Some people wonder what it is like to work on the radio. I have had many people come up to me to ask what I think about it. They always assume that it is a great and joyous thing to work on the radio. People assume I work a few hours a day to make an outrageous salary which I run around rampantly spending or doing my best to spend at least. Such a large sum of money is obviously hard to spend in some peoples mind. People always ask me about my glamorous lifestyle. wanting to know every juicy detail.
It is funny, the truth is so much less than many people expect. The truth is that my life is not glamorous or exciting. I do not have short hours and great pay. It is really much the opposite of that. Just think about it for a minute. Who do you think writes the show programming? Sure, I have help. There are producers & interns. There are some writers that I have access to and I have been known to use them but the majority of my material is generated in full or at least in great part my me myself. This inception of ideas comes at great mental labor. There is nothing romantic about writing good material for a radio show. It is a long hard labor of love which must be greeted head on every day. Day after day.
In addition, I can tell you there are no spare minutes in my schedule. I have the show to take care of everyday. I can hear some of you are thinking to yourself: “What, 4 or 5 hours a day? I could do that job.” Let me explain that the hours I am on the air are nothing compared to the hours I prepare to go on the air but that is still just a portion of my job. I must also do on location shoots regularly. I go out to many of our advertisers locations to air spots and do giveaways. I also participate in many events and headlines. Much of my time at these events goes towards doing face-time with the general public. I always enjoy that part the best because many people feel they know you and are already part of your life because you are such a big part of theirs. It is always enjoyable to meet with loyal fans as well as new listeners alike.
After all is said and done, I can work from 45 – 60 hours in any given week. Sometimes more. Granted, many of these events are meant to be fun and entertaining for the general public but for me it is literally work.