My entry into the radio news business started unexpectedly in 1974 with a manila folder.
I wanted to be a big-time disk jockey, like the ones I listened to on WCFL in Chicago and WKBW in Buffalo when I was growing up on our family dairy farm near Summit Point, Jefferson County.
I got my first disc jockey job at WXVA in Charles Town when I was just 19. When I showed up for work the first day, the guy I was replacing handed me a manila folder with some phone numbers written on it for local police agencies, fire departments and courthouse offices.
“You’re also the news person,” he told me. “Call these people when you get to work every day and see what happened.”
At first, I was not interested. After all, I was going to be a famous disc jockey. However, I did what I was told and made those calls every afternoon. Pretty quickly, I discovered something; The news was interesting. The records I played were the same every night, but the news changed constantly.
Politics, police investigations, criminal trials, local controversies, labor disputes, severe weather—there was always something worth covering and reporting on. I still remember interviewing Senator Robert C. Byrd for the first time when he came to town for a visit.
I had no journalism training and did not really know what I was doing, but I was curious and hard working, so experience provided important introductory courses. The formal education came after a few months when I transferred from Shepherd University (then Shepherd College) to WVU to study journalism.
After graduation, I worked for a couple of decades as the radio news director, first for WAJR radio and then, when our company started the MetroNews Radio Network, I took over there. Then one day during a staff meeting, our company president Dale Miller said we should start a statewide talk show, and I should be the host.
Again, just like years ago, my future direction was assigned to me before I had a chance to object. I was really bad at it for a long time–some of you might argue I still am! I thought I had to sound and act like Rush Limbaugh or other hosts.
It took me years to figure out that the only authentic voice I had was my own. After that, the two-hours-a-day got easier, the interviews more interesting and show more compelling, at least I hope it has been.
Today is my last day as the show host. I am turning the microphone over to Dave Wilson and T.J. Meadows. They need a little time to get comfortable, but they are already better than I was for many years.
I’ve been thinking a lot about this day. It is not easy to give up something you love, but I am also excited and curious to see what is next. I do not handle change well, but life has taught me that if you show up and work hard, opportunities present themselves, often in unexpected ways.
Somewhere out there may be another manila folder with some names and phone numbers on it waiting for me.