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Mangement Changes
- Thread starter nuffsaid
- Start date
It's hard to believe that Greenville and Greenwood have swapped places, so to speak. In the 1960s I worked first at WDDT in Greenville and then moved to WLEF in Greenwood. It was a big step down in market size.
I do now read the Delta Democrat-Times online frequently and, like the city, that newspaper has gone downhill. It's now an Emmerich newspaper and it shows. They sometimes mix their right-wing politics with what is supposed to be balanced journalism.
I think the Greenwood Commonwealth is a good paper, though.
I agree with the previous post, though I have not been to either city since the 1970s. I have been reading the posts here and both newspapers. It appears to me that Greenwood is growing in quality. Greenville has declined. But I believe Greenville will, as we say in the South, rise again. I have a great deal of fondness for both cities and for the whole Delta.
I do now read the Delta Democrat-Times online frequently and, like the city, that newspaper has gone downhill. It's now an Emmerich newspaper and it shows. They sometimes mix their right-wing politics with what is supposed to be balanced journalism.
I think the Greenwood Commonwealth is a good paper, though.
I agree with the previous post, though I have not been to either city since the 1970s. I have been reading the posts here and both newspapers. It appears to me that Greenwood is growing in quality. Greenville has declined. But I believe Greenville will, as we say in the South, rise again. I have a great deal of fondness for both cities and for the whole Delta.
Henry, my recollection is the same as yours. I used to spend summers in Greenwood with relatives (in the 50s and early 60s) and I considered it a fate worse than death. The town was so stuck in the past, unwilling to move into modern times. Unwilling to desegregate and grant equality to its majority black population. Greenville back then was thought to be more progressive, and it may have had something to do with the enlightened editorial policies of the Hodding Carter family (publishers of the Delta Democrat Times). Back then you could look up "xenophobia" in the dictionary, and the definition would contain the word "Greenwood." I hung out in Greenville a lot in the 70s (with the owners of WBAD) and my experiences there reinforced my prior impressions of Greenville vis-a-vis Greenwood. The two towns may indeed have had a role reversal now. It's hard to imagine Greenwood finally getting away from its plantation mentality.
These post really don't have much to do with radio. But several words seemed to stand out. "Progressive", "enlightened","xenophobia", and "plantation mentality". I certainly wouldn't want to go back to the days of Jim Crow, but at the same time, I still enjoy watching Leave it to Beaver and Andy Griffith. Remember the film Pleasantville? Everything was in black and white and they all acted like Ozzie and Harriet until the newcomers showed up and the town started to turn colored, and people began to act more worldly. Even though the film makers were attempting to make the 50's look lame and out of touch, most people understood it was just fantasy, but it was a life that most people deep down would love. Thats why filmed shows like Leave it to Beaver, Andy Griffith etc. still plays in repeats every day, and we see less reruns of the more "enlightened" Norman Lear comedies from the 70's. (which most times looked like a cheap videotaped stage play). Call me old fashioned, but I would rather sit on a front porch and drink ice tea with Andy and Aunt Bee any day in "backwards" Mayberry anyday, than to hang out with the more "progressive" "Maude" or "Meathead".
Really some good post here on the Greenville / Greenwood thread. People that I know that have visited Greenville in the past few years have one common thread in their reports and that is simply that Greenville has gone to hell in a hand basket. A former resident, Ken Dowe, offered to give the city $50 grand if they could match his donation to clean up, fix up, and make an attempt to revitalize the city. From all the reports I have head on this matter was simply the residents did rise to the occasion and did match his donation and he sent them a check for the 50 and it seens it went downhill. To date not much has been done with the money and the city still looks like a war zone! Back to RADIO, Larry Fuss has bought the radio stations formally owned by Jimmy Carr and is making a real attempt to bring some good radio back to Greenville. Sure hope the city will support him and the stations.
Having grown up in Greenville, I recall we were drilled by our educators about our town's literary tradition; The Percy's, Shelby Foote, David Cohn, Ellen Douglas and so forth. We had a hometown newspaper with a Pulitzer Prize winning legacy. I still feel the weight every time I set out to write something, afraid of letting the team down.
The closing of Greenville Air Force Base in the mid 60's, combined with the loss of factory and industrial employment has had a detrimental effect on the economy and population of the area. In 1960, when the base was still in use, Washington County was home to 78,000; as of 2000 it had trickled down to 62,000.
