… are awaiting, often dependent on how wide you open your eyes!
… will sometimes drop into your lap, but you must be open to accept or grab them.
… exist, but often require an honest, ongoing search!
This Musing stems from three items that more or less dropped into my lap in the last couple of weeks that relate to a person getting their first job in broadcasting, the first two of which are individuals whose names are recognizable on the national level.
Before I delve into them, have you pondered the phrase uttered by Louis Pasteur, the French chemist to whom we all owe much. Most of us have had one or more good things — or opportunities — come along in our lives. We’ve likely thought of them as having good luck or having a chance encounter. Yet, I believe with a close examination, you would find that things were being done physically and/or mentally, preparing you for that magic moment! Now, for the three stories…
Larry King
The first story comes courtesy of the broadcast industry daily newsletter, Media Confidential: In 1957…
“Larry King got his first job in radio. The manager of a small station, WAHR (now WMBM) in Miami Beach, hired him to clean up and perform miscellaneous tasks. When one of the station’s announcers abruptly quit, King was put on the air. His first broadcast was on May 1, 1957, working as the disc jockey from 9 a.m. to noon. He also did two afternoon newscasts and a sportscast. He was paid $50 a week.”
It wasn’t long before Larry’s talent was noticed and he moved on, landing a position…
“… doing interviews on a mid-morning show for (the much-larger) WIOD, at Pumpernik’s Restaurant in Miami. He would interview whoever walked in. His first interview was with a waiter at the restaurant. Two days later, singer Bobby Darin, in Miami for a concert that evening, walked in, having heard King’s radio show; Darin became Larry’s first celebrity interview guest.”
Of course, Larry went on to become the “ultimate interviewer,” first heard nationally on radio via the Mutual Network, then a quarter-of-a-century hosting his nightly TV show on CNN.
Deborah Norville
The second story presented itself to me when one night I happened to tune in to the New Jersey Network — which these days is actually operated by New York’s PBS station, WNET — and catch a program titled “One On One with Steve Adubato.” One of his guests was the host of “Inside Edition,” Deborah Norville … a show she’s now in her 26th year of hosting. (While I’ve been well aware of Deborah going back many more years than that, “Inside Edition” is a nightly show I have never watched until last evening.)
Although I was aware that she’d had roles in the network news side of both NBC and CBS, it was from this interview that I learned a little about how she got there. It seems that, while neither able to sing or dance, she entered her hometown of Dalton, Georgia’s Junior Miss contest in 1976, displaying her needlework and sewing prowess … and won. She became the state of Georgia’s representative for the national finals, which were being televised. Watching the TV crew hustle and seeing them enjoying their work on the spot, she gave up her plan to become a lawyer and pursue a career in television. And so off to college she went to pursue a new major in journalism.
While in college, she was offered a short internship at Georgia Public Television … it was there that she was spotted by an executive of CBS Atlanta affiliate WAGA-TV, who offered her a full summer internship, which Deborah in the interview described as “being hired as a gopher.” Things changed quickly, as in her third day there, the station found itself short on staff, so she was sent out as a field reporter! Reaction to her report? She was hired as a regular weekend reporter, which she did her entire senior year in college. Following graduation, she joined the station as a full-time news reporter and weekend anchor. Three years later, it was a move to Chicago and, not long after, on to New York and the networks.
A word that came from Deborah’s mouth more than once during her “One On One” interview is Gratitude! It’s a word that strikes a chord with me whenever I hear it, as that feeling is close to my heart. In fact, I wrote about it on this page some time back under the heading “Attitude of Gratitude.”
From an Anonymous Reader
For story #3, I recently received a long E-mail from a gentleman who chose to share his personal story with me in response to one of my previous Musings. I found it interesting and inspiring, especially for someone seeking to secure their first position in radio. I asked permission to share his entire message with you, my readers — he declined, saying he’d preferred to keep his past life private. I will honor his wish, but cannot resist sharing a small portion without referencing any names, locations or call letters.
As with Deborah and her “gopher” job, Anonymous writes:
“In my senior year of high school, I got my first job at (a smaller mid-sized market station) as a board operator for football and baseball games. I just wanted to press buttons, but a year later, while I was (in college), they put me on (a sister station) as a weekend country DJ. Shortly thereafter, they had me start voice-tracking on two other sister stations (in nearby communities). By the time I finished college, I was working 35 hours a week between all 3 stations. While the managers thought I sounded great on the upbeat, hit music formats, I never listened to that type of music in my own time.”
While Anonymous shared about being offered some additional voice work opportunities, they report being quite happy in their chosen profession, which has no direct connection to media or communications.
Marlin’s Journey
My own story is quite similar — as detailed in my radio career memoir, RADIO … My Love, My Passion. By being a hang-out “gopher” with a disk jockey on Saturday afternoons, I was offered my first paying position in broadcasting, which involved using this “antique” (manufactured and sold in the 1930s by Western Electric) remote-broadcast mixer — its prime asset in the mid-1950s was its ability to feed a telephone line, which in those days was the most common way of getting your programming back to the studio/transmitter.
I would be the engineer for the long-running weekly two-DJ broadcast … if I could provide the remaining components needed since the station had very little equipment. Fortunately, I happened to own or have access to these items, including a couple of microphones and a record player. By creating some adapter cables, I was able to connect them to the remote mixer.
While my success within the industry came through the intuitive senses and talents gifted to me by the Almighty, being able to benefit and capitalize on them must be credited to what you read at the outset of this Musings … having open eyes, being sensitive, and being in “search mode” when I needed or desired for a new “opportunity!”
While these stories date back to an earlier time in broadcast history, although #3s experiences occurred as recently as the early 2000s … while it may have seemed easier to get such a break in “the good old days,” there’s nothing that says such an opportunity cannot prevail today.
INTERESTED? If you’ve not read my memoir and would like to learn about my career, which spanned 60 years plus several interesting facts about radio history, here’s an opportunity to receive your own copy absolutely free: Send your name and complete postal mailing address to me at marlin@marlintaylor.com … if you are among the first 20 to do so, a copy will soon be on the way!
Image Credits: Mr. King in 1962 at WIOD, a radio station in Miami. Credit…Tierney & Killingsworth, Inc, via Photofest
