Where Do I Draw My Inspiration From As PD/Air Talent?

[SomeRadioGuy]

I get inspiration from ALOT of different places!

Often times it's another broadcast.. their actions, ideas, thoughts or success.

Sometimes I see their ideas/thoughts/actions and I'm like "That's a neat idea, I should try it here"

Sometimes their success lights the fire and just gives me a little extra drive, firing the few neurons I have to come up with their own thought/idea.

And sometimes, even my DX'ing hobby inspires me. Often times, when DX has been good, it gets the adrenaline/dopamine going and that gets me in a good mood and that good mood fires off all kinds of positive thoughts

I've never had DX better than I do now.

That DX success, including making international news for the hobby and having a pretty decent amount of programming and community success at KSKO all play into each other.

 

[Radio Bob]

I have recently gone back and listened to old air checks of stations with similar formats and picked up interesting tidbits of what was done in the past. Interestingly enough I often find air checks of past popular personalities doing things which would not be acceptable today. I mean in the way things were presented years ago. It also helps to appreciate how the medium was more personal back then.

 

[Kelly A]

I have recently gone back and listened to old air checks of stations with similar formats and picked up interesting tidbits of what was done in the past. Interestingly enough I often find air checks of past popular personalities doing things which would not be acceptable today. I mean in the way things were presented years ago. It also helps to appreciate how the medium was more personal back then.

That's an interesting point actually. It would be a good reminder that the way things were done back in the 'good ol days' of radio, wouldn't fly today. That includes the amount of talent chatter, to what would be considered inappropriate treatment of women, the disabled, and minorities.

 

[michael hagerty]

That's an interesting point actually. It would be a good reminder that the way things were done back in the 'good ol days' of radio, wouldn't fly today. That includes the amount of talent chatter, to what would be considered inappropriate treatment of women, the disabled, and minorities.

Yeah, during the pandemic I decided to organize my aircheck collection and finish up the wish list. Lately, I've been working my way through it chronologically, just to get a sense of how things evolved.

The really early stuff (1930-65) can all just be written off as very quaint. The things that my brain (from teenage memories) told me was really well done (Boss Radio onward) often wasn't. And the number of times I yell "Holy Crap!" when someone says something totally offhand that would cause epic problems today is really astounding.

 

[Kelly A]

I get inspiration from ALOT of different places!

Dude, that's all warm and fuzzy, but come on reality check time. Face the fact that where you are now, you can count the number of listeners at any given time of the week on your one hand. Until you're able to get out of Hooterville AK, and start proving your programming chops in progressively larger towns to markets, DXing other stations and dreaming about working in radio is your present and will be what your future. You're a fairly young guy still, but not getting any younger. When was the last time you applied for a real paying gig in the Lower 48? Voice tracking weekends for some station in Laramie WY doesn't count. I've heard stations in Laramie.
I'm exercising some tough love here. If you're serious about radio or media as a career, you need to do more than pat yourself on the back with motivational messages on some radio discussion board.

Okay-okay all you ex-teachers and amateur pop psychologists, go ahead and ask me why I'm so mean. Not trying to make this a personal attack, but if Paul wants to actually get somewhere in this business, sitting there listening to radio from other parts of the world isn't exactly a career path.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

Dude, that's all warm and fuzzy, but come on reality check time. Face the fact that where you are now, you can count the number of listeners at any given time of the week on your one hand. Until you're able to get out of Hooterville AK, and start proving your programming chops in progressively larger towns to markets, DXing other stations and dreaming about working in radio is your present and will be what your future. You're a fairly young guy still, but not getting any younger. When was the last time you applied for a real paying gig in the Lower 48? Voice tracking weekends for some station in Laramie WY doesn't count. I've heard stations in Laramie.
I'm exercising some tough love here. If you're serious about radio or media as a career, you need to do more than pat yourself on the back with motivational messages on some radio discussion board.

Okay-okay all you ex-teachers and amateur pop psychologists, go ahead and ask me why I'm so mean. Not trying to make this a personal attack, but if Paul wants to actually get somewhere in this business, sitting there listening to radio from other parts of the world isn't exactly a career path.

