Mark Austin Thomas: "It's been a great career."
News anchors are not generally known for being flashy or ostentatious, as their job is to report and stay out of the way of the stories they report. But these journalists are often underrated professionals as well as an important part of the history of Los Angeles Radio. Retiring from the KNX microphone, Mark Austin Thomas has also been heard nationally, helped craft a novel news effort in New York, and is credited for his behind-the-scenes efforts at then-upstart KFI.
Thomas got
his start at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, noting he “actually
obtained a degree in Radio / TV journalism” from their College of Media. Following
graduate course work in educational psychology, he moved to Knoxville,
Tennessee, working at WIVK, “which had the biggest audience share for country
music in the U.S.” He then became the executive editor at WEEI-Boston before
moving to the west coast to be the news director at urban KSOL (K-Soul)-San
Mateo / San Francisco.
He made his
first stop in L.A. at KNX as a news writer and reporter before heading to KFI
in 1988. “I got there just after the station switched to talk. It was a fun
time! It felt we were all kids trying to figure it out.” He said the attitude
at KFI was “we had nothing to lose” as their ratings were then dwarfed by
heritage talk radio outlet KABC. While at KFI, Thomas started as a news editor
and reporter, then took the responsibilities of being the news director and
assistant program director.
The choice was to position KFI to be provocative “and be what KABC was not.” Among the hosts heard at KFI included Tom Leykis and former L.A. Police Chief Daryl Gates, which did get get the station both local and national attention and some notoriety. “We just wanted a 1 or 2 share, we kept searching for ‘what was the hole in the market?’” When KABC sued KFI for using the term “talk radio,” Thomas said “it allowed us to then create the (moniker) ‘more stimulating talk radio’ which reflected a certain attitude, research told us people wanted talk radio that was more ‘stimulating.’ We tried to deliver on that brand.” That mindset led to bringing in Rush Limbaugh, Dr. Laura Schlesinger, and John (Kobylt) and Ken (Chiampou), along with a strong news department, which led to KFI to dominate talk and information programming “among a younger and wider demo” in Southern California.
David G. Hall was the KFI program director during the station’s ratings upsurge. He credits Thomas as being a key factor in helping establish KFI as a local leader. “I met Mark on my first day at KFI. He had a tiny little pony tail and Mod Squad (or Star Trek) boots. He was cool,” recalled Hall. “Mark was working part time at KFI and part time at KNX. I told him he was going to have to choose one, we were about to kill KNX. Thankfully he chose us.” Hall said Thomas was responsible for “hiring a lot of really talented people like Vicky Moore, Chris Little, and Laura Ingle.”
For his part, Thomas offered his observation of what makes a successful leader in radio. “I learned a good PD is able to hear the radio station in their head. A great PD is able tog get everyone to hear the radio station in their head.” Yet Thomas said there was no overall programming philosophy at KFI. “We did what worked, we tapped into the zeitgeist. We didn’t drag people to a certain place, they wanted something they weren’t hearing elsewhere.” He drew a parallel to the beginning of early rock radio, noting “early rock-and-roll jocks offended parents, mostly because they really tried to be different.”
While at KFI, Thomas sat in for one of his reporters assigned to the O.J. Simpson trial. “Reporters were rotating in and out of the courtroom in order to keep that seat. On the day I sat in, photos of the autopsy were shown, so from my position I’m seeing what the jury was seeing.” The media was not supposed to see the photos, “and the bailiff tried to stand in front of me, but I saw what I saw.” Thomas was later interviewed on NBC’s “Today” show to provide his perspective after seeing the autopsy photos firsthand.
In 2001, as KFI became the leading talk station in town, Thomas was selected to develop a complementary talker at sister station KLAC. “We had Michael Jackson, Gil Gross, Leslie Marshall, and Marilyn Kagan, all well-known local hosts.” Hall said the premise of the station was “not just facts, feelings…we really got an opportunity to do that on 9/11.” The station was previously Adult Standards, a format KLAC returned to after just a year as a talker. “Clear Channel wanted to stop doing talk…I think it could have worked if we had a longer runway.” Thomas added the talk was frequently interrupted by Angels baseball, as KLAC was the flagship station for Anaheim team. “That made it difficult to sustain (the talk) programming, especially away games that started during afternoon drive.”
Thomas was about to leave KPCC when he received a call from the American Public Media producers of their business program “Marketplace Morning Report” to see if he was interested in joining their team. He became the AM show’s co-host. “They could talk about money without using a specialized language. By using creative and simple examples they opened up the world of finance and money to a whole new audience.”
