Originally posted Saturday, December 21, 2019 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Kim "The Kimmer" Peterson is taking an option many other unemployed Atlanta radio jocks are pursuing as well: starting his own podcast.
But given his deeply loyal fan base from his time on both WGST-AM and 106.7/WYAY-FM, he is seeking subscribers at $5.99 a month to financially support the operation.
Peterson needs, he said, at least 4,000 to 5,000 subscribers to make it financially viable and pay himself as well as his sidekick Pete Davis, voice guy and comedy relief Jim Gossett and producer Brent "Flounder" Dundon.
He debuted on Friday, December 13 and the Kimmer Show podcast is available on Spotify.
After just a week on air and four episodes, they have 744 "patrons" to pay a monthly fee on the Patreon website where folks can sign up. (The default amount is $5 a month though he is seeking $5.99.)
Davis said he hopes they can build the subscriber base more aggressively after the holidays as word of his podcast gets out into the world. He is also Peterson’s business manager given that Peterson is “analog in a digital world,” as Flounder said.
The frequently jovial, sometimes cantankerous Peterson still cuts out news articles from the print edition of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution for reference.
Davis, an author and podcaster himself, had to show Peterson how to even access his own podcast.
For now, Peterson is planning to do three shows a week, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Each show will last about 90 minutes each. The Newsmaker line, featuring Gossett doing different celebrities, will pop in about three times, comparable to what Gossett did on the radio in terms of frequency.
The Kimmer held off at first taking the podcast route because after Talk 106.7 was sold off by Cumulus to the owners of Christian music station in May, he pursued other talk show opportunities on the radio locally including his former employer WGST. But he had no luck despite his strong ratings and raft of business endorsements at 106.7.
He readily admitted that he is doing this in part to pay the bills. And he is in no position to leave Atlanta.
"My problem is I can't start my career over in Phoenix" at his age, Peterson said. "This is where I made my mark. I started radio here in 1972... If I were 40, I'd have tapes all over the country and have an agent get me a job."
The Kimmer said he thought he was okay financially when WGST let him go in 2006 but the 2008 financial crash crushed him.
He’s had to sell a home in Florida and may have to take a massive financial loss on his place in Massachusetts.
From a financial perspective, it helps that Ted Jenkin of OXYGen Financial in Alpharetta is giving Peterson space to host the podcast without charging a penny. "He's a prince," said Davis, who was wearing that infamous cocaine Santa sweater.
I visited on Friday and took part in the podcast by interviewing Peterson on air. I also listened to Gossett ride me by phone, as he is wont to do. He even wrote a Christmas ditty for me, "Let Ho Go." It was sweet. (You can listen here or here.)
Peterson, after two marriages, said he’s been single since 2007 and isn’t sure he’s worth pursuing at this point in his life. “I’m a romantic but I also get my feelings hurt easily,” he added. “I’m an Aries.”
Credit: Kimmer's sidekick Pete Davis. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com
Credit: Kimmer's sidekick Pete Davis. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com
Credit: KIm "The KImmer" Peterson, me and Pete Davis on December 20, 2019. CR: Flounder
Credit: KIm "The KImmer" Peterson, me and Pete Davis on December 20, 2019. CR: Flounder
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