???? Ted Cramer is a legend in country radio and has been involved with all aspects of?his chosen profession?for 58 years now. He was inducted into the Country DJ ?Hall of Fame? in 1999 and has won enough awards to fill a trophy case.
The much-traveled Cramer is currently with KFKF and sat down to answer questions for Bottom Line Communications.
?NAME:? Ted Cramer
TITLE:? Currently a part-time deejay for KFKF, Kansas City and the co-host of the Saturday morning ?Country Legends? show on the station.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN YOUR CURRENT POSITION?
Eight years now.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN BROADCASTING?
I?m currently in my 58th year of broadcasting and 42 of them as a program director.
HOW DID YOU GET INTO YOUR CHOSEN FIELD?
I knew at the age of 5 I wanted to go into radio. There was never any question about doing anything else. I was fascinated with it all through school and made it my job to get into it.
WHAT WERE SOME OF YOUR PREVIOUS JOBS BEFORE KFKF?
Well, I have had quite a few!! Here you go:
1953-1957?KIMO (1510) in Independence. It was my first commercial job and I was a jock and for a time in 1956 the News Director. That was my first exposure to country music.
1957?LEEX in Lexington, MO for three months.
1957-58 KFEQ radio and TV in Lexington where I was a radio DJ and TV news anchor on Channel 2.
1958-59?Back to KIMO, which changed its call letter to KANS
1959-1961?KCKN in Kansas City. The station was Top 40 when I went there and switched back to country in 1960. I became the program director and pioneered the modern country format.
1961?Program Director at WTAP in Parkersburg, West VA. I also did TV.
1963-1973?I came back to KCKN at PD and put KCKN-FM on the air in 1963 (which is now KFKF).
1969-1973?I was PD also at WUBE in Cincinnati (it was co-owned with KCKN under Kaye-Smith Broadcasting). I turned WUBE into a country station and in 1970 turned WUBE-FM into country.
1974-1977?PD at WOWK/WIGL-FM in Miami, FL and put WIGL on the air in 1976.
1977-1979?PD at WDAF-61 Country and changed the format to country with Randy Michaels.
1979-1981?PD at 610 WTVN in Columbus, OH. (WDAF and WTVN were Taft stations).
1981-1984?PD at WMAQ in Chicago (NBC?s only country station)
1984-1987?Time off, but worked an occasional shift at 61 Country.
1987-1988?Co-owner of WREN in Topeka.
1988-1989?Joined Gaylord Broadcasting as PD at WKY in Oklahoma City.
1989-1991?Transferred to WSM in Nashville as PD.
1991-2004?Returned to WDAF in KC at PD.
2004-Present?KFKF.
MAJOR AWARDS/HONORS?
Inducted into the Country DJ Hall of Fame in 1999. Billboard?s Program Director of the Year in 1988 and R and R ?Station of the Year? in 1978. I?ve been lucky to also have received a number of local awards for public service in various markets throughout the years.
HAS YOUR CHOSEN FIELD CHANGED OVER THE YEARS?
No, not really.
MARITAL STATUS?
Married with no children.
WHAT IS THE MOST/LEAST REWARDING PART OF YOUR JOB?
Putting together a sound for a radio station and winning. I?ve been very fortunate over the years having a lot of success at the stations I?ve programmed. Creating the modern country format was one of the most exciting experiences along with making 61 Country an AM success story for almost four decades.
The least rewarding moments of my career were probably created by individuals at radio station home offices who have no idea how to program a local station. Some of the large radio chains have executives in the highest offices who are totally incompetent and make huge problems for local programmers. On top of that local managers have lost the art of good management. It?s sad.
DID YOU EVER CONSIDER ANOTHER CAREER?
No. Radio is really all I ever wanted to do.
DO YOU HAVE A MENTOR?
No.
WHAT IS THE STRANGEST THING YOU HAVE COME ACROSS IN YOUR JOB?
When I went to work at WWOK I was impressed with the signal. At 1260 we covered all of Dade and Broward County and then some. The station was non-directional in the daytime.
After about six months were were enjoying some really good ratings in a market that was not considered the best for country music.
Then one day the chief engineer came to me and said the transmitter work was done and we were to begin using the new pattern from a five-tower array. The day we went to the new pattern I drove the signal and was shocked to learn that the signal now disappeared totally in the far reaches of south Miami and gone in Homestead.
No one ever told me when I went to work there about this situation. WWOK has been non-directional since the station was purchased by Mission Broadcasting three years earlier.
The FCC awarded the license to Mission on the condition that the antenna system be repaired. In spite of losing a significant chunk of potential listeners, we seemed to maintain our position in the market. I still don?t know how!!
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND?
I went to grade school at Border Star and E.F. Swinney in Kansas City and then high school at Pembroke-Country Day. I went to college at Kansas and UMKC.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING TO DO IN KC?
My wife and I love to eat out at the various restaurants. We have many very good ones here.
WHAT DO YOU DO IN YOUR FREE TIME? ANY HOBBIES?
Audio has always been a hobby of mine through the years and I love to listen to various genres of music. I also like to work out since weight has always been a problem with me!
PEOPLE MIGHT BE SURPRISED TO KNOW THAT YOU?
I?m a perfectionist. The worst kind of Virgo!
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOW?
At the moment I like ?The Firm,? ?Grimm? and other action shows. I love the old Perry Mason series.
WHO IS THE MOST INTERESTING PERSON YOU HAVE INTERVIEWED OR MET?
There are so many!! I?ve interviewed everyone from Patty Andrews to Kenny Chesney. Virtually all of them are interesting in their own way.
WHO DO YOU FOLLOW ON TWITTER?
No one. I don?t Twitter.
WHO WAS THE BIGGEST CELEBRITY YOU EVER INTERVIEWED?
President Harry Truman. Officer Mike Westwood of the Independence Police Dept. was Harry?s bodyguard. Mike and I worked on different projects at KIMO and when I came down to cover the opening of the Truman Library for KFEQ radio and TV Mike got me into interview Harry for about 15 minutes.
Source: http://www.bottomlinecom.com/kc-profile-radio-legend-ted-cramer/
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