June 11, 2018 at 5:21 p.m.
Icons of the airwaves: Wadd, Wagner named Local Broadcast Legends
Icons of the airwaves: Wadd, Wagner named Local Broadcast Legends
By Kayla Thomason-
This year the late broadcaster, who died in 1987 at the age of 65, was selected by his peers in the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association as one of four recipients of the Local Broadcast Legends Award.
The award "is a great honor and recognition for individuals that work behind the scenes and within their communities fulfilling the commitment broadcasters have made to serve their local communities," WBA officials said in a press release announcing the honor. "They are individuals who exemplify localism."
The Local Broadcast Legends honorees will be recognized June 21 at the WBA Summer Conference at the Hilton Milwaukee City Center.
Wadd's son, Rob, said the family is ecstatic that their father is being recognized in this manner.
"In my opinion no one is more deserving of the award," he said. "The first line of the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association press release regarding the award states: 'John M. Wadd exemplified the power of local radio.' I can't think of a better summation of Dad's career."
According to the WBA, John Wadd got his first taste of broadcasting at Wauwatosa High School where he produced and hosted a weekly radio program.
After World War II he attended Lawrence University where he studied stage performance and started his professional career at WAUX in Waukesha. He went on to land a job at a TV station in the Twin Cities, but returned to Wisconsin in 1951 to take a job at WOBT-AM in Rhinelander, where he remained for the rest of his career.
In Rhinelander, over the length of his career, he served as program director, host, news director and general manager. He also hosted "The JW Show" for over 35 years.
"The community trusted Dad," Rob Wadd said. "His was the reassuring voice on the radio when there was trouble or uncertainty. It was a huge responsibility and he never forgot that. And he never took the people's trust for granted."
Wadd added that his father believed broadcasting was a privilege, and the reward was getting to do the job again the next day.
"He was allowed into the lives of thousands of Northwoods residents every day and I think he felt truly honored and humbled by that, and I think that's the only reward he ever really sought," his son said.
While John Wadd didn't seek awards or recognitions, his son said he would have been touched to have received this one.
"The Local Broadcast Legends recipients are chosen by the WBA Hall of Fame Committee which is made up of members of Wisconsin's broadcasting community," Rob Wadd explained. "Dad would have felt extremely honored to be recognized this way by his peers. He would be grateful and humble and he would have been thrilled to share the award with the community he loved."
Covering the news
Wadd enjoyed a versatile career in broadcasting, covering everything from sports games to hard-hitting breaking news.
"Many of them he covered live, using a car phone to give detailed reports of the event," his son recalled. "Others, especially early in his career, it wasn't unusual for him to lug a reel-to-reel tape recorder to the scene, take the tape back to the station and edit it immediately to air a report as soon as possible."
Some of the hard news events Rob Wadd remembers his father covering include a cabin fire in Three Lakes that claimed the lives of 10 vacationers and a plane crash in Starks that took out Channel 12's tower, killing everyone aboard the plane and crushing the station at the tower's base. Wadd also covered a fire in downtown Rhinelander that destroyed several businesses.
"Dad believed if it happened in the area, the public had a right to know and he had the obligation to tell them," Wadd said. "Many times it put him at the scene of horribly tragic, sad situations. As much as Dad cared for people, that had to hurt him deeply. But his duty was to report the news and that's what he did."
As many local news reporters do, Wadd spent his days covering both hard news and sports games.
Wadd and his sons were huge fans of Hodag athletics and Rob Wadd remembers attending games and listening to his father and another local broadcasting legend, Todd McEldowney Sr., call home and away Hodag football and basketball games.
"They worked together as well as any professional network broadcast team I've ever heard," Wadd said. "They were great friends. Both were extremely talented. They worked together as naturally as most people breathe. And they both were passionate about Hodag sports."
"Every morning focused on student-athlete endeavors that sport season," said Todd McEldowney Jr. "John and my father made a dynamic team in broadcasting Hodag sports for over 30 years. Saturday morning he hosted a coaches show no matter how late he got home from a long away game."
Wadd fondly remembers going to basketball games with his father, sitting in the packed gym and hearing the local fans yell for their team as his father and McEldowney described the action.
"Hodag fans were passionate about the team and they had no problem showing it ...loudly," he said. "It was so loud in the gym that Dad and Mr. McEldowney had to yell into their microphones to be heard. Fifty years after the fact, I can still hear their voices as if I was at a game yesterday. I'd honestly give a year of my life if it meant I could sit with my dad just one more time while he and Mr. McEldowney worked a Hodag basketball game."
Commercials
In addition to event coverage, Wadd wrote many commercials for the radio.
"Dad was an outstanding writer and wrote a ton of copy (commercials) during his career. He and fellow announcer Ray Walters read most of those commercials on the air and I still actually have a couple of them on tape," Rob Wadd said. "Later in his career, WOBT had a couple of advertisers that were very open to humor and originality in their ads and Dad had a lot of fun producing those commercials. I have several of those on tape as well and they really showcase Dad's creativity and sense of humor."
Wadd remembers listening to his father on the The JW Show - which was on air every day of the week for most of his life - while he ate breakfast.
He wasn't the only one who remembered the JW Show.
