I Was Allowed To Make Mistakes …

In the early years of every air personality, there's always that one air talent who seems to do everything right. It makes you think "What am I doing wrong?" In my case, that person's name was Les Smith. He had the ability to read anything put in front of him perfectly without pre-reading it. That even included the times he'd had "one too many."

A Contradiction, But ...
I always catch myself when telling a client not to compare themselves with somebody else’s work. However, I do direct them to listen to some air talents to hear what they should be doing on the air. It sounds like a contradiction, but I'm trying to get them to listen to how that person delivers the content. Even though that’s always my intent, I realize the dangers of that person copying the air personality's on-air persona. I can relate because it took me about four years in commercial radio before I rediscovered my actual voice and not the one I thought it should sound like. It’s those formative years that can cause you to either look for another profession or continue your career in radio or somewhere in the audio media world.

It Was Hard ...
I was in college at the University of Missouri and working part-time at KFRU, a News Talk/Sports/MOR (father of AC) format. The station was privately owned by one family. My weekend shift was Saturday overnight/Sunday morning, midnight to 8a. One of my duties was reading a five-minute newscast at the top of every hour. I was struggling to read news copy and sound as good as the seasoned veterans on staff, especially Mr. Perfect, Les Smith.

My Solution ...
I spent hours in the production room practicing pace, vocal inflection, and grouping words. One night on the air, I came up with the idea of pre-taping my casts a half hour prior to airing them. I was determined to air a flawless cast and eventually get to the point I could read in real time with no mistakes. A couple of the veterans on staff knew what I was doing and never offered any guidance or advice.

Oh No...
It worked like a charm for a few weeks until one summer night. I was filling in on an earlier shift while the full-timers were playing in their weekly softball league. I was in the middle of airing one of my taped newscasts. Suddenly I heard glass breaking and I looked up to see the General Manager, who was also the owner's son. He was in his softball uniform and his arms were covered in blood. Unfortunately for him this was the one time I followed company rules and had locked the back door.

It Wasn't Pretty ...
He had attempted to shove the door open by pushing on the glass portion and his arms went right through it. I sat there watching him approach the studio door and I could see the veins popping in his neck. He had come back after their game to pick something up and could see from the back door that I was not live on the air reading the news. He came inside the studio and still screaming, told me to be in his office at 9 on Monday morning. I still had two more hours before my shift was over.

Monday ... Monday ...
I hardly slept at that weekend. It was more like drifting in and out of consciousness. Monday came and I had come to grips with the fact that I had to head in and face the music. When I got to the station I found the owner, the GM’s father, sitting in his son's office with his son nowhere in sight. I got the impression that junior was too embarrassed by how he had handled the situation. I explained myself to his dad. He said he understood and explained I should have asked for permission to pre-record the newscasts.

He Put Me At Ease ...
That day could have changed my career aspirations. But his father didn't treat me like a brainless no talent nincompoop. He looked at me and I could see compassion in his eyes. He could see I was scared to death. I thought he was going to fire me. Instead, he put me at ease. The man even shared a couple of mistakes he had made when he was first starting out in radio. The next day I saw his son, the GM. He never brought up the incident. I assumed his father had a compassionate talk with him too.

Experience Matters ...
This is an egocentric business with lots of diverse personalities. The common thread is the desire to succeed behind the mic. However, no school can prepare anyone for the realities of money radio, as I call it. Things still boil down to human kindness, developing skills, and being allowed to learn from our mistakes.