WHEN GREGORY DAVIS TOOK OVER AS general manager of WRR-FM 101.1 two years ago, he was a controversial choice. The first African-American to head up WRR-the only city-owned commercial station in the country-he had no experience in radio, though he had worked his way up to technical news director at a Lubbock television station. He also didn’t fit the mold of the typical City of Dallas employee.
“I could have come on board with my mouth shut, but I’m not that kind of person,” says the 38-year-old Davis, who arrived with twin goals for the all-classical station: demystify classical music and turn a profit. He’s certainly done the latter-the station made $636,000 in the last fiscal year and $521,000 the year before-and in so doing, he may have put his own job in jeopardy.
From the moment he arrived at the station, Davis was at a disadvantage. WRR hadn’t updated its equipment since the 70s and had no marketing budget. “I got us into the top 20 two years in a row using sheer imagination,” says Davis, whose tactics-motorcycle giveaways and promotional gimmicks- seemed more appropriate to rock stations than the blue-haired WRR. But it worked.
Now, as the City of Dallas entertains an unsolicited $25-million offer for the station, Davis could be a victim of his own success. The city council’s policy up to this point has been that WRR is not for sale, says Dallas assistant city manager Mary Suhm. “However, when I have an offer of this magnitude, I have an obligation to bring it to the table. As far as I know it’s the largest we’ve ever had.”
“People of all viewpoints were surprised that a ready buyer was out there who would pay that much,” says Bill Swart, president of Friends of WRR. “But Greg has had a real strong sense of how a city-owned radio station can be more to a community than just a source of music.”
Meanwhile, Davis, whose bosses wouldn’t let him be photographed for this story, calls his current post “the most political job I’ve ever had. They are making it sound like the station is in the doldrums. I’ve had to step back and really remain focused and not listen to the talk. It’s as if I don’t exist.”
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