I'm sure what I am saying could be applied to thousands of other small towns. The kids I graduated with who went on to college were far more likely to wind up in Madison, Dallas or Houston (TX not MS) than they were to come back home and set up shop in Greenville.
But for a while, for what they were where they were, they had it going on.
The closing of Greenville Air Force Base in the mid 60's, combined with the loss of factory and industrial employment has had a detrimental effect on the economy and population of the area. In 1960, when the base was still in use, Washington County was home to 78,000; as of 2000 it had trickled down to 62,000.
I'm sure what I am saying could be applied to thousands of other small towns. The kids I graduated with who went on to college were far more likely to wind up in Madison, Dallas or Houston (TX not MS) than they were to come back home and set up shop in Greenville.
But for a while, for what they were where they were, they had it going on.
There is no scoop you idiot! These post were about a culture, a place in time that is lost, a culture. At one time Greenville was the pride of the delta and people were very proud to live there and work there. Times have changed and it is just short of a waz zone now! That is very sad and for one I am very upset with city management, city council, and the citizens in general. Here is some radio stuff .... at one time Greenville radio was smokin'
First of all, the word in the topic should be MANAGEMENT, not mangement. And the original post didn't go into the culture of the Delta, just implied it was hard in Greenville to be successful in the radio business.(See, by listening to NPR I have expanded my mind already.) I was actually responding to the previous poster who alluded to the fact that you hinted at some big change in Greenville,yet did not respond as to what it was. By the way, I used to live in Greenville, and I'm fully aware of the past. Sorry if my attempt to add humor to your thread added to your angst.nuffsaid said:
TZ: I hope posts that call people "idiots", etc. do not begin to creep on this board....The Louisiana board (and others) have become a name calling party...Pity. And I agree with you...The subject should be indicative of the SUBJECT...and it should be related to radio. I was born and raised in Shaw...and I am sorry to say that only Cleveland, in my opinion, is a shining light in the Delta. But I digress...Thanks and all the best...JBI
Made a recent trip to Arkansas for a class reunion. My wife and I spent a lot of time while there, and more time since returning, discussing a similar trend regarding our hometown and nearby towns. Some have grown, some have shrunk. Some used to be alive and have something we thought of as "culture" but now they seem lacking that something.
The coming of the Interstate highway system is a factor. If there is an Interstate at the front door to your town, you may be thriving. And what were one sleepy little church related colleges have grown into full blown universities in some cases. That will do marvels for your town.
Family dynasties did indeed shape a lot of towns. And if a "good" family owned your newspaper, your bank(s) or your radio station 50 years ago, that made a big difference in the character of a town. A small or large chain may own media in your town today, and they may in some ways operate the media very well by today's standards, but they probably DO NOT display the kind of local charisma that once oozed out of a media.
I worked the Arkansas side of the Delta back in the days you guys are talking about. There was no bridge at Helena then so I never got over to see places like Greenville and Greenwood and others though I listened to radio then from those and other Mississippi towns.
Borrowing from what Thomas Wolfe said: We can never go back home to those same days. And as lovely as they were at the time, I have decided I would not go back and try to recreate those days and those circumstances.
I guess the question is: Are you creating anything that will last where you are now that your kids will dream of returning to?
The coming of the Interstate highway system is a factor. If there is an Interstate at the front door to your town, you may be thriving. And what were one sleepy little church related colleges have grown into full blown universities in some cases. That will do marvels for your town.
Family dynasties did indeed shape a lot of towns. And if a "good" family owned your newspaper, your bank(s) or your radio station 50 years ago, that made a big difference in the character of a town. A small or large chain may own media in your town today, and they may in some ways operate the media very well by today's standards, but they probably DO NOT display the kind of local charisma that once oozed out of a media.
I worked the Arkansas side of the Delta back in the days you guys are talking about. There was no bridge at Helena then so I never got over to see places like Greenville and Greenwood and others though I listened to radio then from those and other Mississippi towns.
Borrowing from what Thomas Wolfe said: We can never go back home to those same days. And as lovely as they were at the time, I have decided I would not go back and try to recreate those days and those circumstances.
I guess the question is: Are you creating anything that will last where you are now that your kids will dream of returning to?
Goat Rodeo Cowboy said:
Indeed. Maybe the coming interstate (I-69) through the Delta, Cleveland and Greenville will help out those communities. Of course, whether it gets built out in any of our lifetimes is up for debate, but the section from I-55 to near the casinos has been open for a while now.
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