willing to spend that much to keep Lujack on its airwaves, imagine how much he was bringing in.

Friendships run deep, and radio's strength has always been the friendships between great communicators and their audiences. At a time when everyone wants a piece of radio and is trying desperately to draw listeners away, that sense of friendship could be the biggest advantage radio has. When we drive out high-profile, highly paid talent in the name of cutting costs, we may well be driving away the very thing that is responsible for our success. It's something few CFOs or people outside the radio business can grasp. Someone you've just met, however charming they might be, can never match a friend you've had for 10 or 20 or 30 years.

As more great talent are pushed out of the mega corporations, operators like Larry Wilson are going in another direction, believing an investment in great local talent can attract audience away from syndicated shows. We'll see, but Larry isn't often wrong.  

As an industry, we need to be very careful about the long-established talent we shed. If I were running Pandora, I'd set up a new division featuring nothing but displaced local market stars. Everyone talks about how a music service can't take radio's audience away, but there are hundreds of much-loved and out-of-work local personalities who'd jump at the opportunity -- and their listeners might well follow them. If I were running Pandora or another streaming music service, I'd be very interested in finding out.

 

Comments

[Panama Jack]

Agree 100% on this one, Eric and good to see you putting this out there. The "Human Capital" of Radio has been decimated by Wall St. thugs that have been turned loose on the industry. Too few hands holding too many signals. Radio is in a crisis and the talent that used to make it a great medium is dying off. There will probably not be any Larry Lujacks or John Records Landeckers in the future. All of these monopolies across a wide band of industries only exist because their money has infected politics. Get the K St lobbyists out of D.C. and don't re-elect anybody. If all the monopoly industries were broken up, unemployment would disappear in this country.

[Ronald T. Robinson]

For the record, Eric: The great communicator-talents didn't die off - they were systematically hunted down and killed. They were knocked off by the very people who would have prospered had the skilled performers been kept on - and nurtured.

[Mike Danvers]

Well written Eric, but the people who need to listen aren't listening. The FCC blew it when they allowed the likes of Clear Channel and Cumulus and others to own hundreds and hundreds of radio stations and control entire markets. Radio stations are now owned mostly by guys who have no radio background, who throw their money in a hat with other rich people and wait to count their profits. They don't care who's on the air, just how much the General Manager tells them they're billing. Want exciting radio again? Get rid of the consultants. It worked in Dayton, Ohio and Orlando? Big deal. Here's what I've found in 37 years of radio. Stop listening to what everyone else is doing and playing. Do your own thing. Make it something the others can't copy. That's what made radio great. Name the best radio stations you've ever listened to and it's all about one thing...who is on the air. Good broadcasters get you to listen to the ads, not tolerate them. They don't try to jam them all into one quarter hour for their own ratings benefit. They don't apologize for doing news and sports, rattle off the traffic report like they're auctioneers because they're afraid somebody might tune out because they're not playing music. Once you create "music-based" listeners, when you stop playing music they go searching for it somewhere else. So keep playing those 10-in-a-rows, when you stop they're not listening to your sponsors. Dare to be different. We don't play Taylor Swift. Why? My target audience isn't 8 to 15 year old girls. And they're not the people my sponsors are trying to attract to their businesses. Disagree? Then country stations should be playing Justin Bieber too. How many complaints do I have? Absolutely none. Not one person has asked why. But I don't owe the music industry anything except royalty money. It's my choice who I play, and unlike big major market companies I don't owe the music industry any favors. I play 30 years of country music and listeners like the variety. I told my owner that my station might be the odd duck in the company and he replied, "who says that's wrong, you might be the one that's right." What might be holding others back from doing this is the level of talent. Radio is really hurting at all levels for true talent. Again, consultants don't want someone doing something outside their box and when your personalities include a ton of newspaper people, it shows what's available. I'm 59 years old, and as long as they keep letting me do my own thing, I'll do this until I die.

[Rob]

Amen. You nailed it on the head. I think that it starts with personality. Jocks need to be personalities, not robots. They need a social media presence as much as the radio station does. They need videos, and Tweets, and audio bytes and they need to interact with their audience in so many different ways. I am the Brand Manager for Hot 92 and Hot 100 in Central Pennsylvania. We have an app through Commotion called "The Hub" that has pretty much rebranded our station for a new age. You can check us out and check out the app at Hot92and100.com. Great article, it really made me feel inspired.

[Greg]

Anyone know where I might find Lujack's airchecks online?

[Melissa Kunde]

Greatness comes from a inherent value in the practice of creating greatness. Commercial Radio as an industry doesn't value the development of greatness in storytelling, communication, imagination and people.

Radio can't live in the past and yet if there is any reverence for wisdom. Those who know the magic of radio know creating iconic personalities and shows that reflect a generation is worth its weight in gold. The internet only makes the cultivation of these personalities more valuable.

Commercial Radio should consider a movement for cultivating new iconic personalities from high schools, colleges and even start a conversation with writers for great TV like Josh Whedon or David Greenwalt or Tina Fey. There is a solution for bigger revenues but it requires someone in radio to take a risk and invest in greatness.

[Jade Luthi]

The news this morning brought tears to my eyes. A one of a kind and very special to me. He will never be forgotten. That is what real talent is all about.

[Dick Summer]

You've done some great articles Eric. But the one about Lujack was your best. I'm from Brooklyn. William B. Williams on WNEW was my guy. I must have been 8 years old. Willie was MCing a charity event at which Vic Damone was performing. It was for Big Brothers. They were both very personally and very deeply involved. Vic was appearing on Willie's show to promote the event. At the end of the interview, Willie let about 10 seconds of dead air go by. Then he very quietly said, "Vic, I really like you." I had never heard anything like that on the radio. I was stunned. It was real. It was warm. It was human. I tried to remember the feeling of that moment every time I cracked a mic.

A lot of years later, I got to work with Willie. I was the first morning man at WNEW-FM. About 9:30 AM, the studio door opened, The Norman Luboff choir sang a chord, there was a reflection of a great golden light in the control room glass, and the tectonic plate under Fifth Avenue shifted gently. It was Willie B. He walked over to me, held out his hand and said, "Kid you sound great." I didn't know whether I should shake his hand or kiss his ring. Some things you don't forget.

Good night Larry. You did good. If you get a chance, shake Willie's hand for me. He did good too.

You too, Eric.

Dick Summer

[Jim Taylor]

Man Eric…I just could not agree more and be more right where you are at on Uncle Lar. I was shocked to see the story this morning as he was a HUGE influence in my life!!! No words can say just how much he has influenced my 44 years in radio…he and Lil’ Tommy, Fred Winston, John Records Landecker “records truly is my middle name” etc. Boogie Check…I get very emotional which shows the impact those precious guys had! Not just on me, but I’ve talked to many in the industry who have mentioned the same thing….and what they did with no Google search for sound effects, on cart decks and reel to reel…amazing….driven by passion and the joy of just doing great fun, personality driven music radio. My passion has pretty much gone and I’m sorry tired of the same old thing on every radio station in America while TV knocks it out of the park with production etc. I don’t have the strength or desire to sit and create in the production room anymore. So I’m just as guilty. We do a really similar morning show here and have had record Sharathons the last four years…number one in our market 25-54 as a Contemporary Christian Music station that’s relevant to both real life and the Gospel. I can’t think of it any other way. Thanks for all you do for radio Bro…I just really, really, really share where you are at in your piece on Larry Lujack…still and always the very best there ever was…Superjock! Jim Taylor WGCA-FM