Published on February 18, 2000
The Knoxville News Sentinel
By Walker Johnson
Most shootouts happen at high noon, but last Friday one took place 30 minutes early. At 11:30 a.m., folks from the Journal Broadcast Group arrived en masse at the WIVK glasshouse in the Knoxville Center mall with their eyes narrowed and money flashing. Carollynn Hammersmith, Journal promotional director said the Journal people were there to free the captors of the house and return them to safety.
“We watched the promotion and saw the conditions inside the house, and we knew that both of the contestants were unhappy. We just felt there had to be two winners. The promotion was great, but the people in the house were doing all the work. The contest outgrew WIVK and just became about these people,” she said.
So when did Journal Broadcasting decide to offer $10,000 to the first one out of the house? Hammersmith said it was sort of spontaneous. She said that her stations (WMYU and WQIX) had talked about doing it, and Friday morning “it just all happened.” “This was not an attempt to sabotage WIVK’s promotion or some sort of guerrilla tactic, but it was all about the people inside,” she said. When asked if she called WIVK to tell them of the Journal’s plan to help the contestants she said, “Why should we?” Was it for the publicity or was it just about getting the two remaining contestants back with their families? Hammersmith insists it was only for the welfare of the contestants and had nothing to do with a coattail ride.
Steve Queisser, WIVK promotion director, said, “We are very flattered that competitors want to be in our contests. This just continues to reinforce the fact that we are capturing both the listeners and the attention of other stations.” Starting Monday, WIVK does it all over again. This time the prize is $30,000, and the bathroom breaks are limited to only one every seven hours. The house will start with seven contestants. When asked if the Journal would again come over with cash to lure out a contestant or two, Hammersmith said, “I have no idea if we would do it again. “We really try not to pay attention to what the other stations are doing because it takes our eye off the ball. They did have a great idea, but people suffered, and I am amazed they are going to do it again.”
Questions for Walker Johnson, a local broadcast personality, should be e-mailed to wonair1@aol.com or addressed to Walker Johnson, Weekend!, The News-Sentinel, P.O. Box 59038, Knoxville, TN 37950-9038.
