PDX Media Good Old Days

It started when a co-worker said some “radio guy” didn’t believe Carl Click was my real name— he believed it was made up for effect. That lead to a call-in from me, and a fun relationship with The Rick Emerson Show on the Portland airwaves. The guy’s mind went a mile-a-minute with knowledge of pop culture, the nerd world, and “snark.” (his word) I became a frequent in-studio guest and had the honor of hosting The Rick Emerson Roast at the Crystal Ball Room— quite out of my comfort zone but a blast. (If there had been any recordings on the internet, I might have been called into a few offices at KATU. ) Rick started in radio in eastern Washington helping people find lost pets and livestock, he ended up with an immensely loyal audience in Portland for more than a decade. Lately his voice has been the written word. I wonder if he types as fast as he talks.

Rhonda Shelby has been at KATU for more than 25 years. She started on the management track-- as community relations director, but her bosses quickly realized her natural ability as a communicator. They taught her weather. She studied. She learned.  Jim Bosely took her under his wing, and one of the most trusted and respected meteorologist in Portland was on her way (She earned her AMS seal from Mississippi State). She’s been on that morning shift for more than a decade—and teamed with me and Natali Marmion and Michael Convery for a good part of it. Rhonda is a class act, for sure. And her work with the Oregon Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation is a made a huge difference in so many lives. When Rhonda speaks, I will always listen.

Portland  (and anywhere else)   ARE YOU READY?!!!!     ...for Mark Mason.  He's been on the air at KEX and KPAM combined for more than 28 years. twelve of those with our dear friend, Dave Anderson.  Mark has also been the voice of the Moda Center for Trailblazers fans for 25 season.  Hear how he tried to get to Portland radio for years--  was rejected, but then got here anyway, and how a famous song from the 60s taught him the power of radio and launched his career.  For cult members, his interview is 99.44% hate free.

Tony Martinez is never without his youthful enthusiasm. It’s hard to believe he’s been on the air in Portland radio—Z Morning Zoo, and TV—Good Day Oregon, for 35+ years. In this conversation with Morning Zoo producer Dan Clark we re-live the good old days of the crazy radio team of the mid 1980s and 90s. They had fun on the air, but it was more than that. They influenced youth and popular culture in Portland for more than a decade. “Officer Tony” took his talents to TV, and is an original member of what became the most watched morning news program in Portland. So is Andy Carson, but I hold a grudge, so learn why Tony’s cohort has not yet been invited to the podcast.

Jeff has been a mainstay in Portland TV news for almost 40 years.. starting at KATU about the same time I started at KGW in 1983..  he's still a trusted news veteran at KOIN.  He has ben at the forefront of some critical issues for the Rose City-- homelessness,  government  reform, and his heartwarming franchise-- Wednesday's Child, where his stories help find homes and families for kids in the foster care system.  We've met only a time or two in the news biz, but our common ground we share makes for a great conversation, as if we've been working side-by-side all these years.

Other than KGW sports director Scott Lynn, who mentored me, trained me and got me hired out of college-- Brenda Braxton and Dave Salesky are the most influential colleagues of my 31 years in TV news.  After a series of anchor team combinations, we kind of fell together and became the top rated morning newscast in Portland. In our time together-- on that god-awful (yet family friendly) early morning shift—we all grew up, cared for each other, laughed and cried. In this conversation we talk about why the chemistry worked on and off the air, some of out struggles, our fond memories, and the difficult day when we were unexpectedly broken up. The opinions expressed about that decision are our own—not each other’s, but they are compelling, I think. I love these two like a brother and a sister, and I’m indebted to them for the most important eight years on my life in TV news.

I could talk to Bruce Sussman forever. He’s full of positivity, energy and enthusiasm—all the time, and never in an annoying way. You just can’t have a bad day if part of it includes “The Sussdog.” For many years he was the weekend weather presence for KGW—filing in for Zaffino and Salesky on the evenings and mornings. There’s a section in this conversation where Bruce and I explore his assignment of hosting KGW’s local ripoff of “American idol.” He was great in that role but not without an image change and the challenges of hosting a TV three-ring circus. For my women-in-broadcasting friends, Bruce had to live through an on-air hairstyle change. “Oh the humanity!” Bruce eventually became lead meteorologist for KOIN. These days he’s a reporter and spokesperson for the cyber security industry.

