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PDX Media Good Old Days

PDX Media Good Old Days

By Carl Click

Portland TV news veteran Carl Click interviews colleagues and friends from radio, TV, and print, reliving the stories, struggles and issues of Portland media over the last four decades.
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Rick Emerson

PDX Media Good Old DaysNov 07, 2021

00:00
47:27
Rick Emerson

Rick Emerson

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.

Nov 07, 202147:27
Rhonda Shelby

Rhonda Shelby

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.

Oct 28, 202148:14
Mark Mason

Mark Mason

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.

Oct 14, 202146:37
Tony Martinez & Dan Clark

Tony Martinez & Dan Clark

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.

Sep 23, 202149:03
Jeff Gianola

Jeff Gianola

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.

Sep 17, 202142:45
Brenda Braxton & Dave Salesky

Brenda Braxton & Dave Salesky

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.

Sep 03, 202158:18
Bruce Sussman

Bruce Sussman

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.

Aug 27, 202157:34
Pat Boyle

Pat Boyle

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.

Aug 21, 202144:36
Joe Donlon

Joe Donlon

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.

Aug 13, 202133:38
Ken Boddie

Ken Boddie

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.

Aug 07, 202148:04
Anna Canzano

Anna Canzano

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.”

Aug 03, 202101:00:08
Tim Daly

Tim Daly

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.

Jul 24, 202149:00
Bill Boaz

Bill Boaz

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.

Jul 16, 202152:20
Brian Robertson

Brian Robertson

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.

Jul 09, 202146:41
Mike Rich

Mike Rich

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.

Jun 25, 202150:56
Stephanie Stricklen

Stephanie Stricklen

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.

Jun 18, 202148:10
John Erickson

John Erickson

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.

Jun 04, 202141:43
Natali Marmion

Natali Marmion

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.

May 30, 202154:42
Carl Click

Carl Click

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.

May 22, 202101:03:47
Milt Ritter

Milt Ritter

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

May 15, 202101:07:05
KC Cowan

KC Cowan

KC Cowan arrived at KGW a year or so before I did—early 80s. She has one of the stories that I love-- started as a news writer for the newscasts while reporting on the weekends, then worked hard and became so valuable she was a full-time on-air reporter in no time. She did it all—anchor, report, weather, TV & radio. I remember her at her best as she covered entertainment as a specialist for a while at KGW, and then for a decade with Oregon Artbeat at OPB. KC’s career had ups and downs, but she was always “up” in the newsroom—a bundle of creativity and energy. Now that energy is focused on her writing career-- a college hobby with friends has come back to be her present day passion.

May 07, 202153:56
Larry Shoop

Larry Shoop

Larry Shoop is a multi-talented journalist. In his news career he was a great news and feature field reporter. He anchored newscasts in all day parts, and he filled in for weather and sports. He and I jokingly referred to him as the utility infielder of KGW’s news department. He was a great mentor to me as I transitioned from a young, at times naïve sports reporter, into a news reporter and anchor. In this episode I learned Larry’s favorite story of mine, and the reporting idea the two of us explored but never put into action. We should have. Larry moved on to Intel in 2000. The tech company’s gain was a loss for Portland TV news.

May 01, 202149:27
Jack McGowan

Jack McGowan

We have Paul Simon to thank for Jack McGowan’s great legacy in Portland. And we’re not talking about one of his lyrics, but a face-to-face, serendipitous conversation on the streets of Manhattan. The McGowan legacy includes Kink radio, Mt. Hood Jazz Festival, Zoo Concerts, Mayor Bud Clark’s administration, PM Magazine, SOLV, the 9/11 Freedom Flights and more. This episode is a Portland history lesson that starts un 1970 and lasts more than three decades. It includes stories about Bud Clark’s night on the town with Tom Brokaw, Mildred Schwab’s flatulent dog, and the quote from fellow Northeast transplant Tom McCall that Jack lives by, and we all should.

