
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 11, 1995                   TAG: 9501110084
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: GREG SCHNEIDER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium

WILDER READY FOR `WILD THINGS'

From a hilltop broadcasting booth looking down on the state Capitol, with a theme song that declares ``you make everything groovy,'' former Gov. Douglas Wilder will begin his new career as a radio host today.

``The Doug Wilder Show'' will air Monday through Friday from 9-11 a.m. on WRVA (1140 AM). The 50,000-watt station broadcasts from Richmond but reaches a large portion of the state.

Wilder insisted Monday that he is not trying to compete with another famous Virginian going into the talk-radio business: failed U.S. Senate candidate Oliver North.

``I tried briefly to compete with him during the last election, and he beat me by a whole lot of bucks and a lot of votes,'' Wilder said, referring to his own short-lived independent bid for the Senate.

``Nor would I consider myself in competition with a person as luminous as a Rush Limbaugh,'' Wilder added, noting that most of the big names in talk-radio today are vehemently conservative.

Wilder, who governed as a Democrat, said his show will provide a ``voice of moderation that isn't extreme ... and doesn't belong to any ideology or any group.''

Wilder's show also won't reach anything near the audience that Limbaugh's reaches, though the Virginian hopes to achieve national syndication by the end of the year. He plans to book guests from the long list of celebrities and political leaders that he considers friends. Just last week, Wilder said, he ran into former New York Mayor David Dinkins and entertainers Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis, and all agreed to make appearances.

The always quoteable former governor, who has been interviewed by Larry King and Tom Snyder and has filled in for Richmond talk-radio hosts, said he will shoot for a mix of politics, current events and humor. His theme music: ``Wild Thing,'' a '60's frat-party favorite by the Troggs.

A few other details remain to be settled, such as what Wilder will call his following of fans, as soon as one develops. Rush Limbaugh has ``Dittoheads;'' Wilder tried ``Doug's Thugs,'' then thought better of it.

``How about Wild Things?'' someone suggested.

``Hey, how about that? Wild Things,'' the former governor said with a grin. ``Wild Things. That sounds pretty good, doesn't it?''

by CNB