BUBBA'S BACKYARD

When you first hit Modesto, you see the growth that has been taking place in this virtual bedroom community of the Bay Area. All the towns around Modesto have large populations due to the fact it really is LA’s Riverside-San Bernardino to The Bay Area. Citadel has been able to tap into those resources with Kat Country 103. From Scott Mahalick to Ed Hill and Randy Bubba Black, the last 11 years at the helm, this station has mirrored the community and sounds bigger than life. It’s easy to hear and see why it’s been so successful. They have a deep advertising base and it maintains ratings and prosperity.

In the first fifteen minutes of listening, they talked about a fire affecting traffic on the 205, the morning show is going to be at a school in Ceres with the class doing the Pledge of Allegiance. The imaging and production values were explosive and Bubba has this flagship station of Citadel and the Cat Country brand sizzling. When I first met Bubba in 1998 I knew I liked him. He once told me “we play music, oh yeah between imaging and commercials”. He introduced me to Chris LeDoux at Larry’s ranch and we had a bond. His values are pure and masterful, to carry the torch from two Citadel programming geniuses and he has done an outstanding job. During our interview he told a record rep on a text:” You will say you were at the label when (insert artists name) was dropped by the label”. That’s our Bubba. He is extremely focused and in 11 years he hasn’t missed a beat and stays on it like butter on toast. Bubba is a radio freak and he's clearing the freak bar on low with street shoes.

To build a brand into a giant like Kat Country 103 takes constant attention to the process. Bubba has a fun job, continuing to offer localism, topicality and listener interactions that continue all day on the station. What I respect about him, he could go anywhere and has been offered great jobs, but his home is in Manteca, his family roots are the farm and friends in Ripon. Met the extended family of labs and Russell's - Mrs. Bubba and good to see PD MoJo Roberts from 95.1 KHOP. 40 working acres and didn’t see Mr. Haney once trying to get Bubba to buy something he didn’t need. Because he has everything he needs in place.