REYNOLDS WRITER: MOVIN' ON UP...TO THE EAST SIDE

Wednesday

MOVIN' ON UP...TO THE EAST SIDE

by Randy Reynolds

From 1965-2004, I worked for 34 Radio and TV stations in Covington, LA; Hammond, LA; Marietta, GA; Canton, GA; Slidell, LA; Jacksonville, FL; Jacksonville Beach, FL; Gainesville, GA; Oak Grove, LA; Bastrop, LA; Monroe, LA; Pineville, LA; West Monroe, LA; Pensacola, FL; Leesburg, FL; Alexandria, LA; Sherman, TX; Alexandria again. (I worked long-distance for stations in Alamosa, CO & Vicksburg, MS, but never lived there.)

The stations I devoted most of my life to included: WARB, WTGI, WBIE, WCHK AM-FM, WBGS, WVOJ, WJXT-TV, WJNJ, WGGA, WLBA, KWCL AM-FM, KJBS AM-FM, KPAL, KARD-TV, KUZN, KJBS, KNAN-FM, WMEZ-FM, WLTE, KZMZ-FM, KALB, KDSX, KDSQ-FM, KQID-FM, KSYL, KLAA-FM, KFAD-AM, KNAN-FM, KZBR-FM, WVBG AM-FM.

Highlights included getting started, at age 15, at WARB in Covington, LA; being weekend anchor & assignment editor and fulltime reporter at 20 at WJXT-TV in Jacksonville, FL; co-owning stations in Gainesville, GA and Sherman, TX. Managing (in this case micro-managing) KNAN-FM in West Monroe to the highest ratings in the country (where Sherry began working with me fulltime;) reinventing KZMZ & KALB in Alexandria, LA. The absolute peak came at the end, working 9 years with Mark Jones to make history at KNAN-FM in Alexandria.

Sherry and I often took jobs at the lower-rated, less-successful stations and built them up. As we grew them, we moved to better homes--like the Jefferson's of long-ago TV fame we were "movin' on up to the eastside..." or wherever. Thus, we moved 59 times during our broadcast career, from dumpy apartment or used mobile home to a house, then a big house, then a bigger house. We spent the money we made to make up for the times we didn't have it. That felt really good, but is not a good strategy for accumulating wealth, LOL.

Some of our Radio and TV adventures, in no particular order, are detailed in my blog posts:

http://reynoldswriter.blogspot.com/2011/01/how-i-was-run-out-of-covington.html

http://reynoldswriter.blogspot.com/2011/12/sherrys-getting-married.html

http://reynoldswriter.blogspot.com/2008/04/dream-charts.html

http://reynoldswriter.blogspot.com/2008/04/magic.html

http://reynoldswriter.blogspot.com/2011/02/madagascar-hissing-cockroach.html

http://reynoldswriter.blogspot.com/2011/02/aaaaaiiiiiyyyyyyyyyiiiiiiiiiieeeeeee.html

http://reynoldswriter.blogspot.com/2008/03/eye-in-sky-ib-flyin.html

http://reynoldswriter.blogspot.com/2011/01/locked-and-loaded.html

http://reynoldswriter.blogspot.com/2008/03/tallywhacker-bridge.html

http://reynoldswriter.blogspot.com/2008/03/snakes-spaceships-and-naked-deejays.html

http://reynoldswriter.blogspot.com/2011/07/i-hope-you-dance.html