Apr 24, 202158:48
Cheryl Hansen

Cheryl Hansen

Cheryl Hansen traveled the world for PM Magazine at KGW, and shared it all with us. Oh, the places she’s been and the people she found. She knows a secret about Survivor host Jeff Propst. She interviewed Bruce Jenner and O.J. Simpson before things changed for them. Someone told her not to bother Johnny Carson, but got to spend time with him anyway (his idea). She got to see behind the Disneyland curtain to dine with all the characters—with their costume heads off. She talks about her Farrah Fawcett hair, and her TV debut where her “egg chair” and she rolled off the stand. (She’ll explain). We’re all lucky Cheryl got the calling to the Northwest from her Nebraska roots.

Apr 18, 202148:32
Scott Lynn

Scott Lynn

This is a longer than normal podcast because Scott Lynn and I have so much history. I owe my career to him. He got me started KGW and taught me the business. As is usual, how Scott moved from job to job in the industry is fascinating- who he knew, and timing. Scott had incredible “job timing.” Multiple times Scott was pretty sure he was going to “be asked to leave,” and he survived and thrived- in TV sports, radio, play-by-play, and as an author. He survived cancer too. We re-live the Good Old Days when KGW did sports specials at the racetrack, the marathon, high school sports—all while being told sports was not important. It was important to us, and Scott and I (and Joe Becker) were a team that made it happen.

Apr 10, 202101:15:06
Paul Linnman

Paul Linnman

He had a whale of a career, didn’t he. Like many of my guests, Paul Linnman got his foot in the door of Portland television with hard work on the ground floor. In Paul’s case, he was a student at PSU, sports editor at the campus newspaper, while editing film at KATU at night. It was there, in the turbulent 60s, that he realized the power of journalism and the truth in storytelling. And man does he have stories-- the best in this podcast has nothing to do with a whale and explosive overkill. It’s driving piano virtuoso, Van Cliburn, to and from a concert in Eugene- with City Commissioner Mildred Schwab. And then there is the good news/bad news when you get replaced by Oprah. Paul has done it all in Portland TV, print, and radio. And I learned we have at least this in common-- we were both cussed out by a newspaper columnist, and not the same one.

Apr 02, 202147:08
Julie Emry

Julie Emry

I always thought Julie Emry was the better half of “Jeff & Julie.” (Apologies to Mr. Gianola). She’s a Hood River & Lake Oswego kid who became a major force in Portland TV news over the course of three decades. She’s rightfully proud of her stories covering adoptions from Romania, which she described started out as an early form of reality TV. She forgot how we first met, and I understand. Also learn which one news clip she requested KATU leave out of her goodbye video, and the calling she heard and pursued after TV.  Julie is a joy.

Mar 27, 202150:43
Teresa Richardson
Mar 20, 202149:58
Ray Summers

Ray Summers

Ray Summers is a classic.  He was our Charles Kuralt.  He had such a distinctive writing style and voice-- Oh, that voice.  There's a small enough difference in our age that I was able to admire his work when I was in high school.  When I was in college and produced stories I tried to write and sound like Ray.  Eventually I found my own voice, but if I ever became good at story writing it was because I paid attention to mentors like Kuralt, Jon Tuttle, and--Ray Summers at large.

Mar 13, 202139:21
Reagan Ramsey
Mar 06, 202146:25
Margie Boule

Margie Boule

‘The best bitch is Margie Boule!” How’s that for a tease?! Now you must listen to the podcast to learn why Margie shared that announcement with me (wait for it). Margie and Jim Bosley were the ground-breaking hosts of KATU’s AM Northwest, starting in 1977. Here Margie recounts an awkward start, but they grew to have wonderful chemistry on the air, and were lifetime friends. Margie spent more than two decades as a columnist for the Oregonian. We discuss the column she wrote about me and my fledgling comedy career. Unfortunately, several times in her career, she was subject to discrimination and some horrible harassment. Fortunately she is a survivor and talks now about the lessons for all of us.