Talk about a Portland news icon-- Pat Boyle. 44 years as a radio news reporter at KEX, KPAM, and KXL. She thrived in the great days of Portland radio, where news was a mainstay on all the major stations. She worked with (and held her own with) legends-- Barney Keep, Jim Howe, Bob Miller. She covered all the major events and stories in Portland for four decades. And it started as a joke,  but she became correspondent for one of the biggest stories in Great Britain for a couple weeks. Also, what a joy to watch “Portlandia” and wait until Pat popped up there. Originally, she played a reporter, but then many other roles.  Combined, Pat and I have 75 years of news experience in Portland, but never met until this podcast. Now I know her well.

Joe Donlon is one of the eight, male main news anchors in the history of KGW-TV (Richard Ross, John North, Ralph Wenge, Bill Lagatutta, Pete Schulberg,  Steve Abrams, Jim Benneman-- only one of them was jerk, and I never met Ross, or North. I have no idea who the current main, male anchor is at KGW. The main women anchors over time have been Robin Chapman, Kathy Smith, Tracy Barry, Carol Jensen, and Laurel Porter-- They were all very nice.) BACK TO JOE. He was a stellar news anchor and newsroom leader for 21 years. He’s also a wonderful guy to be around. He could have eased into retirement after a few more years KGW, but took on a huge challenge in 2018, moving to WGN Chicago to anchor its flagship newscast, and now Joe is  helping the corporation start a new, national cable news network—News Nation. He was the obvious choice to host of “The Donlon Report” there nightly. Loved re-visiting the KGW days with Joe, including the weird, I think useless, advice he got from our assistant news director seconds before going on the air for one of the biggest news stories of his time in the Northwest.

Ken Boddie has ben a stellar journalist at KOIN-TV for 36 years. He’s the longest-running on-air, TV-news reporter in Portland. Before Ken, it was Tracy Barry (2018), then me (2014), and I took over from Mike Donahue (2012), just something I kept track of. Ken and I crossed paths many times in our journalism careers, but I know him much better after this conversation. He’s covered politics, business, the Rajneeshees, and every major news story over three decades. We also have the morning news anchor shift in common. What Ken knows first-hand, and I never will, is what it is to be a person of color in Portland and on the air. His perspective is unique. Ken shares a recent episode he experienced that turned into one of the most important news stories of his career.

Anna Canzano grew up in Portland, and we’re all lucky she had a two-decade career as an investigative journalist at KATU, because she could have started her reporting career in Midland Texas. Who knows where that would have lead. Advice for her first on-air assignment at KATU-- “Don’t embarrass us.” Well, she never did. Anna talks about some of the powerful stories she covered and how they impacted her and our community. Tenacious as a reporter-- I’ll say-- as a 23-year old reporter she knocked on the door of infamous child murderer Ward Weaver her by herself-- no camera, and got the interview. Now she created and hosts her own web series on OregonLive-- “That Expert Show,” and her side-hustle is as a side-kick on her husband’s radio show “The Bald Face Truth.”

Tim Daly was only with us at KGW for five years, but he had a huge impact. He was a terrific news reporter, and a creative feature reporter ( Leaf Blower, Karaoke, "How to Cook a Turkey"). We talk extensively about his series of stories from Viet Nam and how he covered the emerging gang influence in Portland from its infancy. He took his talents to Sacramento and was stellar there for 25 years. It's a blessing to touch base with Tim, 30 years after KGW, a place he loved, and we loved him right back.

Bill Boaz was KATU’s number two sports guy in the late 70’s and early 80’s. If you saw him on the air, you’d never forget his big booming sports voice. Interesting Boaz notes: Talk about “good old days,” Bill went to the great Jimmy Jones for career advice;  Ted Koppel told Bill “You’re an idiot;” and Bill once committee felonious entry at the U.S./Canadian border to get his story on the air. Bill left sports journalism for the finance world, and in this interview he’ll give you free advice on how to retire comfortably and early—and enjoy the Arizona sunshine, as Bill does these days.

