Year in review…..
As 2024 draws to a close, I would like to share my experiences from my first year as a radio personality. First and foremost, I feel incredibly fortunate to have been hired by a company filled with knowledgeable individuals who are willing to guide me selflessly down the path to becoming a good broadcaster. Without their support, I truly believe I wouldn’t be here at the one-year mark. Their patience has been remarkable.
To provide some background about myself, I have been involved with music in various ways for the past 25 years. As a public speaker, speaking into a microphone was nothing new; I have emceed many events over the years, I have operated a karaoke business and have been the front man in a few bands over the years. I am quite comfortable walking into a room of strangers and making myself at home. These are qualities necessary for pushing that button and broadcasting at 100,000 watts… or so I thought… I walked through the door with a lot of confidence. However, I quickly discovered how little I truly knew about public speaking, reading, projecting my voice, and communicating at a level I had never seen before.
When I started with NRG Media, I realized that my knowledge of radio was hardly more than that of the average listener. I knew how to adjust the dial when I didn’t like what I heard and how to turn it up when I did. I found myself instantly captivated by the commercials—something I had never paid much attention to before. Other than listening for a contest or anxiously waiting for my favorite song to play, I was just a listener, without an appreciation for what happens behind the scen
es in radio. I grew up listening to radio stations like WLS in Chicago, which featured shows that included animal stories, but I never considered what went into creating those programs. It didn’t take long for me to see how unprepared I was after accepting this job. I spent a considerable amount of time trying to take it all in—there was so much to learn! The first mentor I worked with was Double M at the WHDG Hodag Studio, where I spent six months. I often felt like the comic relief, but I was also in a great position to learn. Double M is quite the wordsmith. He possesses the ability to craft sentences and paragraphs that come alive through his voice, allowing you to visualize what he describes. I had never imagined I would need to develop this skill. Duff Damos describes it as the “theater of the mind,” and once I grasped that concept, I understood what I needed to accomplish. Years ago, I helped one of my best friends build a haunted house, where creating a “theater of the mind” was essential, albeit in a far more terrifying manner!
After working with Double M for six months, Duff offered me my own show—Middays on WRLO! This was an incredibly exciting opportunity, but I was grossly unprepared for it! Still so much to learn! Once I settled in and learned the ropes, including what controls to avoid touching, the first thing I did was touch all those things! After Duff sat me down and explained the process, I quickly got on board and started implementing what he taught me. What stands out for me is the incredible mentorship I have, someone who genuinely wants me to succeed. Unlike any of my previous work experience this positive work environment has been a refreshing change. I’ve been given ample time to learn and the space to make mistakes—thankfully, there haven’t been any major catastrophes, and I continue to learn something new every day. Perhaps the most exciting part of the job, which I didn’t anticipate, has been the production side of the business. Al Higgins has an amazing grasp of this! It’s impressive how many commercials are produced for our radio stations and how well they are done without the public ever realizing the effort involved. Additionally, creating the station imaging, such as liners between songs, return liners after commercials, and specialty liners for holidays, has been an absolute blast! Duff has provided me with several pointers along the way, while also allowing me the freedom to innovate and grow. I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to do what I love: working around music. It used to be that work got in the way of my listening to music! One adage that resonates with me is that if you do something you love, you never work a day in your life. There are days when I have to remind myself to go home because I enjoy my work so much!
Keep listening, and I’ll do my best to keep improving! Thank you all for an amazing 2024, and I hope we all have a great and successful 2025!
Keep Rockin’!
Dave