Maybe places like this is where i want to be, for multiple reasons?

 

[DavidEduardo]

Okay-okay all you ex-teachers and amateur pop psychologists, go ahead and ask me why I'm so mean. Not trying to make this a personal attack, but if Paul wants to actually get somewhere in this business, sitting there listening to radio from other parts of the world isn't exactly a career path.

Yep, that sounds harsh. But reality usually is.

When I started building my first station, I had all my AM DXing gear... a Hammurlund HQ-180, and amplified loop, tape deck and all kinds of books and magazines and spent time listening for distant stations.

I got my station on the air. Work piled up, and I found myself doing things I never anticipated to run my own station.

A few months later, I was only billing about $50 a month and running out of money. I had not had time or been in the mental state to DX for months. I needed every moment of time to try to find solutions that would allow me to keep my radio station. Listening to other people's stations hundreds or thousands of miles away was not a useful employment of my time.

I worked harder to make the station work. DXing and hobbies did not have a place in my life; survival did.

 

[Kelly A]

Maybe places like this is where i want to be, for multiple reasons?

Hey, I get quality of life choices, or maybe involves a relationship with someone who wouldn't want to follow you on a career quest. It's just that as you get older, time seems to speed up. If you spend much more time talking about the business but not doing anything towards an actual career, it won't be long before the opportunity to do real work in the media industry will have passed you by.

 

[michael hagerty]

Maybe places like this is where i want to be, for multiple reasons?

I went to Reno planning to spend exactly one year, no more.

I spent seven. It's not the greatest place on earth, but it's near a bunch of them (Yosemite, Tahoe, San Francisco) and I could make decent money for a young guy, first in radio, then in TV. When my contract came up in Las Vegas, one of my options was to go back to Reno for even more money. I chose Phoenix instead. But I gave Reno some serious thought.

35 years ago, I turned down New York to re-up in Phoenix (I had a family, and cost of living put me, my wife and the kids much further ahead on what they were paying me in Phoenix versus what life in New York would do to a bigger dollar figure).

And five years ago, I turned down L.A. to stay in Sacramento (older, no kids, a wonderful quality of life here that I couldn't duplicate on an L.A. paycheck).

If you go someplace just for the gig but you don't like the place---where are you if you suddenly don't have the gig (which, let's face it, is a reality everyone in the business faces)?

Be where you're happy.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

Be where you're happy.

I am immensely happy here about 80 to 90 percent of the time for a multitude of reasons, some of which you all would get (the job, the hobby), some you wouldn't (the incredible sense of community and kindness here) and some i don't care to discuss.

in respect to the job and the hobby, ive never had more success, happyness and fulfillment personally and professionally than i have here. as for the community, think of it like one big Cheers bar.. everyones friendly, knows your name and are glad you came.

As for that 80 to 90 percent of the time? that 10 to 20 percent im not always immensley happy......technology goes sideways, problems with the mail, problems with phones.. some to most of that could happen anywhere.. its just amplified here because we RELY on that

 

[Kelly A]

I went to Reno planning to spend exactly one year, no more.

I spent seven. It's not the greatest place on earth, but it's near a bunch of them (Yosemite, Tahoe, San Francisco) and I could make decent money for a young guy, first in radio, then in TV. When my contract came up in Las Vegas, one of my options was to go back to Reno for even more money. I chose Phoenix instead. But I gave Reno some serious thought.

Reno is one of those strange cities where time seems to pass that city by like it's frozen in the 80's. Not frozen like Alaska, but you get what I mean.
My friends and I have traveled to Reno every year since 1992 (except for a major crash one year and COVID another) for the National Championship Air Races. This coming September in fact, is the final year of the Reno Air Races.
When my boss was contemplating buying KOLO-TV in Reno, I implored him to please don't. Fortunately, he took my advice and backed out of any potential deal.
I could totally see where someone could get stuck in Reno. It's like an abusive, dysfunctional relationship that one can't break away from.

 

[DavidEduardo]

Reno is one of those strange cities where time seems to pass that city by like it's frozen in the 80's. Not frozen like Alaska, but you get what I mean.

I could totally see where someone could get stuck in Reno. It's like an abusive, dysfunctional relationship that one can't break away from.

