Kaye-Smith Fires Burl Barer, Roger Dale Explores History of Country Music Legend

JAN 8. 76/Victor Stredicke – Bur1 Barer is, by his own proclamation, the world’s greatest rock ‘n’ roll disk jockey, and I’m not about to refute the assertion. But his tense is wrong. It’s “was”‘. KJR fired Barer Tuesday, because of his second job. Shannon Sweatte, KJR station manager, was terse, explaining the termination: “He has his own company.” Barer and Terry McManus, ex-KOL disk jockey, have been operating as a production team parttime for a number of years. Everyone at KJR knew Barer had the business, and up until Tuesday, shared with him the elation as his small company won work for national accounts. Obviously, somebody over at Kaye-Smith’s corporate headquarters in Bellevue read in the Sunday Times a week ago about the success Barer, McManus & Partners was having. Sid Copeland, said in his Ad Alley column, that the firm’s new studios were the very model of efficiency. Robert LaBounte, new head of radio operations for Kaye-Smith, said the termination was “‘strictly within the province of KJR’s station manager. Barer said he and KJR staffers were still the best of friends, and that he still would be producing commercials for Kaye-Smith firm, Concerts West.