{"id":18417,"date":"2018-08-11T04:04:32","date_gmt":"2018-08-11T10:04:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/?page_id=18417"},"modified":"2018-08-11T04:04:32","modified_gmt":"2018-08-11T10:04:32","slug":"jerry-baker-2018-broadcaster-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/jerry-baker-2018-broadcaster-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Jerry Baker \u2013 2018 Broadcaster of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Jerry gets the keys to the station<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Back in 1983, a certain insurance agent was presented with the opportunity to buy a radio station. Had he been interested in buying a station? Did he secretly want to get into broadcasting? Well, no. But he threw out a low-ball offer that was accepted. He jumped head first into his new role as owner of WEIS in Centre, Alabama and throughout the years has used the radio station to serve a community like no other. \u00a0For this, the ABA is pleased to honor Jerry Baker as the 2018 Broadcaster of the Year.<\/p>\n

WEIS assistant manager Sheila Richardson, who has worked at the station for 27 years, says she\u2019s not surprised Baker went full steam ahead into broadcasting.<\/p>\n

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Jerry with station vehicle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThey really didn\u2019t have a format – they were just like every small town station with maybe a little bit of news and not much else but obituaries,\u201d explains Richardson. \u201cBut Jerry saw the need for more local information and was able to hire some people who had broadcasting experience to help him with things like programming and on air.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe went big-time with everything local,\u201d she says. \u201cJerry just has such a good business sense and such a drive to accomplish whatever he sets his mind to. It\u2019s amazing what he\u2019s done.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Jerry with the Governor<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Shortly after WEIS fell into Baker\u2019s lap, he found he needed someone to do the 5 \u2013 8 am time slot. Although he had no on-air experience, he decided he\u2019d fill in until he found a replacement. Some thirty-plus years later, Baker continues to be the first voice many residents of Centre hear every morning.<\/p>\n

And Baker doesn\u2019t just talk local, he is<\/i><\/em>\u00a0local, taking a hands-on approach in all station activities. \u201cYou know, we\u2019ve had several devastating tornadoes and we went on the air to raise money,\u201d says Richardson. \u201cI have seen Jerry go out and literally hand checks to people in need.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Jerry with Rep. Mike Rogers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Baker also brings the community \u201cnews you can use\u201d \u2026 not as a slogan, but in a real sense. \u201cEvery election year, Jerry invites all the candidates in our county to the station the Monday night before voting and gives each of them five minutes,\u201d Richardson says. \u201cAfter the forum, his phone starts ringing before he can even leave the station \u2013 people calling to thank him for offering this service to the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Alabama Farmers Federation honored Jerry Baker with the Broadcast Communications Award during their 96th annual meeting in December, 2017. \u00a0Federation Director of Communications Jeff Helms thanked Baker for his commitment to sharing agriculture news over the airwaves and on the station\u2019s website. \u201cIn this day and age, most local radio stations have cut staff jobs and turned to syndicated radio programs to fill air time \u2014 but not WEIS,\u201d Helms said. \u201cThe station\u2019s programming is 100 percent local.<\/p>\n

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Jerry on the job<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cherokee County Farmers Federation Reporter Randy Jones nominated Baker for the award, noting his dedication to covering local farm events. \u00a0Jones said, \u201cIf you tune your dial to 100.5 FM or 990 AM while driving through Cherokee County, you\u2019re sure to hear news that matters to local folks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even though Baker programs the station with locals in mind, his decisions have proven to have an impact on people outside the market … way outside. When WEIS presented a series on suicides, someone sent an email saying they were going to take their own life. Baker immediately contacted local authorities who tracked the IP address of the message and contacted authorities in the individual\u2019s community. His quick thinking led them to a home where they found the person unconscious, but still alive. What\u2019s even more amazing is that the person who made contact with WEIS, thanks to their series, lived in another state that is nowhere close to Alabama.<\/p>\n

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Jerry Baker – 2018 ABA Broadcaster of the Year<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Richardson says Baker has a caring attitude even when it comes to advertising. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t just sell ads to get the money, he wants to help you grow your business,\u201d she explains. \u201cHe really tries to do everything he can for our local businesses with the idea that the advertising just falls into place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jerry Baker doesn\u2019t think much about getting recognition for all he\u2019s done in the community. \u00a0\u00a0Richardson, who nominated him for this award, wonders how she\u2019ll get him to show up to receive it. \u00a0\u201cHe\u2019s the type of person that doesn\u2019t want a lot of recognition \u2013 he thinks someone else is more deserving, but nothing could be further from the truth,\u201d says Richardson. \u201cIn fact we\u2019ve had some little arguments about that \u2026 about how I think he should get more acknowledgment, so he\u2019s going to be surprised about this.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Back in 1983, a certain insurance agent was presented with the opportunity to buy a radio station. Had he been interested in buying a station? Did he secretly want to get into broadcasting? Well, no. But he threw out a low-ball offer that was accepted. He jumped head first into his new role as owner … Continue reading Jerry Baker \u2013 2018 Broadcaster of the Year<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-18417","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18417"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18417\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18425,"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18417\/revisions\/18425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}