{"id":32398,"date":"2024-07-10T11:18:10","date_gmt":"2024-07-10T17:18:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/?page_id=32398"},"modified":"2024-07-11T10:38:58","modified_gmt":"2024-07-11T16:38:58","slug":"jim-lawson","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/jim-lawson\/","title":{"rendered":"Jim Lawson"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The curricula for all broadcasting majors should include a new course of study – Jim Lawson 101 \u2013 where students would learn \u201cold school\u201d values, like how important it is to genuinely care for your audience and using radio for the good of a community. Because of his genuine love of Tuscaloosa and the people of west Alabama and his dedication to radio, the Alabama Broadcasters Association is more than proud to induct Jim Lawson into the ABA Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u201cJim is a true local treasure, giving freely of his time and resources to help others,\u201d says Jimmy Shaw, president of JRD Inc. and the person who nominated Lawson for the induction. \u201cHe has always done so much for the Tuscaloosa and the west Alabama community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShaw is no nonsense. He wouldn\u2019t just nominate anyone if he did not think they were deserving,\u201d says Mildred Porter, Operations Director at WQZZ. \u201cSo, this is going to give Jim a sense that he\u2019s really respected in this business, and it has really humbled him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a total shock \u2013 very pleasant \u2013 but a total shock,\u201d says Lawson about learning of his induction. \u201cThis one is special because this is from my peers. A lot of other recognitions have been from people outside of the industry. I was really pleased that my friends did see fit to nominate me.\u201d\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Lawson was already hooked on radio after his first year at Morehouse College in Atlanta. During that summer break he created an audition tape. He bought some records, wrote his own spots and even made a news break. He says that\u2019s all he knew about radio.<\/p>\n

It was enough.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>A broadcasting journey that is chock full of interesting anecdotes, occasional struggles and many successes brought Lawson from WEUP in Huntsville, to WJLD (1960s) and WENN in Birmingham, right up to the present where he owns three Tuscaloosa\/Green County stations: WMXB, WWPG and WQZZ.<\/p>\n

But the way he uses radio to care for others deserves the spotlight, too.<\/p>\n

For instance, when Stillman College went through a hard time keeping up with maintenance and paying staff, Lawson used his daily radio show to raise over $100,000 for the school in just 30 days.<\/p>\n

Recently when Lawson heard a student at the University of Alabama had the opportunity to study abroad, but didn\u2019t have the funds to do so, Lawson raised funds for him to go.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve helped people pay house notes. We\u2019ve helped people get roofs on their houses. We have voter registration drives\u201d, says Lawson,<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes I tell him we\u2019re going to go broke with all this stuff that he\u2019s doing,\u201d laughs Porter. \u201cBut if he promised he\u2019s going to do something, Hell or high water, he\u2019s going to do it!\u201d\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cRadio is an avenue that could lead to change. And I tell people, this is your radio station, so use it. This is why we are here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo much has changed in radio, but we\u2019re holding it together so that the personality is still there. For those of us who love radio so much, it\u2019s more than just the frequency on the dial and a place to place commercials,\u201d Lawson explains.<\/p>\n

Lawson says he\u2019s tried to retire several times, but it never worked out. \u201cThere\u2019s always so much left to do,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cRetirement is not in his vocabulary,\u201d smiles Porter. \u201cI don\u2019t mean for this to sound morbid, but he would die a happy many if he took his last breath sitting in front of a microphone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what else to do,\u201d says Lawson. \u201cIt\u2019s just \u2026 that\u2019s just my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRadio has been a driving force with me, \u201c says Lawson. \u201cSome places I have worked for no pay. That shows you how nutty I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The curricula for all broadcasting majors should include a new course of study – Jim Lawson 101 \u2013 where students would learn \u201cold school\u201d values, like how important it is to genuinely care for your audience and using radio for the good of a community. Because of his genuine love of Tuscaloosa and the people … Continue reading Jim Lawson<\/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-32398","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/32398","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=32398"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/32398\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32452,"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/32398\/revisions\/32452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}