ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, April 5, 1997 TAG: 9704070070
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CODY LOWE THE ROANOKE TIMES
Although Oliver North's show is secular, officials at the Christian station hope he will boost ratings.
Finding one's way to the studios of radio station WWWR (910 AM) in Southeast Roanoke can be a little tricky, hidden as it is behind a steep hill accessible only through a maze of tree-lined residential streets.
But retired Lt. Col. Oliver North didn't seem to have any trouble finding the spot - or memorizing the landmarks a good Marine would need for a return trip.
"Did you notice we had to make a left up Clinton Road to get here?" he asked the reporters gathered round him for a news conference at the latest station to broadcast his radio talk show.
The observation brought chuckles from his interviewers and a band of supporters - of North and of the gospel-music radio station that is bringing him to the Roanoke Valley - who gathered outside to celebrate the arrival of his "Common Sense Radio" show.
North has rarely been out of the public eye since he gained national attention as the charismatic defender of the Reagan administration's Central American policies in a series of televised congressional hearings on the Iran-Contra scandal in 1987.
He was later convicted of lying to Congress about his involvement in Iran-Contra. That conviction was overturned on appeal.
He retired from the Marine Corps and started a body-armor business in Northern Virginia. In 1994, he waged an unsuccessful U.S. Senate campaign against Charles Robb. The next year he started the radio talk show.
The program - airing from 3 until 5 p.m. weekdays - is a combination of conservative political opinion, news and live interaction with callers.
It also might include a studio guest - in Friday's case, U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Roanoke). North quizzed his friend Goodlatte - who serves on the House Agriculture Committee - on the discovery of tainted strawberries in some of the nation's government-supplied school lunches.
Goodlatte pledged that Congress would "find out [how] it happened. ... We'll be asking a lot of questions."
Later, the show was opened up to listeners, who jumped from subject to subject.
Asked about listener response to the show so far, North flashed his trademark gap-toothed smile and pleaded for more time before making that judgment.
Station manager Leon Spradlin said he had been a little worried that some listeners expecting their usual afternoon mix of Southern Gospel music might not have been happy about the change, but that as of Friday, "we received no negative response."
"I must not be doing my job then," North chimed in with another laugh.
In fact, Spradlin is hoping the North show will help the station - which barely shows up in the Roanoke radio ratings - stake out a sizable niche of listeners who either agree or disagree with the host.
"Hardly any AM radio station, Christian or secular, can make it these days exclusively with music," Spradlin said.
North's show is broadcast in 38 states on stations with a mix of formats. At least a few others air some kind of Christian programming.
Though his is a secular program, North said he doesn't hesitate to talk about his Christian faith. "I'm not ashamed to tell how I feel about it."
LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: JANEL RHODA THE ROANOKE TIMES. Former U.S. Senateby CNBcandidate Ollie North broadcasts his show live from WWWR radio
station in Southeast Roanoke. color.