It was a bit embarrassing at first. Everyone else seemed to love the nickname “The Godfather”, but Dwight Jaynes just didn’t love the idea of being the recipient of the new nickname. Truth be told, he felt embarrassed by it. Gavin Dawson came up with the nickname and it immediately stuck. But it took a family member to convince Jaynes the new nickname was a good thing for him and his career.
“My brother called me one day,” Jaynes said. “He said ‘You know this whole ‘Godfather’ thing?’ I said ‘Yeah, I know. I’m going to tell them to knock it off’. He said ‘No! It’s really catching on! It’s a great brand for you, don’t stop. Everywhere I go people are saying, hey, how’s The Godfather?’”
Jaynes decided to let the nickname stick around. It’s a good thing he did, because it’s turned into one the most well-known nicknames for a local sports media personality in all of Portland. Jaynes is still a little embarrassed by all of it and the attention it still creates, but he knows the branding is extremely valuable to his career.
“Chad (Doing) picked it up and had a sound drop made of people singing God-father!” said Jaynes. “And so now when I go out, I’ll hear people singing that to me. I think I’m still a little embarrassed about it but branding is what everyone needs in today’s world.”
Whether Jaynes is embarrassed by the nickname or not, he’s deserving of the commending nickname. Jaynes is both an accomplished writer and radio host in the Portland market and was the first in Oregon to ever be named both Sports Writer of the Year and Sportscaster of the Year. If you’re a sports fan in the state of Oregon, you’ve almost certainly consumed an opinion article or radio show of Jaynes’. Likely both.
His journey into sports media began in newspapers during the mid-70’s. At that time, there was no sports media or online opportunities, so the newspaper industry was the premiere form of sports media and the best way to gain entrance into the games. When sports radio made its way to Portland, Jaynes was working for The Oregonian as a columnist. He was one of the first people the new station reached out to, in hopes of convincing him to do a daily show.
“Unfortunately at The Oregonian at that time, we had a publisher who was adamant that his writers could not do any other media,” said Jaynes. “I was trying to get kids through college and all that and he barred me from doing sports radio. So I wasn’t able to get in at that time.”
So in newspapers he stayed for several more years. Until “The Godfather” got an offer he couldn’t refuse.
“Eventually what happened, many years later, I got an offer to do radio I couldn’t refuse,” Jaynes said. “So I left the newspaper to do radio and it wasn’t even sports. That’s what was attractive to me, was the idea of doing talk radio, because I enjoy talking about the issues Portlanders face, not necessarily political, but quality of life issues, that we’re still dealing with right now.”
The world of radio was new to Jaynes. But he quickly adapted and found his style. After a short stint doing general talk, he soon found himself where he was supposed to be, on the sports side of the radio dial at 95.5 The Game in Portland. Sports radio was a transition for him, because it was new. Jaynes didn’t grow up immersed in sports radio, simply because it wasn’t around during that time. He had to learn the business, seemingly on the fly. Jaynes quickly learned to love the business but his first impression of it was wildly interesting.
“In the beginning I thought they put a bunch of people on the radio that didn’t know what the hell they were talking about,” laughed Jaynes. “That was an era where, if you were a good enough caller, they’d give you a show, sometimes. That was the way it worked. You wanted to listen to find out what people were talking about or to hear if they were criticizing me. It was pretty wild in the beginning.”
Today, Jaynes is the co-host of Rip City Drive on Rip City Radio 620 with his old partner Doing. This is the third installment of the duo working together and reunited once again this past July. From 3-6 p.m. every afternoon Jaynes and Doing talk Portland and Oregon sports with an entertaining twist.
Jaynes and Doing hadn’t previously worked together since 2011, but the two picked up right where they left off when the new Rip City Drive debuted last summer. How were they able to pick things up so quickly? Jaynes credits the chemistry the two have shared for many years.
“We just have a chemistry together that we’ve had from the start,” Jaynes said. “I was really lucky, I had left my original talk thing to get back into newspapers and I was in-between jobs and they used me as a guest on a show that Chad was hosting, along with Gavin Dawson. I would come on frequently and then finally, they gave me a call and said, why don’t you come on with all the time? So I showed up and I was in the studio and I was learning from Chad and Gavin. Somehow Chad and I bonded almost immediately and we just had fun together.”
“Chad knows how to set people up. Not only his guests, but me. He is always making me look smart and sacrificing himself to do it. It’s an honor to work with him.”
There’s something to be said about someone who has the ability to be successful on both the print and radio side, as well as in other avenues of the business. Jaynes has even co-authored two books in his career. His secret to success seems to be preparation. Whether that’s writing an opinionated article or hosting a daily three-hour show, Jaynes seemingly never goes into a situation without being prepared and informed.
He found out quickly that life in radio means a lot of preparation. That was a life he was prepared for.
“My first opportunity doing general talk I was on the air for three hours straight with no prior experience,” said Jaynes. “I didn’t realize what it took to fill three hours of radio. Much preparation is needed and a good producer is a big help. I did have some help from people I worked with and they got me going.”
One of the things Jaynes has grown to love about sports radio is how spontaneous it can be. He and Doing put an incredible amount of prep into each show, but sometimes the show takes a direction of its own. Those are the days that Jaynes seemingly likes best.
“You go to work everyday and just have no idea,” said Jaynes. “We did a show not too long ago, where we talked about Sasquatch half of the show, because we got a call from a guy who was tipping us off to a sighting in Alaska and he thought it was important people know about it.
“Before long, a guy called us from Portland, who just produced a documentary on Netflix about it. It was an interesting show, but you realize the callers can run the show for you, and if they’re running it right, you let it go. You follow the leader. You have to be able to pivot and go where the fun and entertainment is. I’ll come out with an opinion and someone will want to call and argue with me and I welcome that. I think it’s fun to test yourself in those situations.”
Jaynes probably never dreamed early in his career that the future would hold a radio microphone, but he’s glad it has. The enjoyment he gets out of doing a show everyday is something that fits him perfectly. And he’s really good at it. There’s similarities between the newspaper business he spent so long in and the radio business, but also some distinct differences, as well.
“The similarities are you have to pay attention and really do your homework with both,” said Jaynes. “The one thing I used to tell people about radio is I can pretty much say what I want about the radio, because it skips out into the atmosphere and it’s forgotten 15 minutes later. Whereas in newspapers it had a way of sticking around longer. That’s still true, the printed word has the tendency to last longer with the internet than it ever did before. You’re more responsible for the things you say in the written word than you are in the spoken word.”
Tyler McComas is a columnist for BSM and a sports radio talk show host in Norman, OK where he hosts afternoon drive for SportsTalk 1400. You can find him on Twitter @Tyler_McComas or you can email him at TylerMcComas08@yahoo.com.