After two years as a part-time anchor at KNX, Thomas was appointed news director at Citadel owned KABC in 2009. “The station didn’t have much of a news position, we tried to improve local coverage. Our reporters won Golden Mike awards for their work.” Thomas was paired with Peter Tilden during morning drive. “I loved working with him, (Tilden) is a very smart guy who did voluminous amounts of research…it worked really well as we discussed breaking news, the State of the Union, and other stories.” But when Citadel was purchased by Cumulus Media, “they weren’t going to keep a news director,” so Thomas was cut, one of thirty let go from KABC and then-sister station KLOS.
His next stop was New York City to be part of an inventive, yet ultimately unsuccessful foray crafting a new FM all-news outlet. “FM 101.9 News” (WEMP-FM, now WFAN-FM) was one of two Merlin-owned stations (including Chicago’s “FM 101.1 News” [WWWN-Chicago, now WKQX]) trying to compete with the local CBS news outlets. The idea was the brainchild of Randy Michaels and Walt Sabo, who hired Thomas as VP / news director of the New York property. “We knew we weren’t going to topple the heritage stations (WINS and WCBS) overnight. I think we could have made an impact with more time, but we were only around for one year.” The station tried to initially compete by offering a more informal and conversational presentation of the news, with an emphasis on stories about lifestyle and health. Low ratings prompted “FM 101.9 News” to evolve toward a more traditional news presentation. “I thought the station would succeed if it evolved to a news / talk format like we had at KFI,” said Thomas. “They liked the idea but the people financing the effort didn’t want support it, so they forced the stations to go back to music…I think we could have succeeded as there was enough talent available in the market.” Interestingly, Thomas was soon hired as a news anchor at the aforementioned WINS. “I loved it there, the people there were great.” He said he would have stayed in New York, “but my 11-year-old daughter didn’t want to move there, so I came back to California.”
Thomas then headed back to all-news KNX. “I (first) started there as a per diem writer and reporter back in 1988 before going to KFI, when I returned (in 2007) I worked as a part-time / relief news anchor.” In 2013, he became the overnight anchor for the next seven years. “It’s a great shop. Working overnight was easy because it was quiet, less hustle and bustle. I got to work with Rory Erikson, one of the best editors in the business. And I really had no trouble staying awake.”
“Mark is a
pro’s pro. He worked one of the toughest shifts at any 24-hour outlet. But we
knew if anything broke he’ll be all over it,” said Ken Charles, former KNX / Audacy brand manager and VP. “He’d do what needed to get done and start to
rally resources if needed. We’re really
going to miss him at KNX.”
Thomas is aware of his minority status in the all-news business. “I hope it’s been positive as a Black person. I hope my presence and activism, especially in hiring, has made a difference.” He values the importance of having diversity in the newsroom. “Consider the George Floyd story. It’s important the newsroom is diverse, it helps in deciding how to tell the story plus how to consider the impact to the broader audience. Another example is having women in the newsroom, it makes a difference.”
“If you’re covering
a sports story, it’s not hard to do a competent job even if you don’t know much
about sports. But how much richer and more deeply textured is the story when
it’s reported by someone who follows and is knowledgeable about that sport,”
said Thomas, who also served as president of the Associated Press Radio and
Television Association (APTRA). “Sometimes people don’t know what they don’t
know, a diverse newsroom helps answer these questions.”
When asked about the future of radio news, Thomas first said “I really don’t know,” but proceeded to impart some thoughtful insights. “I don’t know anyone in their 20s who listen to the radio. The AM audience is indeed older, yet you’ve got to go beyond thinking FM is the future.” He is confident of the future of information programming. “People will always need news and traffic, (but) you need to try and build other platforms, we have a ways to go. It’s now about ‘audio,’ the vehicle is no longer significant. YouTube, phones, iPads are much more fluid, radio (also) has to go there. And people are always wanting to talk about the news.”
Thomas is
now planning to “travel with my girlfriend and become more active at my
Buddhist Center.” He plans to continue teaching at Fullerton College, where he
is an adjunct professor teaching broadcast announcing.
“I’ve worked with the best people in the business. New York, Los Angeles, national syndication, I’ve been able to do everything,” said Thomas. He laughed when he recalled early in his L.A. career, “we reported when Zsa Zsa (Gabor) slapped that cop, that story gained national attention…Mandela’s visit to L.A., covering Presidential visits, Rodney King, the Melendez brothers, the O.J. trial, the 1992 riots – I got to cover all of this! It’s been a great career.”
When they coined the phrase, "class act" they had Mark in mind. He is not only one of the finest professionals I've ever worked with, he is one of the finest people I have ever met. I love him, truly.
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