But all was not in vain. An aftermath came about eighteen months later, and many in Cincinnati, seemed somewhat displeased. It may not have been a “dramatic aftermath,” but it was surely, at least, “comedic.”
As I look back now, I suspect that the Taft person being made fun of as station boss--“Mr. Carlson,” in WKRP--was probably Mr. Dudley Taft. That makes the most sense to me: Dudley Taft was in charge of Taft Broadcasting at that time. His photograph, which I was able to look at on the Internet, showed some resemblance to the actor who protrayed Mr. Carlson.
Less likely candidates are C.P. Taft, Robert Taft Jr., and Carl H. Lindner III. The article in Wickipedia regarding all these matters gives a somewhat different account. Some of what is stated in the Wickipedia article is probably correct, but the business aspect of WKRP is neglected. Taft Broadcasting was made to look foolish and that hurt them in terms of their business rivalty with CBS.
In Retrospect
While it’s clear to me that I played some sort of a role in the genesis of WKRP, the series didn't have any character in it that quite resembled me. ("Less Nessman" played by Mr. Richard Sanders might have been close, but I've never worked in radio.)
But I do think the bridge in the opening sequence is the same one I often had to cross to get to a soup kitchen located in Covington, Kentucky.
The shot was, I imagine, from a CBS helicopter, but the joke was probably that it was actually being shot from an ABC, WKRC news helicopter.
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