I worked with dozens of great news photographers over my 31 years. Brian Robertson is one of those for sure. He shot news at KGW for 30 years. He covered the San Francisco earthquake, the aftermath of 9-11 at the World Trade Center, the NBA Finals, the Rajneeshees, and he traveled to Kosovo during war time. When Brian wasn’t covering hard news, we often got to shoot fun stuff together. In this episode we re-live those stories.. and the lessons we learned together imbedded with the OSHU transplant team. Brian was also behind the lens for several historic video moments. You never had a bad day working with Brian. I hope you enjoy 45 minutes with him here.

Mike Rich was a great radio newsman in Portland, first at KGW-AM, and then at KINK-FM he and Les Sarnoff were the top-rated morning drive radio team. Little did we know, cause he kept it to himself, that Mike was cranking away at his keyboard crafting movie screenplays. In 1998 his script for “Finding Forrester,” won a national award, was swept up by Hollywood producers, and landed the great Sean Connery to play the lead. I was one of the friends Mike invited to the Portland premier, and we cheered like proud parents when his name appeared in the opening credits. Mike was on his way-- then came “The Rookie,” “Radio,” “Miracle,” “Secretariat,” and most recently “Cars 3.” Hear about the “Good Old Days” of Portland radio, how he got the inspiration for “Finding Forrester,” and how Mike navigates the industry of Hollywood from his home outside Portland.

Nobody I worked with in TV news had more energy than Stephanie Stricklen. She was a juggernaut of positivity. She was unstoppable, and was up for anything. How else did she get Kobe Bryant to a) race her, and b) give her dribbling lessons—AT THE OLYMPICS! Steph was a stellar reporter and fill-in anchor. She covered the health beat. But she made her mark when KGW chose to send her to cover the Olympics seven times. Her work was gold medal stuff, but there is no harder gig than covering the games for a local affiliate. These days she’s paved her own way as an independent host, and aviation marketing specialist. If you don’t know Steph, I dare you to listen to a few minutes and not love her.

John Erickson is a radio news legend in Portland. He and his radio cohort were the voice of adult contemporary radio for a couple decades. He carried some guy named Craig Walker. Seriously, that duo made it sound easy on the airwaves of KGW-AM and K-103 FM. Learn how John started in radio. It involved cleaning the studio for a small station in Colorado, and making believe he was on the air. He came to Portland he says, because someone told him not to. Then the news and broadcast pro traveled so Seattle, San Francisco, and Houston, before a leap of faith brought him back to the Rose City, the “One More Time Around Marching Band,” and the Daily Drip. Oh, and while I was once accused of kidnapping Kenny Loggins, John was threatened by Kenny’s manager. He was almost on the Highway to the Danger Zone.

Natali Marmion was my fifth and final TV wife. That’s what co-anchors call each other, because that work relationship is much like a marriage. You work so closely all day long, five days a week. You pick each other up. You share so much about your personal and work lives. When it works, it makes the on-air product something special, which is something I think Natali and I, along with Rhonda Shelby and Michael Convery, had for the morning news at KATU. We talk about those times, plus Natali’s “True Hollywood Story” fame. And how she’s found her post-TV calling helping families find beautiful homes in the Portland area.

The nerve of this guy! A guest on his own podcast?! To that I say, “Get your own podcast.” Seriously, when I first started these wonderful conversations with great friends about their time in Portland media, Sharon Lacey commented-- I bet you have some good stories of your own, I’d like to hear them. I replied-- good idea, but you have to do the interview. So here it is. Sharon was the weekend producer when I started at KGW. We have similar life paths: broadcasting, teaching (her much longer than me), and stand-up comedy. Stories include: the lasting lesson she taught me, the time I “kidnapped” Kenny Loggins, major stories I covered, how I left KGW for KATU, and how & why I left TV news when I did. Thanks Sharon.

News and documentary photographer Milt Ritter is a legend in Portland. You may never have seen him, but you’ve seen his work. He crafted video stories for more than 40 years—at KATU, KGW and OPB. Many of the best reporters and photographers in Portland learned by watching him. I did. He’s also the nicest, caring and laid-back character you would ever want to ride in car with to Rajneeshpuram and back. We had a blast re-living some of the stories we did together. It was better than a “wage-cation” (Ritterism) Giant Dictionary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOTmQnK47OE Elevator Etiquette: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6_2z4Sb6hc Moon Shoes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBrS7Zsh4gc Water Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIHzh0nEgwk Self Cleaning House: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h95O5dQkoD4&t=4s