PD Profile: WCOS Columbia S.C. 1974 (0:10:32)

… What makes a radio station tick? …
Description by Uncle RickyThis profile of WCOS in Columbia, South Carolina, appeared on Volume 2, Issue 14 of Programmer’s Digest, dated January 14, 1974. And once again, Programmer’s Digest demonstrates all the things that can (and did) go wrong with audio back in the day.

Program Director Dave MacDougall introduces his radio station and staff. This composite features short airchecks of MacDougall, Dave Kirby, Ken Martin, Hunter Herring, Jeff Walker, Scott Rader and Ken Moore.
Cartoon of the WCOS Staff, (l-r) Martin, Walker, Herring, Rader, MacDougall, Kirby

I remember applying for the Program Director’s position at WCOS, about a year before the “facelift” described here. I also remember I didn’t hit it off with the G.M. Whatever, I ended up moving to Providence, Rhode Island, a much better market.

This is the ONLY recording of anything from WCOS ever presented in the Repository. This is quite peculiar, considering that the station was THE Top 40 station in South Carolina’s capital city for many years. It will be interesting to see if anyone remembers any of the staff members presented in this composite.

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Welcome to the new ReelRadio!

This site is now operated by the North Carolina Broadcast History Museum. 

We want to thank the board of ReelRadio, Inc. for their stewardship since the passing of the founder Richard Irwin in 2018.  It has not been easy and they have maintained the exhibits for future generations to enjoy.

I met Richard Irwin, aka Uncle Ricky, when we were freshmen at East Carolina University.  We both had worked at local stations in our hometowns.  No one was more passionate about radio, especially Top 40 radio, than my friend Richard. 

Our goals with this site are to preserve the exhibits and make them available free of charge for people to enjoy.  Over time, we hope to add some airchecks to the site.  This will not happen immediately.  Time and resources will determine the future of new exhibits. 

Many thanks to the web folks at the Beasley Media Group for countless hours of work.  Again thanks to the board members of ReelRadio, Inc. for their faith in us. 

Richard Irwin’s hope was that his site would live on long after his passing. He said, “I hope REELRADIO will survive as my contribution to the ‘radio business’. The business is allowed to forget me, but the business should never forget the great era of radio that we celebrate here”.

We remember Richard and we thank him. If you enjoy this new site, we would appreciate a contribution. We hope you enjoy the new ReelRadio!

Board of NCBHP
North Carolina Broadcast History Project