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10 Questions with ... John London
September 6, 2006
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NAME:John LondonTITLE:HostSHOW:"John London's Inferno"MARKET:Nationally syndicated
BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
On the air in DENVER and DALLAS, then in mornings at KRTH/LOS ANGELES, KMEL/SAN FRANCISCO, KKBT (92.3 THE BEAT)/LOS ANGELES, KNBR-A/SAN FRANCISCO and afternoons at KIFR (106.9 FREE FM)/SAN FRANCISCO. Now entering syndication- see londonsinferno.com.
1. Okay, so, first, before the usual questions, your departure from your last station made some headlines. What happened, and do you think that the incident said something about the state of radio today or was it more of a specific/isolated circumstance?
I don't think you can read anything into it, except that Penn Jillette is a remarkably hypocritical free-speech advocate, and Joel Hollander continues his inexplicable penchant for identifying the worst possible decision in any given scenario and then going with it. What I said about Jillette was clearly a joke. The FCC knew it- that's why they didn't fine, warn or investigate me (by the way, I'VE NEVER BEEN FINED WARNED OR INVESTIGATED BY THE FCC). The people who were manning the station's dump buttons knew it, that's why they allowed the bit to go on the air. My listeners knew it, that's why not a single one of them called in complaining or asking how to get the reward. And the advertisers knew it because not a single one called and canceled or registered concern (and yes back then the station had both listeners and sponsors). Yet Mr. Free-Speech Jillette went crying to Hollander (fresh from dragging Mother Teresa through the dirt calling her a sick twisted deviant, as he has many times in the past), and Hollander fired me and my guys without even getting my side of the story. So now, CBS is facing two lawsuits, they're still stuck with Jillette's lousy one-hour show, and they've lost my show, momentum and all of my Bay Area listeners and advertisers. Free FM didn't even show up in the latest Arbitrend. I think that you have to have a .3 or .4, but that seems to be out of their league these days. I say that with some ha-ha-ha, but mainly with sadness because of the fabulous people at the CBS San Francisco cluster and because Free FM could've been a serious player in the Bay Area. Now they can rename it Commercial-Free FM.
2. And now for your new show- what can listeners and stations expect from the new syndicated Inferno? Will there be any differences from the local version, and will syndication allow you more freedom to explore different topics and areas of conversation?
The show is about one thing entertainment. I'm not going to persuade the audience to some political, religious or conspiratorial point of view and relentlessly hammer that home. I instead will entertain the wrinkled and stained pants off of Men 18+. (Mr. Hollander, that's an analogy- I'm not really going to get them naked) and drag some enlightened women along for the ride, too. The show will feature me and my on-air producer Dennis Cruz, current stories in the news, odd-ball audience topics, major sports stories, relationship stuff, booze, and women. When I say women I don't mean lascivious or mean-spirited women suck segments. But an honest discussion of women that objectifies them and distills them down into body parts. The audience will participate in the show, but not in a “here's the topic... your thoughts” style. If you give the audience a structured, Sherpa guided environment with examples of the kind of responses you're looking for, you'll find incredibly witty people. Witty people in the audience translates to less show prep and more ME-time with the super-hidden internet favorites file. I also think you have to be aware that the FCC has clearly established a climate of caution in many areas. You can still be edgy but not with the old crutches of blatant stripper sex and over-the-top stunts. I've never relied on those anyway which is why I HAVE NEVER BEEN FINED, WARNED OR INVESTIGATED BY THE FCC. Sorry, my caps lock key is acting up.
3. If you were in charge, how would you make FM talk- or any talk on terrestrial radio- better? What do stations and programmers in the format need to do to compete with, say, satellite?
By bringing about two high level management openings in New York City at CBS Radio. I'd make sure the two new employees weren't related and had some basic understanding of radio. I would then make sure I didn't have people on-air who weren't suited for talk radio and send them back to their Vegas lounge gig. Then I would contact Greg Leader at (410) 884 1260 or gleader@londonsinferno.com or simply go to LondonsInferno.com and grab my show and ready myself for extra income, a job promotion and a younger wife.
4. You started this all in college- what drove you to go on the air? Why radio?
I grew up being the class pop-off. I soon learned that the teacher would tolerate it up to a certain limit. They were kind of my first PD. I rarely crossed their boundary. Even today I HAVE NEVER BEEN FINED, WARNED OR INVESTIGATED BY THE FCC. At the same time, I was listening to great radio stations like KLIF in Dallas with their awesome line-up of talent. It dawned on me that those guys were making a living doing what I was doing, on a very low level, in class. It further dawned on me that I might not ever have to do an honest day's work and maybe go through life without blisters on my hands. Well, actually I did have some hand blisters back then but... I HAVE NEVER BEEN FINED, WARNED OR INVESTIGATED BY THE FCC.
5. You're pretty much fearless on the air, but everyone fears something- what's your greatest fear?
That Joel Hollander has another brother somewhere.
6. Who, in radio, do you respect the most?
Steve Rivers was invaluable to me. Teaching me how manage what I do in a way that resulted in increased listenership. I went from undisciplined and ignorant to cured through long and frequent encounters with the chair that sat on the other side of Steve's desk. But you knew HE KNEW what he was talking about and it was time well spent…obviously I should've spent even more time in it! Keith Naftaly was brilliant. Ken Kohl was absolutely terrific to work for at Free FM in San Francisco and was building something special. By the way, do you realize that station was higher rated as a Christian Talk station than it is now! Jesus is still mentioned at the station, but only when sales is looking at the ratings. Oh, and I almost forgot- Joel Hollander.
7. If you hadn't gone into radio- if radio never happened for you- what do you think you'd have ended up doing?
Hmmm. So, if I couldn't do radio and if I had absolutely no intuitive feel for radio, what would I do? I guess I'd ask Les Moonves if I could run CBS Radio.
8. What do you do for fun?
See my answer to 9. It's the same.
9. Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without _____________.
...Vicodin and a 6 pack. I know it sounds corny, but having reached 50 I truly enjoy the simpler things in life. In the past I would've been bored with something as mundane as a couple of Vicodin a day and 10 or 12 beers. Fortunately, maturity is forced even upon the unwilling, and trite and corny as it may sound, I've come to enjoy a handful of Vicodin and a case-case and a half of beer each day. Sometimes even before noon.
10. What's the best advice you've ever gotten? The worst?
The best: “We have canceled your account and we advise you to cease all activity within this site immediately.” That was from a My Space administrator. I wish I had gotten his name because he was way right.
The worst: Dosage: No more than two tablets a day. That's crazy!!
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