Feb 27, 202151:28
Steve Arena

Steve Arena

Steve Arena and I had similar paths to Portland TV.  We were both interns who, through hard work and good fortune, landed on-air jobs in  a top 25 market right out of  college.  Steve was at KATU for 25+ years. most of them as sports director in the "Good Old Days" of local sports coverage..  He worked along side many TV news legends, and kept is sanity.  He also got out when the gettin' was good, and he's been just as successful in the dry cleaning biz.  I surprised Steve by recalling our first ever interaction, which he didn't recall, for good reason.

Feb 20, 202153:11
Walden Kirsch
Feb 13, 202145:03
Bill Lagattuta

Bill Lagattuta

Bill was only in Portland, as a main anchor at KGW, for a few years,  but he had a big impact.   Stories of newsroom pranks are legendary, especially with his co-anchor, friend, and sometimes foil Kathy Smith.  (Listen to Kathy's podcast to get her side of the story)  Among the stories here, how Bill and Sports Director Scott Lynn stripped down and took a photo in Kathy's bathtub-- at her home. Also learn the words of wisdom Bill shared with me when I was a young reporter that stayed with me throughout my career.  Bill moved on to KCBS in Los Angeles and then covered many national stories as a CBS News correspondent and for 48 Hours.  Now Bill lives on an orchard in Northern California.  He's an accomplished artist while he and his wife run a TV production company.

Feb 07, 202138:33
Helen Raptis

Helen Raptis

Helen Raptis started like many of us. Got her foot in the door & said "I'll do anything." And she has-- receptionist, actress, artist, news, features, sports, & for the last two decades host of AM Northwest. I hosted with her for a couple years. What a blast. Re-live the Denis Leary/raspberry jam story, and the last minute, "mega star" guest she didn't know one iota. You can stream Helen's one-woman show "At Wits End" at www.fiveohm.tv .

Jan 31, 202146:08
Lew Frederick

Lew Frederick

Lew Frederick grew up in Atlanta in the 60's, with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a part of his neighborhood, so he was part of the civil rights movement in our country from an early age.   No surprise, then that issues of equality have been important to him through out his career as a radio and TV journalist at KGW in Portland, in his work with Portland Public Schools, and now as a state senator.  Lew has great things to say and share, but the most revealing, I found (and didn't know until this interview close to 40 years after we first met), he came to Portland to be a mime.  Now you have to listen.

Jan 24, 202154:46
Jim LIttle

Jim LIttle

Jim Little was the lead meteorologist at three different news stations in Portland over more than 20 years.  He got his start in the science in the USAF, so he knew his stuff,   but it was "who" he knew that helped get him his start in the business, and again later as he got a job in his home town of Portland.  Hear how weather reporting changed over his time,  why he left TV forecasting, and of course the infamous green hairspray story.

Jan 17, 202148:10
Mike Donahue

Mike Donahue

The man stayed at one station in the same market for four decades.  He was Portland's Walter Cronkite.  I didn't know Mike served in the army, and it was as the Vietnam War was ripping apart our country.   And he did a little sneaky surveillance duty while working at the Pentagon.  Learn about Mike's perspective on TV journalism then and now.  It's amazing to think of all the stories he covered and the places he went to inform us of the issues that were important to our city and the state.

Jan 10, 202138:49
Kathy Smith

Kathy Smith

On a high school field trip, Carl Click came to the KGW TV studio and watched Kathy Smith anchor a newscast.  Four years later they were working in the same newsroom together.  Kathy was the main anchor.  Carl was a sports reporter.  Listen to them relive the good old days.  With very little experience Kathy began in TV in Boston and worked her way up and cross country to Portland. Hear how she used an audition from one station to get hired at another, handled a male-dominated era of the business,  survived an interview with a "handsy" sports icon,  and laugh at the pranks, on and off air, she traded with a network-bound co-anchor.

Dec 26, 202038:17
Craig Walker

Craig Walker

Carl Click talks with long-time Portland icon Craig Walker.  Craig turned the family radio business into a life and career in Portland media.  He was the beloved morning drive host of two major radio stations, the face of a nightly TV magazine show, and the voice of Meier & Frank marketing.  Learn about the "red sweater contests",  how Craig beat out Carl for a job, and the miracle of almost three decades of health after a life-saving liver transplant.

Dec 26, 202050:12