[BC] Ditzy radio listeners and TV viewers

[Rob Atkinson]

That's Ron Popiel's Hair In A Can!   RonCo has probably kept a lot of UHF 
stations in business over the years ha ha.

I have often thought that one of the worst things about being major market 
prime time talent would be having to essentially bury my private 
life--delist my phone number, keep my home address secret, use phony names, 
deal with the nutjobs who somehow find me anyway, have 3 different phone 
nos., one for family, one for "friends," one for death threats and having to 
have goons around when making public appearances, if not all the time.   
Makes me kind of glad I'm not famous.

rob atkinson
st. charles IL


From: Alan Kline <akline at netins.net>
Reply-To: Broadcasters' Mailing List <broadcast at radiolists.net>
To: "Broadcasters' Mailing List" <broadcast at radiolists.net>
Subject: Re: [BC] Ditzy radio listeners and TV viewers
Date: Mon, 20 Feb 2006 16:18:44 -0600

One Sunday evening I was running MCR when I received a phone call, forwarded
from the newsroom, from a viewer who was irritated at something on that 
night's
"60 Minutes".  I gave him the number for CBS News viewer comments in New 
York
and suggested that he call the network.  The man got rather irritated, 
because it
was a long-distance call.  Couldn't we call for him?  I told him, I'm not 
the one
who's upset.  My job is just making sure that we have picture and sound on
the air.  I then went over to the newsroom and strongly informed the 
producer
on duty that if the newsroom *ever* forwarded another viewer call to MCR, 
I'd
file a grievance...

Another time, about 15 years ago, I was at a small UHF station in San 
Francisco.
I was doing the overnight shift, editing the next day's dubreel, when the
main office line rang.  In those days, the phone system was set up so that
after hours, calls to the main number would ring at every phone in the 
building.
Thinking it was our security company, I answered, but it was some woman 
calling
to complain about an infomercial.  She had purchased some "GLH-9" (a product
designed to help follically-challenged people by essentially being 
spray-paint
for the head).  She hadn't received her order yet, and what was I going to 
do
about it?  What I did was give her the number for sales, and suggest that 
she
call during business hours.  I mean, like she was going to find anyone there
at 2AM on a Saturday morning who gave a rat's a**???  Don't bother me, lady,
it's almost time for "Hogan's Heroes"...  ;-"

ak

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