Have You Ever Thought About Being on The Radio?

I've wanted to be on the radio since I was a little kid. My dream job would have been to broadcast Major League Baseball.

I grew up with some of the greats of the day — Harry Carry of the Cardinals and Cubs, Mel Allen on TV, Vin Scully of the Dodgers, and many more.

Talk Radio is an exciting medium. You sit in a room and talk to the walls. If you think it's easy, try it in your car while driving to work.

See if you can talk about something out loud (out loud is the key) for 15 -20 minutes.

The Downside of Radio

One glaring fact about being a host on the radio is that one day you'll be sent packing.

I was the number one program 6-10 am Mon-Fri in the coveted 25-54 age group of all 16 stations in my market.

Yet, management thought it would be a good idea to simulcast a host in another town and not have to pay him or me. His local station would pay him.

Because I believe our city deserves local talk radio, I'm doing three hours on Saturday for free while I explore other opportunities with other carriers.

Being retired allows me to do that.

If you're interested in what I do, you can listen anywhere in the world 8-11 am Mountain Time on Saturdays at kmmsam.com – No signup, nothing to join, and no personal information needed — just click "Listen Now." You can call or text the show.

You can test the link right now — I'll wait. Replays of my shows are here.

While contemplating that challenge, here are some fun facts about radio.

Fun Facts About Radio

• Guglielmo Marconi was credited with the first radio transmission in 1896, but he didn't transmit voice, just a signal. Radio voice came along in the early 1900s. The actual credit for the radio should go to Nikola Tesla, who came up with the design in 1892. Due to Marconi's patents, Tesla did not get proper credit until around 1943.

• You have a captive audience with radio. Radio is everywhere in the car, with your morning coffee, surfing the net, and background music while shopping.

• It's the only broadcast medium that gives your local news, weather, sports, talk, and music while you are doing something else. And most people are doing something else when listening.

• Radio has always been a "call to action" medium. At any given time, 20 percent of people surfing the net also listen to the radio and are one click away from clicking on your brand or looking up your business online.

• Radio Is Emotional and Personal. It can change our mood, elevate our blood pressure, soothe our hurts, and inspire our dreams. Radio is like an old friend who's there to tell you everything will be OK; when broadcasters talk about "Our friends at XYZ company — " that creates a personal connection with that company for the listener.

• Radio can create word pictures that would be highly costly in any other medium. Stan Freberg, a broadcaster and comedian, used radio to show the value of word pictures. Imagine draining Lake Michigan, filling it with hot chocolate, flying a plane overhead, and dropping in a giant marshmallow. Now that's a word picture.

Some Final Thoughts on Radio

When I started in radio, I made the mistake so many do of thinking radio is just a medium of communication to reach people. While that's true, it's much more.

When I push that red button and start talking, a whole bunch of people behind the scenes make that possible.

And, their very jobs depend on me, and others like me, to deliver ears to our station.

Radio is a business that supports a lot of people, but it only has one voice. Those of us who punch that button and go on the air to entertain and inform you.

We're accountable to the listeners, sponsors, sales staff, engineers, call screeners, station managers, district managers, and corporate owners.

If we fail to deliver, everyone goes home.

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