As an engineer, I am haunted by images of radio and TV people smoking as they did their work:

Art Bell
Larry King
Edward R. Murrow
countless music radio DJs

How badly did all of this cigarette smoke and ash ravage the equipment? I have nightmarish visisions in my mind of microphone diaphragms coated in cigarette tars and cigarette ashes finding their way into slider pots.

Maybe you should stop worrying about equipment, which is always replacable, and start worrying about the humans, who are not.

can't really worry about humans who enjoy death sticks either.

many a microphone has died from cancer of the diaphram

I apologize if I gave the impression that I'm trying to trivialize the human suffering caused by tobacco. That was not my intent. I was just wondering what the broadcast engineers of the past had to deal with as a result of smoking being allowed at their facilities. In the case of Montgomery's WCOV-TV, that toll included the destruction of much of their facilities in a fire. In the end, the banning of smoking benefitted everyone in some way.

I remember when I was a smoker and working at KHSN in Coos Bay, all of us were smokers and the studio was a complete cloud of blue smoke at all times, there was a foot wide ashtray stuffed with butts. When I look back now I can't believe we lived like that, but to answer your question alfredo, our engineer constantly complained about it, always telling the owner that it had to stop. Of course the owner, stamping out his cigarette in that same ashtray would say "ya sure" and that was that.
Most stations I worked at in small markets were like that until the early 90's. That particular station just stands out in my mind as the entire airstaff were chain smokers.
I am also interested in how many air talents were like that at one time?
I remember I got so tired of wasting good cigs I switched to Benson and Hedges 120's so that when I set that sucker down to pull carts etc, I could come back and find an almost full regular cig! Haha, those were the days. Glad I quit though!

"Maybe you should stop worrying about equipment, which is always replacable, and start worrying about the humans, who are not."

Boo hoo.

I hope all the self-righteous boobs who whined about smoking get their commupance, and THEIR lousy habits are outlawed (simpering, brown-nosing, living with their mothers).

I don't expect it anytime soon, though, because as we all know, instead those habits get you promoted into management.

Smoking is cool. You know it, I know it. DJs were much better when they smoked. Part of it might be that it proved they were smart enough to realize NOBODY LIVES FOREVER.

On a related note, there are many more ex-smokers dying these days of lung cancer, than current smokers. If you quit, all of those complainers didn't save your life, more likely they just made the time you have here less enjoyable.

In more ways than one.

I hope all unrepentant, self-centered and inconsiderate smokers someday realize *and* give a non-rationalized damn about all the suffering others have endured so they can indulge their filthy and disgusting drug habit.

As an engineer, I can say the smoke was a real pita when it came to the equipment. I found that switch contacts and faders had far more problems over time when exposed to cigarette smoke. Everything also became all sticky and gunky (yes, those are technical terms), and it was not a lot of fun to work on or clean this gear. I was amazed at how much the problems were reduced when smoking was banned in the studio.

Now if we could just get rid of the Big Gulps we would have it made.

Same goes for computer data centers as well.

The cig smoke just degrades things over time. Instead of gummed up sliders, we get intermittent electrical issues.

The Big Gulp is like carrying around a tactical nuke! Bad all the way around.

I'll bet a business justification for spill proof cups can easily be made. Ban the Big Gulp and provide some cups to hold the drinks instead.

I worked in PR for Protection One (the alarm company) for the year before they closed there Beaverton facility in 2001. Among the things issued to each and every emplaoyee was a spill-proof mug complete with company logo.

So a question to all the working radio men and ladies out there.

How many engineer(s) in your station are smokers and how many on air people are smokers.

Engineer(s) smoking 85%.v .on air 1 %...

I know that's around the percentage so when I hear an engineer moaning about on air staff making everything "all sticky and gunky", I have to ask that question.

How many stinky engineers smelling of smoke 24/7 are there ?

Not many...most have already died off...

Mark is right. I personnally new two engineers in this area who died of lung cancer, both chain smoked.

so arby if your station has 3 engineers the 85 percent would be two people, roughly. if you have 25 airstaffers and 1% smoke, exactly how are you divining which 1/4 of a person smokes?

i guess your math skills probably dont exceed counting out the 5 for $5 roast beefs.

Denatured alcohol and Q-tips were constantly at the ready for cleaning nicotine off cart and reel-to-reel heads.

Beer drinking in studios is what I want to see. Not just hear it - I want to be there - drinking - in a studio - with a camera on me.

I think it would be cool.

Hehe..he.hehh

You said cool. That sounds like drool.

As of 1999 or 2000 the entire KLYC facility in McMinville allowed smoking. It was technically illegal then if there wasn't a "smoke free area" somewhere. Now it's clearly illegal anywhere inside such a business, thanks to our smokefree workplace law. The law only exempts bars, bingo halls, bowling alleys, and lottery centers. I wonder if Larry Bohnsack (a smoker himself, at least at the time) still allows it.

Interesting about KLYC allowing smoking that recently. We didn't have any smoking in any area inside during the Johnson years (which was fine with me, 'cause it made sense, even though I smoked); that policy continued naturally when Symons took over.

When I first started at KHVH in Honolulu, smoking was allowed anywhere except in the newsroom (were it was allowed on weekends, since one of our weekend reporters was a chain-smoker, and no one else really was around) and inside the studio itself.

Beer drinking in studios is what I want to see.

That poses an intresting question. Who hits the bottle before turning the mic button on? Im sure some jocks do it.

Timberfake:

If more people did drink before going on air, Radio in portland would actually be ENTERAINING!(jk)

Timberfake, what makes you think they don't?

I used to. It really helped me out a lot.

As for the smoking, it was so common it was practically unnoticed back in the day. Say, in the late '60s well into the '70s, it seemed that nearly everyone smoked, at radio and tv stations, anyway. Maybe the actual ratio was a little over 50% but it was a lot. Used to smoke in all the studios, all the offices, in the hallways, wherever, think nothing of it, even at King Broadcasting in Portland into the early '80s. Seems unbelievable and like a hundred years ago now. Dorothy Bullitt taught me how to smoke. Actually, you should cross yourself when you say her name.

Yes, I know it was insane, deleterious to the smokers and all around them, not to mention the equipment. I know I hurt myself, damaged my voice, throat, lungs, heart, and everything else, all those precious bodily parts, and the cart machines. I feel really bad and stupid about it. But it's done.

Have a nice day.

Ironically, there were people years ago who thought that cigarette smoking would make their voices sound better. I recently read that Nat King Cole believed that cigarettes helped his voice sound richer, and he would smoke heavily before a recording session.

My buddy Tim Freed told me that at KGAR and KISN he used to smoke up to four packs a day. It was the thing to do back then.

It is true alfredo. I don't know about scientific proof, but before I would go on in the morning, I would pound down 3 or 4 cigs, a half gallon of coffee then a good scream and I was ready to go and my voice was much smoother and mellower.

None of the current Entercom-Portland engineers smoke. I can only think of one radio engineer in Portland that is still smoking.

Some of the jocks/announcers on KFXX, KGON, KNRK, KRSK, and KWJJ smoke, and they have to go outside to do so.

There is absolutely no doubt that cigarette smoke will drop your voice a couple of steps, and give it an edge; both "first and secondhand" smoke do the trick. Sustained yelling will have the same effect, if done about 12 hours before a shift. Not recommending either, but like steroids, you can't argue with results.

Keep this in mind if you ever have an "on-air audition".

There is absolutely no doubt that cigarette smoke will drop your lifespan as well. If you want a lower voice, use an equalizer ... it's a lot healthier.