Ruth Meyer - She Will Be Missed - Walter Sabo - MediaBizBloggers

She was a very, very unusual person. She was from the Midwest, a good Catholic girl with a bawdy laugh. . She had no "signature" ego, she didn't ask for credit and was never a driver or pusher. She coaxed, joked, teased and made you feel good. You did what she wanted because she knew her audience and you wanted her to be happy. Ruth showed her ambition through her ideas, not her will. Her ideas were non-stop, often brilliant, and often crazy and that's why I loved her. I had the privilege at ABC of having her and Rick Sklar report to me at the same time. History would reveal that to be a significant alignment, it wasn't apparent at the time. They were both in the wrong jobs; two Jaguar engines stuck in a Chevy. But those of us who worked with them were indeed fortunate. A front row seat to the master class.

Ruth Meyer loved, loved, loved great on air personalities. She talked about them like a 14 year old fan and treated them like gold. As a result, they treated her as their leader.

Remember, she was managing the Jets and Yankees combined. Her line-up wasn't just at WMCA but at WHN, WNEW AM and the NBC and ABC Radio networks.

When I was looking for a job after college, she was the first person who met with me. I was nervous sitting there in the lobby of WMCA. I wanted a tour but dared not ask! She did not have a job but gave me something more; respect. She spent time with me, talked to me, answered my questions and gave me confidence for the next interview.

I thank her for helping me learn how to greet the kid visiting for a first job and properly applaud the million dollar on-air talent.

She was a true inventor of Top-40. Inventors in radio are rare and to be coveted. She says she was taught the format -----directly----- by Todd Storz. "It was all Todd" she always said. But it wasn't.

You might want to follow this link and consider helping some of the people who helped Ruth: http://www.broadcastersfoundation.com/donations.php?form=membership

PS: That Good Guy smiley logo: She designed it. 

Walter Sabo is the Founder and Creator of the business concept. He is an experienced leader of new organizations and is currently CEO of Hitviews. Walter can be reached at walter@hitviews.com.

MediaBizBloggers is an open-thought leadership blog platform for media, marketing and advertising professionals, companies and organizations. To contribute, contact Jack@mediadvisorygroup.com. The opinions expressed in MediaBizBloggers.com are not those of Media Advisory Group, its employees or other MediaBizBloggers.com contributors. Media Advisory Group accepts no responsibility for the views of MediaBizBloggers authors.