RUSS L. WILLIAMS

PD New South Radio WUSJ/Jackson, MS (US 96.3)

  

Previous Stations & Positions:

OM/PD, Clear Channel, Tuscaloosa, AL  2003-2006

PD/MD, 99.9 The Fox, Starkville, Columbus, MS   2002-2003

OM/PD, Radio South, Tuscaloosa, AL  2000-2002

PD/MD, South 107, Rome, GA 1997-2000

PD/MD, WTXT, Tuscaloosa, AL 1990-1997

GM, WWZD, Tupelo, MS 1989-1990

PD, WKOR, Starkville, MS  1985-1988

On-Air, WLCS, Baton Rouge, LA  2003-2004

PD/MD, WNSL (SL-100), Laurel-Hattiesburg, MS   1979-1983

MD, WKXY, Sarasota, FL   1978

MD, WACR-AM, Columbus, MS  1977-1978

MD, WTIB-FM, Iuka, MS  1975-1977

Night Guy, WWTX, Corinth, MS  1974-1975, as a senior in high school

Student PD, Student Manager, WALP, Corinth, MS  1973-1975

            (WALP was a high school operated station)

  

Marital Status: Divorced, recently, still licking the wounds

 

Kids: 3 girls and a boy; all grown, the 2 baby girls will be juniors at Univ. of Alabama this Fall.

 

Years in biz: this Sept will mark 35 years.

 

What is your favorite thing about Jackson? It has to be the police helicopter that flies low over my apartment while keeping watch on the nearby mall parking lot. I don’t know why it’s 3 am when they do that, since the mall is closed.  But seriously……Jackson has a really cool groove all its own. It’s a mix of history and modern development…….a couple of smoky old blues clubs, the Double A Mississippi Braves, the city’s namesake Andrew Jackson, who passed through on his way to the Battle of New Orleans, and, of course, the womenfolk are very pretty here.

 

You have extensive knowledge of history.  What is your favorite history subject? Man, I read everything I get my hands, no matter the subject. Radio history still fascinates me, especially concerning how modern programming started (Gordon McLendon’s jingles, etc…).

 

But, over the last few years, my oldest daughter and I have been chasing down our family tree. We’ve gotten it all the way back to the 1400’s in one branch, but have really centered our efforts on a Revolutionary War ancestor (4 times great grandfather). So I’ve watched Mel Gibson’s “The Patriot” over and over, trying to glimpse what life was like.

 

What is something you can tell us that most people likely do not know about you?  I was a serious, serious stutterer as a child. Heck, all the way up to about 21, I was plagued by it. Naturally, the thing that is furthest away from your grasp is what you want the most. So that was my mountain to climb, and it was a very difficult thing to do.

 

What are the unique challenges of programming in the Jackson market?  Country listeners by nature are very loyal. And with a 30 year heritage station here, it’s obviously a long, hard struggle. We’ve had our successes, but the war is far from over.

 

Are you currently utilizing, or planning to utilize: podcasts, video, texting or other digital technology in your programming and promotions?  If so, in what way?  We were tripped up on streaming by the copyright board decision last year, but obviously that’s in our future. Our CHR sister station is leading the way in texting and such, since the younger Pop crowd is into it so much. But the grownups aren’t far behind!

 

What is the most pressing problem radio faces today?  My perspective is obviously from a programmer’s viewpoint, but as our industry has been forced into downsizing, the product suffers. I don’t mean the technology revolution; that’s actually been great.

 

A result of all the mass layoffs is that those who remain begin to feel more like survivors than working pros. A lot of really smart, creative people have either been forced out or given up and left the business over the last 10 years.

 

As the brain drain continues out of our industry, there’s either no replacement or its weaker talent taking their place.

 

In addition, as the talented people leave the building, they take their passion and dedication with them. So where are the mentors for the younger people?  Common sense tells you that’s a major issue in any industry.

 

What can record labels and artists do to better serve you and your station?  Country music, through Country radio, has always been closer to the people than any other genre. Radio is a major pipeline to the song buying public, and therefore we earn our way into the party. The movement to try to create a revenue stream to the detriment of your partners is ill-thought and will harm the relationship more than they know. Like I said, we earn our way into the party with every song we play.

 

Who has had the most influence on you in your career thus far?  Why?  Boy, as old as I am, I’m not sure I can remember names very well.  I blame Rusty Walker to some extent for me getting into this business, but only because he helped build the high school radio station before I got there.

 

Wesley Bradford, the high school radio teacher, had a lot of patience with me, since I  stuttered so badly. He also had some great radio war stories.

 

WHBQ, Memphis was the daytime station of choice 90 miles away in Mississippi. George Klein, then Rick Dees. Great fun was had by all who listened. And the music was good, too.

 

Night time brought in the “Enormous 89, WLS,” from Chicago. Weird thing was the signal would fade during the songs, and come back just in time for Landecker’s breaks, and that’s the real reason we listened anyway. Wow, what great years those were.

 

1975-1978, I got off work at a station at 10 and drove 20-something miles home listening to Jeff Davis. That’s when I began to really work on how I wanted to sound. I would practice by repeating his words as he was saying them, and got so good that it was almost like an echo. So, thanks Jeff Davis, you helped me learn how to speak real good without stuttering.

 

But, I have to say that I’ve never worked for anyone else quite like Bill Dunnavant. Bill and his wife Mary owned WTXT in Tuscaloosa and it was a programmer’s dream. He played fair, but hard. He told me to run his station like I owned it, and then gave me the tools I needed. They made me feel like family and appreciated the 12 and 14 hour days we sometimes put in. It was a great run and only ended when he sold the station in 1997. A very smart guy and I learned a lot from him.

 

What are your favorite web sites and blogs?  The Drudge Report is my starting place for show prep, then yahoo News, earthcalendar.net, and to get in a funny mood I still check in on theonion.com. I also read Ann Coulter’s weekly column. She may be about as far right as you can get, but she’s damn funny sometimes.

  

Do you ever play local or regional unsigned country acts?  If so, do you have a success story? 

Yes, but it’s very rare. I never had anyone go on to greater success. Closest story I have the family claim that my mother is responsible for Elvis’ weight and donut problem. In the early to mid 50’s when the family had a bakery in Memphis — before I was born — Elvis would stand in the driveway of their house in the evenings waiting for my father to return from his deliveries, and buy what was left at day-old prices. His donut problem was my mother’s fault. No joke.

 

What advice would you give someone wanting to get into the music business?  Write songs. And write some more. And do it until you get really good at it. The odds are not your favor, but I’m a believer in the writers. They’re the ones with all the power.

  

How important is it for a station to be local for their specific market?  It’s everything! A successful radio station MUST offer the listener something they can’t get anywhere else, and local, usable information is that key. The record shows that we as an industry do more for the public’s wellbeing than any other nationwide business in history.

 

You are a Crimson Tide fan.  What do you think the prospects are for the 2008 season?  Now we’re talking! Football! You gotta believe going into a new season that a national championship is possible. Coach Nick Saban’s second year should start to show some real progress and maybe make a run for something, maybe an SEC title. Also, we just had the number one recruiting class in the nation, and some of those younger players may play pretty quickly. And a big RooooooooLL Tide to all!

 

What are your plans for the rest of 2008?  I like it here, and I want to keep working on the challenges we face. The cool thing about a private company like this is that I know that Clay (Holladay, owner), Gwen (Rakestraw, GM), and all the others involved want this as badly as I do. So we’ll keep working to find the combination that works. And I also plan to keep monitoring Little Bunny Foo Foo’s attempts to rid the forest of field mice.

 

Thanks Russ!