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How accurately have radio stations been portrayed in TV and movies?
Alan Cross looks at how the medium has been portrayed in TV and movies, and mostly comes away not terribly impressed.
Alan Cross: How accurately have radio stations been portrayed in TV and movies?
- Radiowiz
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Re: How accurately have radio stations been portrayed in TV and movies?
Alan Cross left out the NEW WKRP (90's)
Funny thing...
WKRP broadcasts at 1530, not 550AM...unless they've changed frequencies from the 70's version to the 90's version...
1:44 in, WKRP billboard reads "1530" not "550".
RadioWiz & RadioQuiz are NOT the same person.
RadioWiz & THE Wiz are NOT the same person.
- Tickle Trunk
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Re: How accurately have radio stations been portrayed in TV and movies?
He missed Frasier: another less-then-realistic portrayal of radio.
That said, was the article based on the public's confusion of sitcoms and movies as some kind of documentary of the medium? Does sticking to realistic operations of a station add to the narrative? Truth be told, stations tend to be quiet and quite boring. (That's not to say that I don't love it.)
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Re: How accurately have radio stations been portrayed in TV and movies?
Radiowiz wrote:Actually, Cross has some of his facts slightly scrambled on this one. There IS a WKRQ in the city, as he says, but there was also an AM outlet with the calls WKRC. It still exists on AM in Cincinnati, and yes, it's at 550 on the dial. I think he may have gotten the two confused somehow, although both are still around. And of course, WCKY is also still on the air in the city, at 1530 (now an ESPN affiliate.). So there was definitely an amalgam of things going on with the TV show.
As for Dr. Johnny Fever, he was primarily based on an Atlanta DJ named "Skinny" Bobby Harper. I once tried to get an interview with him at a Toronto station I was working at when WKRP was still on the air. I wanted to talk to him about how he inspired the character, but he refused. I got the distinct impression he was not fond of the comparison!
There is one more Toronto connection to WKRP. And that was the day that Richard Sanders, aka Les Nesman, came to CFTR on a promotional tour, and not only did an interview for the station in character, but also did a newscast as Les Nesman. I've brought this up here before, lamenting there isn't a free copy of it to listen to on the net. I can't believe no one from the station at the time (it would have been around 1980 or 81) kept a copy for themselves or hasn't put it up somewhere.
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Thread Starter- fyshtalk
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Re: How accurately have radio stations been portrayed in TV and movies?
Allan, thanks for the article ...enjoyed it. Play Misty for Me was on the other night and a few things about it always make me chuckle. Clint hosts an evening radio show at a 2 horse radio station but can still afford to drive a Jag and live in a lavish apartment. That tiny tape he puts on when he drives out to save his girlfriend is still playing...after he makes the drive.. and saves the day. My favourite is still the concept for his new show when he meets with Madge Brenner ? Now, let's talk show. Tell me, what do you think of the concept? The unstructured... ...the loosey-goosey, Monterey pop, Woodstock kind of thing? I like it very much, and I think I can handle it. So do I. I'll keep this to promote your new career with. You'll be working with kids, bright and marvelous. But they take handling.
- mace
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Re: How accurately have radio stations been portrayed in TV and movies?
In November 2008, low powered WBQC TV in Cincinnati began using the call letters to promote the transition to digital broadcasting. Over the years, WKRP was found at 101.9 in Raleigh, N.C. 1500 in Dallas, Ga and 1460 in North Vernon, Ind. While the series was in production, the suburban Atlanta Christian station at 1500 held the calls from 1979-89.
- paterson1
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Re: How accurately have radio stations been portrayed in TV and movies?
In the movie American Graffiti which was set in 1962 I noticed a small flaw in the scene with Wolfman Jack.
In the scene where Richard Dreyfuss visits the radio station and studio, you can see the microphone that Wolfman is using would not be used in 1962, The mic actually looks like what would be used on air in 1973 when the movie was made. You can check out the scene in RA's original post and the link at the top of this thread. Does that look like a 1962 AM radio microphone? The rest of the studio looks authentic for the era.
Last edited by paterson1 (June 2, 2020 8:55 am)