Happy Holidays And Your Services Are No Longer Needed

The day before Thanksgiving Midwest Family Broadcasting called us all into a mandatory meeting scheduled for 1:00 in the afternoon.  This is far too familiar because my 30 years in the the radio industry has certainly shown me time and time again, that this fun thing I've chosen to do for a career, is about as cut throat a business as any.

When a mandatory staff meeting is called during the weeks that lead up the holidays, your station is about to do what is referred to as a 'stunt'.  The format changes to holiday music at the very moment the bosses walk into a staff meeting, only to read a statement out loud that takes less than one minute, basically saying that your services are no longer needed, but they hope you have a great holiday.  With that, you are asked to get your keys and purses, and leave the premises immediately.  This time it was surreal, to say the least, but one has to keep in mind that business is business, and these guys had a plan, and it simply didn't include us.  What a shame, because this radio station might have been running on a shoe string budget, but it was filled with folks who really cared about the "on air" product.

Sly is the reason I moved to Madison.  His show is one of the most interesting talk shows on the air anywhere!  I was his News Anchor and Co-Host and they had just put our station on the FM dial. I kept saying that Sly in the Morning should have been syndicated across the country because there is simply nothing like it in anywhere else.  He is a Progressive leaning "shock" jock who truly lives in that world of politics.  He and I just got each other! We had instant chemistry on the radio and undoubtedly he will be a part of my life forever!   His best friend is Senator Russ Feingold, who actually showed up to Smokey's Supper Club for my birthday dinner a few weeks ago.

To be on the radio in Madison during the Wisconsin Uprising was one of the great honors of my life.  To be one of the broadcasters delivering the news to the hundreds of thousands of protesters on the streets of our city gave me an intense sense of pride literally every day that I was privileged enough to do it.  To have Sly sitting there giving me an education in politics and history was yet another big WIN for me.

 Sly and Willie on WTDY at the Labor Temple

 Shawn Prebil and me at the Labor Rally in 2010

 Sly on the air - and drawing a crowd as usual

Dylan Brogan and Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney

The really good news here?  I get to spend some quality time back home in Indiana for the holidays.  I plan to savor every moment I have with friends and family right now.  Thank God for them.  I've lost a couple of great friends over this passed year, and of course those kind of earth shattering events teach us that life is too short.  As I head into a new year, in a new job, and maybe even in a new city, I've learned to embrace the good and the bad ... and least I'll enjoy the ride!  

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