Re: saying thank you

["A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@world.std.com>]

On 27 Dec 99,  Donna Halper wrote:

> So, a friend of mine on another list was asking who we thought were the
> best people in radio of all time-- not necessarily the best in terms of
> being famous nationally, but the best in terms of their positive influence
> on our industry.  We hear so many negatives that it's easy to forget that
> some of us got into radio because of somebody we admired.  I thought I
> would ask you too-- have you worked for an excellent owner, or did you have
> a mentor who took a special interest in you in your early days of radio?
 
Well, I never had a career in radio, but I do have a fond memory of Jim 
O'Hearn, who was station manager of WMUA in my freshman year.  After a 
station meeting, probably in October or November, he called me aside and 
told me that he had heard my newscast, and I needed to do better.  He took 
me into the news studio, grabbed something from the teletype, and began 
giving me pointers.  Then, after my newscast a few days later, he called 
on the phone to tell me that I was much better, and to tell me what I 
still needed to work on more.  I appreciated that, since I was afraid I 
was going to get canned if I didn't do better.  

Then came the assasination of President Kennedy.  The station was due to 
sign on at 4:30 PM, that day, and I was the regularly-scheduled 
newscaster.  Jim and others were there, in the control room, preparing for 
a special program that evening.  The campus newspaper had taken over the 
production studio to put out an extra edition using what was coming over 
our teletype (They didn't have their own in those days.).

I half expected that, as a green freshman, I would be replaced that 
afternoon by someone more experienced, but no one said anything about it.  
Since the control room and regular studios were being used, they set up 
the remote consolette in the Tech Department shop, with a microphone on 
the bench.  The classical music director picked out some somber music to 
play in place of the usual fare, and, since the tape was unavailable, I 
read the sign on from a notebook and did the news.

At a station reunion in 1990, I mentioned Jim O'Hearn, and the then 
station manager told me that she had Jim O'Hearn as a teacher, I think in 
8th grade.  I think she had gone back to visit him and tell him that she 
was station manager.


=============================================================
 A. Joseph Ross, J.D.                                 617.367.0468
 15 Court Square                             lawyer@world.std.com
 Boston, MA 02108-2503              http://world.std.com/~lawyer/
=============================================================