To meet Mark Shannon was to love him. Or hate him. Or both.
I met Mark when he came to Oklahoma City in the early 1980s to join the fledgling KJ-103 radio station as one of the original crew. To work for KJ-103 in those days was like riding a fast-rising rocket ship. The Contemporary Hit Radio (CHR) station climbed the ratings in record time.
I came over from KOFM's sales staff to help start up the station, lured by the charismatic then-32-year-old station manager Mark Schwartz.
And as sales reps and on-air talent often do, Mark Shannon and I butted heads. We worked dozens of on-air remotes at places like Hudiberg Chevrolet -- me slinging hot dogs and Coca-Colas for the customers and Mark oftentimes dodging unwanted female admirers, escaping to the service department if necessary. But we got to be friends, sort of a team in some ways, to the benefit of both.
We worked together the first five years KJ-103 was on the air. After five years, we'd been through three general managers, three programming directors, three sales managers, and all of our co-workers had turned over. We were the last two of the original KJ-103 staff.
In 1986, I got married, had a daughter and returned to the station to find my account list irreparably damaged and a new rep they'd hired to be my successor. They somehow assumed I'd leave and be a stay-at-home mom. I don't know where they ever got that idea.
Mark was encouraging through all of that mess.
And in June 1987, I had a run-in with management when they decided to trim account lists, including some major accounts I'd gotten on the air before we even had ratings in the beginning.
I lost patience with it all. But first there was one person I had to tell. It was Mark, who was working the afternoon drive shift and was on the air at the time. And I walked into the control room and he knew something was wrong.
"And then there was one," I told him.
"Nooooo. No. NO, NO," I remember him saying.
I didn't see Mark a lot after that, but would run into him occasionally at an event and we'd catch up.
He had some pretty rocky dating relationships until he met his beloved Kris, whom he eventually married.
When I saw him on the family night at an Oklahoma City Gridiron show about five years ago, he was so proud to tell me that Kris was "still putting up with him after all these years."
And I snapped a photo of him another year or two later when he did a cameo in the Gridiron show, wearing a placard with "It's Really Me," after leaving WKY when they changed it to a Spanish-language station.
I totally didn't agree with his politics, but he was a heck of a good guy. And I'm going to miss him.
And then there was one.
Carole - Wow! Incredible memories of a time in radio when I was doing either nights or afternoons at WKY. I remember when Mark helped lauch KJ 103. I thought, "Damn, how lucky to get on-baord at a newly launched FM Hit Music Station." I was working at an A-M station that was about to find out FM was too tough to battle.
ReplyDeleteAnyone in our business can relate to your stories of management 'jacking' with your account list.
Mark and I became acquainted shortly after his arrival in OKC. We often communicated about the screwed-up management tactics we had to deal with in our respective jobs.
As you are aware - The ONLY thing that ever matters to management is MONEY. Although Mark and I were not super-close, we did communicate.
He did work with me at my current company, but on two different occasions and at two different stations - Sports-Animal and WKY. Neither worked-out for Mark.
My respect for Mark is that he would 'buck' the crappy system we have all dealt with. His attitude was, "If it's wrong it's wrong..and I will put it on the air". Well,as we all know, if that attitude pisses-off some client (as Corporate America DOES run the media) you get a a big-time warning and eventually lose your job.
I was totally opposite his political leanings, BUT, he was a great broadcaster and I appreciated his belief in himself and his opinions. Thanks for sharing information I NEVER knew. This might give all of us a chance to share the behind the scenes stories the audience never heard but would love to know. - Jack Elliott
Like Jack, my political leanings were totally opposite those of Mark, but we enjoyed talking politics on a level kicked down a few notches from what was being broadcast.
ReplyDeleteI met Mark when I began working at INSILCO (ONN)in 1983. He was a charming fellow. Later, we worked together/separately at KRXO.
Recently we became re-acquainted via facebook, and he and I would have some spirited conversations. Mostly, however, we talked about cancer. He told me about his battles, and I told him how my husband had fought for two years. Fortunately for me, my husband won his war with cancer. Sadly, Mark couldn't.
He will be missed by many. Truly, may he rest in peace.