Keith and Jack wanted broadcasters, not just radio people. They wanted an airstaff that understood the technical side of the business, as opposed to jocks who only knew how to crack jokes and start the next song. That is how, during my first several weeks, I ended up studying audio processing, recording techniques, and sound engineering in Keith’s old college textbook.
Meanwhile, Jack had me running around with a cork in my mouth with the belief that it improved one’s enunciation. His theory was that my enunciation would be perfected once I could speak clearly with the cork between my teeth. That would then translate on-air. It was an interesting idea but a skill I learned better, as it turned out, without the obstruction.
While an eager employee, it wasn’t long before I felt in over my head. One evening, in January 1995, I walked into Keith’s office, and we had a watershed moment in our relationship. I described feeling overwhelmed, and he told me how much it meant that I could speak to him about it. He wanted an open door policy with his employees, and so we talked.
It was at this point that he explained the broadcasters versus radio people philosophy he and Jack shared. The textbook was just to give me an overview. Regardless of how it sounded when I was handed the book, there weren’t going to be any tests. Keith also mentioned the cork-in-the-mouth task was something Jack made him do when he worked for Jack at Salem, Oregon’s KSKD during the early 1980s. I was told not to worry about any of it.
That conversation created a tremendous sense of relief. I was green but had some radio experience having worked in the industry part-time throughout college and after graduation. None of what I was experiencing now, though, had been covered at any of those other stations. KSND was uncharted territory a long way from home.
For the first several weeks, there wasn’t a lot to do other than read the textbook. When a radio station is off the air, it’s not of great value. I sat at the reception desk and greeted visitors. There were a couple a week. I answered the phone. It rang every couple hours. I also monitored the station that was to be our main competitor — logging their song playlist and commercials. I entered our music library into a spreadsheet and went along on field trips and client visits. And like any rookie, I took my turn cleaning the restroom.
When we had staff on board, I cross-trained with the CBSI (now Marketron) representative that taught Bonnie, our traffic director, how to use the software for scheduling commercials and producing program logs. Pressed into service once during that first year when Bonnie was gone for a couple days, I came to highly respect traffic people for the difficult job they do.
As winter began winding down and our spring launch date approached, I did fewer of these tasks as it was time to record the programming elements we needed. I had one more initiation test to pass…recording the dreaded time check.
More to come in Part VII…
