Newspaper Page Text
OPINION
THE CHAMPION, THURSDAY, MARCH 23-29, 2023 • PAGE 5
Has COVID become a distant memory?
After more than three years
since the world collectively shut
down in March of 2020 in response
to a global health pandemic, it
seems that based on the behaviors
of many, that we have successfully
managed to move forward with
our lives, and most seem to not be
taking very many precautions.
However, according to the
World Health Organization (WHO),
COVID has resulted in more than
6.8 million deaths, and almost 760
million confirmed cases worldwide
-with 1.1 million deaths and more
than 102 million confirmed cases
reported in the United States alone,
Though most of the global
population has had at least one
vaccination (5.5 billion) and more
than 5 billion are fully vaccinated,
we may be throwing too much
caution to the wind if we attempt
to go about our daily routines with
little concern for the possibility
of exposure and infection. WHO's
COVID-19 digital dashboard recently
showed more than 58,000 new
cases reported globally in one 24-
hour period.
Most of us know at least one
person who has fallen ill to, or sadly
has died, as a result of the virus.
Many of us also know others who
continue to suffer from long-term
effects of the virus and or continue
to be financially challenged due to
the financial upheaval caused by
business closures and shutdowns.
We have no choice but to
attempt to continue to protect our
lives, as well as the lives of those
we know and love, but we must
also keep in mind that according
to a study released by NBC News,
even those who are fully vaccinated
have a 5 to 10 percent chance of
acquiring the virus.
That 5 to 10 percent risk factor
is reason enough for me to continue
to be vigilant. Thus far, both my
wife and I have managed to avoid
contracting the disease, and I want
to do everything possible to keep it
that way.
It will be interesting to see if
infection rates increase after spring
break periods and through the
summer vacation period. Only time
will tell.
They don’t make 'em like that anymore
As a teenager growing up in
Griffin, Georgia, Scott Slade would
point out the local radio station in a
two-story walk-up just off the town
square and say, "Someday, I'm going
to be working there."
At the age of 15, Slade, looking
a bit older with heavy sideburns and
a mustache, and freshly in receipt
of his broadcasting license (in those
days any on-air personality in the
industry required a broadcasting
license), entered the radio station
to inquire if there were any job
openings at WGRI Radio, a daytime
AM station in his hometown. As
it happened, the Sunday noon-6
p.m. host had just quit, and the
receptionist told Slade he would
need to go into the studio and
record a demo for the station's
general manager.
Slade went into the studio,
though he had never been in
one before, and figured out the
equipment sufficiently to produce
an aircheck, leaving the same
behind for station management. By
the time he arrived home, the
phone was ringing, asking if he
might be available to start that
Sunday at noon.
Slade would labor in other
stations and markets for nearly
a decade before finding a niche
in traffic reporting and landing at
AM750 WSB Radio in Atlanta. I
would suggest to you in the "secret
‘One Man’s Opinion’
BILL CRANE
bill.csicrane@gmail.com
sauce" that would later become
Atlanta's Morning News with Scott
Slade on WSB Radio AM, and
later FM, is that everyone in north
Georgia—old folks, youngsters,
Republicans, Democrats, Black,
White, Asian, Hispanic—can all
agree on one thing. They all hate
traffic.
Slade and cohorts such as
"Captain" Herb Emory could guide
drivers around 1-285, the downtown
connector and major surface street
corridors, avoiding the logjams and
tie-ups, providing alternate routing,
or even letting drivers know why
they were sitting in what appeared
to be an endless parking lot of
taillights. And they did so while
informing the audience of the news
and hot topics of the day with an
occasional chuckle.
Slade was the air traffic
reporter, flying the friendly skies
when at the end of a shift in 1990
he was called back into the offices
by station management. In an
unexpected meeting, with all the
brass on hand, Slade was told
some changes were coming to
the morning show, as well as the
station's branding and format. Slade
thought he might be fired but
instead was promoted - in some
respects to build out the longest-
running and most respected
radio franchise in the Southeast,
rebuilding itself from the ground up,
around him.
Also in 1990, the "other"
news format station in the market,
WGST NewsRadio 640 had several
things going for it, including some
names many may know in radio-
Rush Limbaugh, a young Sean
Hannity (then local), Atlanta Braves
baseball, and at that time Clark
Howard, as well as the Talkmaster
Neal Boortz. Eventually, each of
those now Atlanta institutions
would follow Slade's morning show
and example, moving south from
Buckhead to Midtown and WSB
studios.
During the summer of 2000,
Slade would become the instigator
and unofficial "godfather" of the
annual WSB Radio Careathon,
benefitting the Aflac Cancer and
Blood Disorders Service Centers at
Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.
Proceeds to date from those
Careathons now exceed $30 million
over 23 years, and there is a wing
of the center at the Scottish Rite
Campus of CHOA named for Slade
and the WSB Radio listeners who
support the Careathon each year.
A Renaissance man of sorts,
Slade is also a voracious reader,
pilot of planes and helicopters, hiker
and horseman. He is constantly
reading and devouring content in
preparation for the morning show,
making it look easy and almost
effortless. In early February of this
year, he stepped away from the
morning show microphone after 32
years of leading the market ratings
and Atlanta listeners through 9/11,
Hurricane Katrina, Snowmaggedon,
and a couple of Braves World Series
Championships. This month, the
Georgia Association of Broadcasters
inducted him into their Broadcasting
Hall of Fame. I can think of very few
broadcasters more deserving.
In a Top 10 media market, it's
uncommon to see that kind of
longevity or tenure anymore. His
relationship with WSB Radio
listeners may be changing, but I am
almost certain some of the best is
still yet to come from Slade. They
just don't make 'em like that
anymore.
Bill Crane is political analyst and
commentator in metro Atlanta, as well
as a columnist for The Champion, DeKalb
Free Press and Georgia Trend. Crane is
a DeKalb native and business owner,
living in Scottdale. You can contact him or
comment on a column at biH.csicrane@
gmail.com.
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