Clarke Ingram
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Clarke Ingram is a veteran United States radio personality and programming executive, who is probably most recognized in his home market and hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is currently Program Director of Pittsburgh-area AM stations WKHB (620) and WKFB (770), which program a mixture of talk shows and oldies. The stations are owned by Broadcast Communications, Inc.
Ingram has been Program Director of two other Pittsburgh stations, top 40 WBZZ (formerly "B-94", now WRKZ) and "Jammin' Oldies" WJJJ (now talk WPGB). He also served as Program Director of top 40 stations WPXY in Rochester, New York and KRQQ in Tucson, Arizona, Operations Manager of top 40 KZZP in Phoenix, Arizona, and as an on-air personality at top 40 WHTZ (Z-100) in New York City and other radio stations including WBZZ, WWSW-FM, and the former WXKX/WHTX, all in Pittsburgh. [1]
Before moving into programming management Ingram was well-known as a high-energy evening DJ, later moving to afternoons. In 1995, he was named one of the top 40 "Top 40 DJs of All Time" (ranked #38) by Decalcomania, a radio enthusiasts' club publishing a monthly newsletter. The list was published in the New York Daily News on September 5, 1995.
He was honored three times with radio industry awards as "Program Director of the Year," by the Gavin Seminar for Media Professionals and Bobby Poe's Pop Music Survey, both of which have since ceased operation. Ingram and his radio stations have also been nominated for numerous awards over the years by Billboard magazine and its sister publication, Airplay Monitor, later Billboard Radio Monitor (now merged with Radio and Records).
Ingram has claimed to be the highest-rated FM top 40 DJ in the history of three markets, to have beaten KDKA during his tenure as nighttime personality at WBZZ, and to have achieved the highest-rated top 40 station in the United States while at KRQQ. While such claims are difficult to verify, 1988 and 1989 volumes of the Radio and Records Ratings Report and Directory would suggest that the last claim is true: KRQQ is listed not only as the highest-rated top 40 station, but the #2-ranked radio station by audience share in all formats.
While the bulk of Ingram's career has been in top 40 radio, he has moved into oldies in recent years. Ingram has explained in interviews and Internet postings that the increasing dominance of rap and hip-hop music, as well as his increasing age, made the top 40 format less tolerable for him.
Ingram is also recognized as an expert on the defunct DuMont Television Network [2], and maintains a personal Web site devoted to the subject, although it has not been updated for some time.