We were considering Reno for a move out of CA. It has the climate, the less onerous taxation, nicer home prices and is big enough for needed services. But even before driving up for a visit, we felt there was something about it that we would find unlikable. So we are still looking for an alternative. Provo, Colorado Springs, Tucson are on the list, but not Reno.

 

[michael hagerty]

I could totally see where someone could get stuck in Reno. It's like an abusive, dysfunctional relationship that one can't break away from.

I was there from 1977-84, and while it wasn't wonderful then, it was a lot better with only 200,000 people in the metro than it is now with 490,000. The Zoning Department was actually showing up for work back then, too. Now it looks like someone just throws buildings at neighborhoods. If they land in the middle of a street, so what?

What worked for me, as I mentioned, was proximity to Yosemite, Tahoe and San Francisco, and my mom lived 200 miles down the same main drag (Virginia Street in Reno, Main Street in Bishop---U.S. 395 in between).

And careerwise, Reno was very, very good to me. Within a year, I was making very nice side money doing ad agency voiceovers that ran in Reno, Sacramento and the Bay Area and within four years, I had made the move to television and was anchoring newscasts, which was the first step in a 42-year-and-counting path.

 

[Kelly A]

We were considering Reno for a move out of CA. It has the climate, the less onerous taxation, nicer home prices and is big enough for needed services. But even before driving up for a visit, we felt there was something about it that we would find unlikable. So we are still looking for an alternative. Provo, Colorado Springs, Tucson are on the list, but not Reno.

What has grown that may eventually help Reno get out of the 80's due to an equally growing tax base, is the growth of major industrial parks North near Reno Stead Airpark. Last year on the way to the races, I noted the new EV battery manufacturing plant being built. Amazon has a major distribution warehouse near there too.

 

[Mark Roberts]

I was there from 1977-84, and while it wasn't wonderful then, it was a lot better with only 200,000 people in the metro than it is now with 490,000. The Zoning Department was actually showing up for work back then, too. Now it looks like someone just throws buildings at neighborhoods. If they land in the middle of a street, so what?

What worked for me, as I mentioned, was proximity to Yosemite, Tahoe and San Francisco, and my mom lived 200 miles down the same main drag (Virginia Street in Reno, Main Street in Bishop---U.S. 395 in between).

And careerwise, Reno was very, very good to me. Within a year, I was making very nice side money doing ad agency voiceovers that ran in Reno, Sacramento and the Bay Area and within four years, I had made the move to television and was anchoring newscasts, which was the first step in a 42-year-and-counting path.

I've been to Reno twice, once for business (American Gas Association/Edison Electric Institute meetings) and once on the way to Virginia City. Virginia City is an interesting historic town and just a short drive from Reno. Reno....hmmm. For the AGA/EEI meetings, I was in the Peppermill, which is a gigantic casino complex off Virginia Street. But there were things about Reno that reminded me of the things I don't like about Albuquerque which give both places a downmarket feel. It may be an unfair comparison: I know where the nicer parts of Albuquerque are because I'm quite familiar with it; I know far less about Reno. I did manage to find a French restaurant in Reno - of course I would - and was able to report that "there are nice parts to Reno". But Virginia Street generally...ugh. You could say the same for much of Central Avenue in Albuquerque, to be fair. On the other hand, in the case of Albuquerque, there's the influence of multiple cultures, including Spanish and Native, that makes things interesting; you don't really get that in Reno.

 

[Mark Roberts]

We were considering Reno for a move out of CA. It has the climate, the less onerous taxation, nicer home prices and is big enough for needed services. But even before driving up for a visit, we felt there was something about it that we would find unlikable. So we are still looking for an alternative. Provo, Colorado Springs, Tucson are on the list, but not Reno.

As someone who just went through selecting a relocation destination, I can say that there's no substitute for actually visiting the places you're considering, spending some time there, and talking to realtors. Realtors really network, too, so if you find a good one in one city, they can often steer you to other good ones in other cities. We found our Denver realtor, who was an absolute treasure, through a realtor we had been working with in Albuquerque. Denver was not high on our list until we actually spent time there and found that it ticked off more of the boxes that we were looking for compared to Albuquerque or Santa Fe.

