Tempted By Radio

I spent my teenage years knowing I would go into radio. Television was never even a thought. After college – more precisely during college and then instead of college – I went into radio and had a moderately nice 11 year run before giving in to shaving and hair combing and entering television.

I even keep an old radio aircheck on this site. If you listen, please understand it’s around 25 years old. I have changed… as have society’s sensibilities.

Radio still courses through my veins. Any time I am given the opportunity to fill in or appear on the radio, I do.

Last week I got an email from a friend, still in radio. His station, far from Connecticut, had an opening on their all night show. They were looking for someone to do the show by cutting audio tracks. The entire five hour show would take under an hour a day. It could be done from anywhere, but it would need to be done ‘day of air’ so there could be a brief weathercast twice an hour. And, it would be done 6 days a week.

He asked for a recommendations, but knew I’d ask to do it – which I did.

We traded emails back and forth, talking about studios to use and other minutiae. Then he told me what he was prepared to pay. Apologetically, he said $5,000 a year. That’s less that $100 a week for a six day a week commitment! My first job in radio paid $130 a week, and that was 35 years ago when I actually could live nicely on that sum.

I don’t blame him, because this was the edict of a large corporation, which knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing. The scary thing is, they’ll find someone willing to do it.

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