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By Dave Newhouse |
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Dan Tapson, who created a radio empire in San Jose in the 1970s that was unmatched nationally, died Wednesday, Feb. 17 in his Salinas home after a seven-month struggle with cancer. He was 71. Mr. Tapson built Infinity Broadcasting, with San Jose hard-rock station KOME as its flagship station, into the largest radio-only company in the United States. Infinity owned the most radio stations and generated the most revenue. Under Mr. Tapson's stewardship, Infinity and KOME quickly went from the bottom to the top of the broadcast ratings, and held steady for his 10 years there. "One of the loneliest days of my life," he once said, "was arriving at KOME to start my new job. I found holes and urine in the carpet, plaster coming off the walls, toilets plugged, and the station operating with the most outdated equipment possible. You could smell marijuana on the premises. The station was located in an old house...an absolute dump." Mr. Tapson was sales manager at Oakland's KNEW radio station, where he boosted ratings, before becoming general manager of KOME with a cut in pay, but having been awarded a small percentage of the company. Gary Rodriguez accompanied Mr. Tapson from KNEW to KOME as sales manager and watched in admiration as he overhauled the station, and its ratings, plus moving in a year's time to plusher working conditions. "KOME was a fringe station that hadn't done a good job of advertising when Dan took over," said Rodriguez. "I followed in his footsteps as a turnaround artist in the industry, but I can't remember walking into a radio station quite like KOME. I've never seen a person in our business turn a sow's ear into a silk purse like Dan did there." Rodriguez, who's now a business consultant working in conflict resolution and senior-level executive coaching, noted that Mr. Tapson achieved success by deflecting praise elsewhere. "In an industry of egomaniacs, Dan stood out without trying," said Rodriguez. "He wasn't one of those guys who propped himself up. He was smooth without being slick. He took your shirt off without asking for it. He always had time for everyone--the disc jockeys, the salesmen. He wasn't ever inaccessible, and he's one of the brightest guys I've ever known, though he didn't lead with that." Mr. Tapson also was instrumental in starting the Santa Clara County Radio Broadcasters organization. "He got us to join," recalled Bob Kieve, "by telling people that San Jose should be treated differently than San Francisco and Oakland in terms of buying radio advertising. He was the driving force." Kieve, who is president of Empire Broadcasting (1590 AM KLIV and 95.3 KRTY), was somewhat in competition with Mr. Tapson for ratings 30 years ago; KLIV was trying out an album-rock type format after years of Top-40. "Dan was easy to get along with, a great guy, but he was very aggressive," said Kieve. "I remember KOME was in a real battle with KSJO, playing pretty much the same music. One ratings report came out favorable for KOME, and Dan was asked if he was going to relax. 'Hell, no,' he said. 'We're going to kick ass.' '' Dana Jang, currently program director at 94.5 KBAY and Mix 106.5 KEZR, worked under Mr. Tapson for 10 years at KOME. "He made the station a family," said Jang. "He held station barbecues at his house in Los Gatos. One of the reasons I was at the station so long was because of the culture Dan created. He just made going to work fun." Mr. Tapson called in his percentage of Infinity Broadcasting in 1984 and retired at 45. He then traveled around the world with his wife, Gloria, and took a more active interest in golf. He is survived by Gloria, daughter Debbie (Pat) Ellisen, grandchildren Nathan and Rachel Ellisen, step-brothers Greg (Susi) Tapson of Carmel Valley and Victor Tapson of Raleigh, N.C., and step-sister Diane (Rene) DeMonchy of Gurneville. The family suggests donations in Mr. Tapson's name be made to the American Cancer Society. |
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