"John was a morning legend for our city," said McEldowney Jr. "Everyone woke up and grew up to the J.W. Show as we were urged to 'march around the breakfast table,' and to 'drive slow, let our youngsters grow!'"
McEldowney also remembers that John Wadd had a passion for language.
"JW was a stickler for grammar and he let you know that 'jist,' 'git' and 'tempature' were pronunciations which were unacceptable. John was a Rhinelander treasure who was irreplaceable!"
A heart bigger than the world
Balancing work and family, Wadd was a huge supporter of Rhinelander and its residents. He was active in countless charities and service organizations.
"He prided himself in being the master of ceremonies at innumerable fundraising events and initiated a program where high school students could work part time and even host a special show featuring classmates' accomplishments," recalled McEldowney.
"Dad had tremendous reach and a tremendous relationship with the people of the Northwoods communities," Wadd said. "If there was a cause that needed assistance, he had the ability to go right to the people by means of radio and explain the need. Rhinelander and the surrounding communities are good, caring people and they always responded when help was needed."
Wadd said his father made no distinction regarding the importance or size of a need, and only cared that someone needed help.
"Whether it was one individual or thousands, Dad would do everything he could to help meet that need," he said.
While doing research to nominate his father for the award, Rob Wadd learned his father had been awarded a Bronze Star while serving in New Guinea in World War II.
"He never discussed it (the Bronze Star) and no one in my family knew about it until I discovered the fact while doing research for his nomination," Wadd said. "He received countless awards and commendations, but he never discussed them. And he never did one charitable deed in hopes of being thanked. The opportunity to help was enough for him."
Submitting the nomination
Rob Wadd wasn't familiar with the Wisconsin Broadcasters Hall of Fame until his wife, Sharon, stumbled across it online a few years ago. With his dad having passed away decades ago, he knew the chances were slim that someone other than the family would submit a nomination on his behalf.
Wadd emailed Michelle Vetterkind, president of the WBA, and was told it could take years for his father to be recognized - if at all - but was encouraged to submit the nomination.
After sifting through numerous documents and other information, he submitted a more than 40-page nomination.
Vetterkind saw the submission and asked him to consider submitting it for the Local Broadcast Award.
"She told me she really believed that he was a perfect candidate for it," Wadd recalled. "For three years I submitted the application and Dad was passed over. Finally, this year when I submitted the nomination I asked that Dad be considered for both the Hall of Fame and the Local Broadcast Legends award per Michelle's suggestion. I'm really happy I listened to her. I think the Local Broadcast Legends Award more accurately reflects who Dad was. In particular, it links Dad to the community he served. I think he would really appreciate that."
Another broadcaster is honored
Wadd isn't the only Rhinelander broadcaster to be honored this month.
Jeff Wagner, general manager of Coyote and Northwoods Sports Radio Rhinelander, and general sales representative for Results Broadcasting stations in Antigo, Shawano, and Iron Mountain, will also receive the Local Broadcast Legend award.
"I was very, very pleased," Wagner said, recalling his reaction to the news that he had been chosen for the award.
Wagner started his career in 1975 with high school play-by-play in Antigo and continued for 13 seasons.
He became a sales representative for WRLO-FM and WATK-AM in Antigo in 1979 and in 1988 was named managing partner of Ad Mark Communications.
Wagner became the regional manager of Marathon Media Radio Group, which owned stations in Rhinelander, Minocqua and Antigo, in 1997.
In 2001, he was named the manager of Badger Communications and in 2002 he went to Eagle River to become manager of WRJO-FM and WERL-AM.
In 2005, he was named regional sales manager for Heartland Communications Stations.
"I think radio is very strong," Wagner said. "Local radio has been strong in the Northwoods, there's some outstanding radio stations."
"What makes great radio work is the ability to make it local and serve the needs of the community," he added. "Radio is a 24/7 medium and people use it and listen to it and need it 24/7."
While technology is changing rapidly, radio is a powerful thing, informing and rallying people to various causes, Wagner noted.
"Community service and radio go hand-in-hand and radio can complement community service, and community service can enhance radio also because it's a great way for people who are working for nonprofits or are involved helping people in the community get the word out," he said, adding that he is especially proud of the team around him.
"You can't do it without good people, people that are committed and people that want to make it happen and people that want to work hard," he said.
Wagner has trained hundreds of broadcasters over the years and outside of the booth has coached hockey and baseball, served on the Antigo School Board for 12 years and the Langlade Memorial Hospital Foundation Board for 15 years.
He noted that he and John Wadd crossed paths briefly years ago and he's honored to be receiving the award at the same time as Wadd.
"John was outstanding, he is an icon in the Rhinelander market, so it is a privilege," he said.
Rob Wadd said his father would be proud that two Northwoods broadcasters are being recognized in this manner in the same year.
"He'd make a point of congratulating another Northwoods resident who will also receive the Legends Award this year," he said. "I know for a fact that Dad would be proud that two broadcasters from Rhinelander were to receive the award in the same year."
Sports editor Jeremy Mayo contributed to the story.
Kayla Thomason may be reached at [email protected].
WEATHER SPONSORED BY
E-Editions
Latest News
E-Editions
Events
August
To Submit an Event Sign in first
Today's Events
No calendar events have been scheduled for today.
Comments:
You must login to comment.