By Hannah Osborne
The Georgia Association of Broadcasters is excited to welcome Pete Konenkamp to its Hall of Fame.
In the summer prior to attending Georgia College (now Georgia College and State University) in Milledgeville, Konenkamp and a friend took a summer course at a technical school in Macon. The gentleman teaching the class had worked in television news for 30+ years and at the end of the summer term, Konenkamp felt inspired to pursue a career in broadcast news.
While the class was the push Konenkamp needed to pursue the career, the idea had first been planted in his mind at 5 years old.
“My dad was fascinated with Bill Cullen, the original host of the ‘Price Is Right,’ who hosted a daily morning show on WRCA New York,” Konenkamp says.
Around 1957 and 1958, The Bill Cullen Show would place fake $1,000 bills around New York. When a bill was found and presented to the station, the winner would be presented with a real $1,000.
“I thought that it was fascinating. I’ve told people ever since, THAT’S why I was inspired to get into radio,” Konenkamp said.
Konenkamp’s broadcasting career began in 1975 at a 10-watt student-run radio station in Milledgeville at Georgia College. The following year, Konenkamp took the leap of leaving Georgia College to seek out his first “real-world” broadcasting gig.
He applied for a sales position at WMBL in Macon, despite the position not being his longtime goal, he saw the position as an opportunity to get his foot in the door. When he arrived, he was informed that the sales positions had already been filled, however, the news department had some openings.
“I lit up,” Konenkamp says.
He had brought a reel-to-reel tape from the time he had spent at the college station, but soon discovered that it had been over-recorded. The news director at the time, Jess Branson, allowed Konenkamp to do an off-air live reading. Konenkamp was hired on the spot.
“That was my first commercial job in radio, doing evening news on WBML-AM in Macon,” says Konenkamp.
WBML was then sold to a gentleman out of Indiana, who changed the station format. Konenkamp was part of the staff that was allowed to stay on, but was working 6 days a week.
When WNEX, the most popular radio station in Macon at the time, had an opening, Konenkamp applied.
“I was hired and worked there for 6 years under the ownership of Al Lowe, Jr., with Dennis Haynes as my news director,” Konenkamp says. “My timing was perfect.”
An element of Konenkamp’s perfect timing was The Allman Brothers Band and Capricorn Records, who were both local to Macon.
“Then some fellow by the name of Jimmy Carter decided to run for president,” says Konenkamp.
ABC News needed a screener, Konenkamp, who had lived in Macon since 1961 and knew the lay of the land, was the perfect fit.
“Anytime they were at Warner Robins Air Force base, I was there, anytime they were campaigning in Macon, I was there,” Konenkamp says. “And when he was elected, I stayed on for $25 a soundbite, they would buy whatever I was recording. Anytime Air Force One came into Robin’s Air Force Base, I had to be there. And I was also covering it for my station, WNEX as well.”
Konenkamp’s coverage of late President Jimmy Carter continued through the entire 4-years of his term, up until the release of the Iranian hostages. His political coverage extended when he had a sit-down interview with President-elect Ronald Reagan.
“I took the job for the responsibility of reporting and being factual. That was the most important thing I could do,” Konenkamp says.
Due to this principle, Konenkamp never got a picture with President Carter throughout his time covering his presidency. However, there were some instances when he let his guard down.
“Myself and a colleague sat down bedside with former President Ronald Reagan,” Konenkamp says. “And instead of answering our questions, he just wanted to talk about the radio.”
At this time, Konenkamp allowed himself to do something he normally wouldn’t do, which was asking for President Reagan’s autograph.
While his time at WNEX was coming to a close, his time in Macon was not. Konenkamp’s next stop was at WMAZ in 1982 when Paul Baliveau (GAB Hall of Fame ‘14) began looking to expand the station’s radio news department.
“At the time, WMAZ was using their television reporters to do a lot of their radio newscasts and they wanted to separate that out and let radio have its own news,” Konenkamp says.
Baliveau hired Konenkamp and several others to assemble a strong WMAZ AM/FM news department covering the surrounding counties.
Just a year and a half into his gig with WMAZ, Konenkamp received a call from Richard Warner asking him to join the team at WGST Georgia Radio News Service (now Georgia News Network).
“Fred Newton, WMAZ’s general manager at the time, got on the phone with Richard and said, ‘Promise me you’re gonna treat this guy right,’” Konenkamp says. “He actually said that, and Richard said, ‘Yes, really, he’ll be a tremendous addition to the staff.’”
In 1983, Konenkamp was hired by Warner to run the board for Braves Radio Network, distributing Braves games across the region, and anchoring newscasts in the afternoon.
Three years later, the station’s news director, Kirk Dorn, decided to move back to Philadelphia, and Konenkamp was named as his successor. He served as news director for the station until 1994. Then, Konenkamp took the leap from broadcasting to higher education that August, joining the University of Georgia as a broadcast coordinator.
“I took the job and never looked back,” says Konenkamp, who retired from the university in 2015.
Konenkamp says the transition to broadcast coordinator for UGA expanded his horizons, allowing him to work on media projects internally for the university, as well as producing external content for the media.
When the 1996 Olympics were brought to Georgia, Konenkamp had the opportunity to work with media from all over the world.
“The job was not about getting my face on television,” Konenkamp says. “It was about communicating the university’s message, vision, and goals, to everyone who was talking about it.”
In addition to his duties to create for the university, Konenkamp also had many opportunities to connect with and work with students.
When CNN was still in downtown Atlanta, the late John Holliman hosted a daily show in the atrium where the public could see. At the suggestion of a law professor, Konenkamp brought students down to Atlanta to be paid and appear on the program.
Konenkamp did not host a lecture himself, but often spoke to classes about media and journalism.
“Everyday was different, everyday was exciting, it really was – in both situations, higher education and broadcasting, there was never a dull moment,” Konenkamp says.
In his retirement years, Konenkamp has stayed involved with the industry through organizations like the Friends of Georgia Radio (FoGR) and the Georgia Association of Broadcasters.
At a FoGR banquet a few years ago, he met a young man named Jonathan O’Brien.
“I told him, ‘I really believe your interest in this and that you’re going to go places,’” Konenkamp says.
In 2022, O’Brien got a job with major market radio station, WSB Radio, and has been there ever since.
“I’m not saying that I was the reason he was successful, he was successful on his own without anything I ever did, but the opportunity to talk to him, guide him, meant a lot to him.”
On March 28, 2025, Konenkamp’s legacy will be immortalized at the GAB Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
“That day that Randy called, I was blown away, I said Randy, you made my day, my week, my month and my year,” Konenkamp says.
Konenkamp looks forward to the ceremony, especially because he will be inducted alongside the last General Manager he worked for at Georgia News Network, Bob Houghton.
“I’m looking forward to being there with the other recipients, especially with Bob on that stage,” Konenkamp says. “The greatest day of my life was the day I married my wife and this will be the second greatest day of my life.”
The GAB Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held at The Omni Atlanta at Centennial Park on Friday, March 28, 2025.