We had thought about Tucson, but we were concerned about one thing: summer. Briefly, we considered splitting our time between Chicago and Tucson to avoid the ugly weather seasons that each city features but decided we didn't want to deal with having two residences.

 

[michael hagerty]

I've been to Reno twice, once for business (American Gas Association/Edison Electric Institute meetings) and once on the way to Virginia City. Virginia City is an interesting historic town and just a short drive from Reno. Reno....hmmm. For the AGA/EEI meetings, I was in the Peppermill, which is a gigantic casino complex off Virginia Street. But there were things about Reno that reminded me of the things I don't like about Albuquerque which give both places a downmarket feel. It may be an unfair comparison: I know where the nicer parts of Albuquerque are because I'm quite familiar with it; I know far less about Reno. I did manage to find a French restaurant in Reno - of course I would - and was able to report that "there are nice parts to Reno".

Generally, the nicer parts of Reno are west of what has become the long commercial strip of Virginia Street south of the Truckee River. Beaujolais is on the north shore of the river, tucked in a nice little spot.

But Virginia Street generally...ugh. You could say the same for much of Central Avenue in Albuquerque, to be fair. On the other hand, in the case of Albuquerque, there's the influence of multiple cultures, including Spanish and Native, that makes things interesting; you don't really get that in Reno.

Virginia Street has had the life sucked out of it. All the casino action has moved south along Virginia Street---starting with the giant Atlantis, prompting Peppermill, which started out as a coffee shop and motel, to match it, and there's a new one next door to the convention center in the planning stages.

The old-school places downtown dried up fast, and while there are a handful of remaining 70s-era hotel-casinos downtown, the bloom is off that rose.

That's combined with a city council that has always had big ideas for downtown ("Let's spend millions on a riverwalk") that never really seem to pay off. Virginia Street wasn't awesome ever---locals only went downtown if someone big was playing Harrah's (now closed)---and in the "good old days", that happened----but it's at very low tide now.

 

[Mark Roberts]

Maybe places like this is where i want to be, for multiple reasons?

I wouldn't take advice on a broadcasting career from me, since I feel like I failed at it when I left the business 37 years ago. So I won't give advice. I will sound a note of caution: don't get too comfortable, even if you have a good situation. I made that mistake and, when things changed on me due to a station sale, I was unprepared and ended up making a couple of bad decisions that were costly in terms of money and, ultimately, career. I think it would be a good idea always to have a "Plan B" if you're working in broadcasting because, quite frankly, many broadcasting operations are run not very professionally with way too many staffing decisions made based on arbitrary whims.

(Edited to fix stupid grammatical error)

 

[Mark Roberts]

Virginia Street has had the life sucked out of it. All the casino action has moved south along Virginia Street---starting with the giant Atlantis, prompting Peppermill, which started out as a coffee shop and motel, to match it, and there's a new one next door to the convention center in the planning stages.

It's also been bypassed by the US 395 freeway, adding to the general ambience of having seen better times. Same problem with Central in Albuquerque, which had been US 66.

The Peppermill is now gigantic. The decor in some of the rooms is interesting. I referred to the decor in the room that I had as "Victorian whorehouse".

That's combined with a city council that has always had big ideas for downtown ("Let's spend millions on a riverwalk") that never really seem to pay off.

That's a common problem among quite a few cities. A lot of effort goes into the downtown area, with big plans that, even if they materialize, aren't especially successful.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

I wouldn't take advice on a broadcasting career from me, since I feel like I failed at it when I left the business 37 years ago. So I won't give advice. I will sound a note of caution: don't get too comfortable, even if you have a good situation. I made that mistake and, when things changed on me due to a station sale, I was unprepared and ended up making a couple of bad decisions that were costly in terms of money and, ultimately, career. I think it would be a good idea always to have a "Plan B" if you're working in broadcasting because, quite frankly, many broadcasting operations are run not very professionally with way too many staffing decisions made based on arbitrary whims.

(Edited to fix stupid grammatical error)

im the only full timer here and not many people wanna come here, so as long as i keep "earning my keep" my job is pretty secure here