Sunday, January 2, 2011

Bob Steel as KAAY Newsman "Michael O' Sullivan"

When Bob Steel first began working in the Little Rock media market, he was a newsman at KAAY.  While I always thought that "Bob Steel" was a great radio name, in keeping with tradition, management changed his name to "Michael O' Sullivan."  Bob left KAAY to go into television news, serving as news director for KARK and KATV for 20 years.  Currently, he is the morning host of KARN Newsradio FM in Little Rock.  Bob is a true professional, and the newscast I just posted on this blog site shows what an awesome broadcast voice he has.  This was taken from a longer clip I have, when the talent dished it back to the studio for a newscast update.  This was during the "Skunk Festival," one of KAAY's many promotional events.

Richard Robinson




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4 comments:

  1. Hollis W. DuncanJanuary 8, 2011 at 2:22 PM

    Bob Steele (with three e's) started doing nights at the now-gone KCON-1230 in Conway in 1971 after he left the Air Force. Several years later I started seeing him on TV. Bob Steele is an extraordinarily nice guy - sometimes they do succeed in broadcasting.

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  2.  January 12, 2011 at 10:16 AM

    Hey Hollis! Richard Robinson here. I'm the guy who posted the newscast. Actually, Bob spells his last name "Steel." I double-checked just now on his Facebook page. There is a Bob Steele who is a journalism scholar and textbook writer though. Thanks for the post. It's great to have you on here! It's been a long time since the early 1970s, but I remember you well. As best I remember, you single-handedly put KLAZ on the air in Little Rock!

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  3. Hollis W. DuncanJanuary 20, 2011 at 1:07 AM

    I'm sure that my memory is going bad and that Steel is correct.

    I take it that you have left the theater business. Does your Heathkit CB radio still work?

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  4. AnonymousJune 17, 2011 at 5:36 PM

    Dear Hollis:

    Sorry to be so long in responding, but I just now saw your post! Yes, I left the theatre business in 1977, worked for KCON in Conway for a year, KCLA in Pine Bluff for awhile (while also running a theatre in that town) and landed in Arkadelphia for quite some time. There I ran a theatre for awhile, and did mornings on KDEL for over 10 years. I also had a PR job at the human development center there. In 1992 I went to grad school at UALR, part-time, and got a master's degree in journalism (radio-TV). Began teaching at Henderson State half-time, advising the campus radio station and teaching broadcast journalism and radio production classes. I moved to Tennessee in 2001, in order to take a full-time faculty position at the University of Tennessee at Martin and go to grad school at Southern Illinois University. At UT Martin, I advise the campus radio station and teach classes.

    I still have a Heathkit AM Clock radio that works, and a shortwave receiver as well. But alas, the CB radio is gone, as are many other kits that I built. Oh, the passage of time!

    I lost track of you after you went to KLAZ, so please tell me what you've been up to all these years! My memory is fading, but I remember what an outstanding engineer you were (are), brilliant, as a matter of fact.

    Thanks for the shout. Sorry I didn't respond until now!

    Best,

    Richard

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