Day 1: A Look Back
A few minutes after I had spoken the final words of my first show on 660 AM The Answer, Lisa and Ethan popped in to see my new workplace and meet some of my new associates. I can’t describe the satisfaction seeing my wife and son meet these wonderful new people who now occupy my professional life. As I emerged from the studio to retrieve them from the parking lot, the sales staff had gathered to offer some much-appreciated good wishes. It simply could not have been a nicer gesture.
To the show itself: I scarcely remember it. It was surreal. As 7 a.m. approached, something tightened a grip on me. It wasn’t nervousness; I’ve done this for 30 years. But this was the first time in more than half that time that I had walked into an unfamiliar studio tasked with making all the buttons work and all the elements fit. I know how to do talk shows as an art form, but the procedural matters can eat you alive if you have to think every second about what the next item is on a new clock, or which button is the intercom or which lines on the phone actually go on the air.
Throw in our wish to accommodate a bevy of guests, and the first show was a white-knuckle ride through segments that flew by with my rapt attention to each but little ability to ponder the exercise as a whole. When it was all done, I wondered if it had all gone well or if it was just an adrenaline-laden ADD mess. Assured that it had been at least passable, I now direct my attention to show #2 and all to follow. Thanks for a very special day. I hope to return many more to you as we continue.
As we press forward, here’s the team. Promotions Director Julianna Hagar, another rescue from the jaws of Cumulus; Technical Wizard Shane Bell, Producer Susan Cloud and News Anchor Gordon Griffin.
