Jim Dabakis, one of local talk radio's most popular - and most controversial - communicasters, is finally doing what detractors have been suggesting he do for years.
He's moving to Eastern Europe.Dabakis, who currently anchors the 3-7 p.m. shift at KTKK (AM 630), will be leaving the station at the end of the year to accept a position with an art broker in Hungary. He'll be traveling throughout Eastern Europe visiting art galleries and looking for talented young artists that his American contacts can sponsor.
"It's like a fantasy," Dabakis said recently. "When I travel I love to prowl around art galleries and look for things that interest me. Now I get to do that full-time - and get paid for it. What a deal!"
It's such a deal that the always-cynical Dabakis seems almost a little skeptical of it himself. "I'm going to give it a shot," he said. "If it really is too good to be true, I'll probably come crawling back to KTKK pleading for my job back."
And KTKK will probably take him. Dabakis has been the station's highest-rated host for years, and Station Manager Starley Bush has made it clear that he'll always have a place for Dabakis at his station. - J.W.