A few of weeks ago, my wife Sue & I went to two different churches for Easter Sunday services; our new church, where we just became members and our old church where we exchanged our vows of commitment to each other.
Here’s what I learned…
Talking versus Preaching
One of the pastors delivered the service as if he was talking to us. He engaged us with his message, as if he were having a conversation, and even posed questions to the congregation. The religious meaning of Easter Sunday was delivered in a relatable way, bringing meaning and perspective to the world we are living in today.
The other pastor, at our second Easter service, preached…or what I might characterize as “talking at and not to” me. It didn’t really relate to the world outside the church doors, in tone or message. The sermon made no effort to tie a religious message to our current reality.
WABC – “The Last Aircheck”
On Saturday, May 10th, Rewound Radio aired, what’s become known as “The Last Aircheck,” the day that WABC Music Radio 77 would switch their format to Talk Radio 77. That happened 43 years ago on May 10, 1982.
Those final hours were hosted by Ron Lundy and Dan Ingram, and as I listened to the replay of that broadcast, I got goosebumps. The sound of their voices took me back in time, when listening to the radio was like a religious experience for me.
Techsurvey 2025
Fred Jacobs has been tracking the power of personalities in his annual Techsuveys, the most recent one which came out in the first quarter of this year. Here’s the trendline:
Fred’s graph only goes back to 2014, but radio captured my heart in the 60s. It was a time when great radio personalities ruled the airwaves on virtually every broadcast signal.
Radio owners would covet, promote and value their air personalities and so did the radio audience. For the radio listener, meeting their favorite air personality was a heart pounding experience.
The Human Voice
I never had the opportunity to meet Ron Lundy or Dan Ingram, but their voices owned real estate in my brain. As it was broadcast over Rewound Radio, hearing them talking on “The Last Aircheck” made the same impact as it did when I heard them LIVE 43 years ago.
That’s the power of the human voice.
Church Attendance & Radio Listenership
In today’s world, both entities are challenged to build and hold an audience. Our new church saw its lead pastor of 12 years promoted and a new pastor was named to replace him.
Like a radio station that loses a popular personality, and causes listeners to seek out other listening possibilities, a church changing its pastor is monumental change, often causing people to try other churches.
One saving grace in our church’s situation was having an assistant pastor that provided continuity to the congregation during this time of change.
The good news is that when the new pastor arrived, he would be as dynamic as the pastor who had left; maybe even more so. Our congregation has grown under his leadership, at a time when other churches have not. He talks, not preaches; and he listens.
Every Hour in Radio is Front Page
Radio, unlike print publications, doesn’t have a back page. Every minute of the broadcast day is like being on the front page. Every minute counts and a radio station is either building an audience, keeping an audience or losing an audience.
Radio’s reduction in force (RIF) of its air personalities has created two problems:
1) many hours of the broadcast day are now sterile and
2) those sterile hours aren’t just driving away radio listeners to other venues, but they also aren’t attracting a new generation of broadcasters who’ve been inspired by what they hear coming through their radio speaker.
BOTTOM LINE
Today’s radio lacks personality and FOMO.*
*FOMO is Fear Of Missing Out
DickTaylorBlog 
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Right on the money….AGAIN!
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Thank You, Rick.
-DT
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I knew in my soul that radio was my calling at age 12 when my 6th grade class took a field trip to the hometown radio station. By 14 I’d gotten my 3rd class license and started working there. At 17 I had my first and was there full time and doing the engineering. The camaraderie, the tactile feel and warmth of the human element interfacing with equipment, the content and the audience … it was palpable and drew me in like a magnet.
I seriously doubt a tour of one of today’s automated, sterile data centers posing as radio would do that, any more than listening to them encourages anybody to even want to take kids there on a tour.
radio’s list the magic of human connection.
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WOW Bill. I’m impressed.
I was attracted to radio when I was in elementary school and would build a radio station studio in the basement of my parent’s home.
Dreaming of being on-the-air at a radio station was instilled me as I DX’d the AM radio dial at night and picked up signals via the skywave.
Nothing about today’s radio (with a few exceptions, that can be heard via the internet) would do that to me today. It’s a changed world, but the things that attract one human to another human remain unchanged.
Thank You for adding your experience to today’s blog.
-DT
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It’s sad to think how much radio has changed in our lifetime, but then look at how everything else in the world has changed in the same span of time. We walk around with a very powerful computer in our pockets, almost nobody gets their news anymore from a newspaper, magazines are all but non-existent, and forget about the 3 big TV networks…there are now hundreds of channels you can watch in your living room, on a “TV” the size of a movie screen! The world has changed in both good and bad ways, but there seems to be little we can do to slow down those changes. Personal contact is a thing of the past. We rarely have any personal relationships with the teller at the bank, or the guy who pumps our gas (we do live in NJ), our waitress at the coffee shop, or so many other of the players that are in our daily life! While those of us of a certain age (us old folks) may still crave those relationships, our children’s generation has been trained in a much more sterile world. The same goes for what passes for radio today.
Corporate radio, with hundreds and even thousands of stations under the same umbrella makes for a necessary sameness that those of us who had a choice of WABC, or WINS, or 99X, just don’t get. Today people get their music fixes from Spotify, or Pandora and neither want nor need clever patter between records. How many 20 or 30 years olds are listening to music presentations like Sirius/XM’s 60s Gold and voices like Pat St John, Phlash Phelps, or Shotgun Tom Kelley??
Dan Ingram was one of the best DJs I ever pushed buttons for in my 44 years as an audio engineer in NY Radio, but would anyone but those our age even appreciate him if he were on the radio today?? That sad day in May, 1982, I never even walked into Studio 8A on the 8th floor of ABC Building as that show was unfolding because I think I knew deep down that the greatness of a radio station I loved was ending never to be seen again. I knew that my first 6 years at ABC would end up being the best of my 40 years there and to me that was very personal and I wasn’t interested in sharing that with anyone. I didn’t listen that day and haven’t heard it since.
Frank D’Elia
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Thank You, Frank
However, you have captured, in your Blog articles, the behind the scenes story of Music Radio 77 WABC in both the words you wrote and the pictures you shared. KNOW that everyone who loved this amazing radio station are very grateful for your work.
-DT
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A college friend did actually meet and work with Dan Ingram.
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That person was a very lucky soul.
-DT
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There are few personalities left who serve as models for aspiring young broadcasters. They don’t even know what they’re missing. Sadly it’s a downward spiral.
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So very true my good radio friend.
I so enjoyed the radio world we all grew up in.
-DT
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I agree with you on both counts – so many stories to tell but these two areas definitely hit home with me. Thank you for saying it so succinctly
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Thank You Bob & Deb.
-DT
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Every great enterprise has someone who’s “waving the flag.” In other words, a person who is the standard bearer upon which everything else depends.
Who’s waving the flag at your radio station? It’s the question posed by Fred Jacobs in his blog and extends the thoughts I shared in my blog.
https://jacobsmedia.com/who-at-your-station-would-the-audience-like-to-have-a-beer-with/
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Hi Dick, I had the great pleasure of working with Dan, Ron and the entire WABC “show” in my formative years as the assistant Program Director of the great WABC. I say “show” because show biz was instilled in every personality on the station. And note, I said personality not DJ.
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Hi Steven & thank you for sharing your time with Dan & Ron at WABC. ALL the WABC personalities brought their brand of show to the business of WABC radio.
WABC had both an exciting station sound as well as individual personality sound. It was an amazing time to listen to the radio, for sure.
-DT
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