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10 Questions with ... Joe Getty
May 14, 2019
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. And we trust our instincts on when we and the audience are getting burned out on the never-ending, hair-on-fire political climate. I often quote the great Elvis Costello: "I used to be disgustedÖ now I try to be amused." We believe that it's healthier to laugh and have fun with the absurdity of modern politics. Being angry all the time is no way to live. And everybody is so fired up on one side or the other about Trump. These are crazy times
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BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
After abandoning a plan to become an attorney specializing in international business and diplomacy, Joe ran off to join the radio circus in 1989. He met Jack while working for competing stations in Salina, KS in 1991. They got their first job together as a team in 1992 in Wichita, KS.
1. How did you get into radio, and why? Why radio?
I had spent my life talking, emceeing, performing, etc. and I was a huge fan of Chicago radio but it really hadn’t occurred to me to get into radio professionally until one day at a rock band rehearsal one of the guitarists mentioned he was taking radio classes at a local community college. I thought, “I’d be better than him”…and signed up for a class. 6 months later I quit my job and took a gig hosting a morning show in Central Illinois.
2. What prompted the move from music radio morning DJs to talk? How did it come about? Was it something you planned all along or a surprise turn in your careers?
We realized in the late 90s that we didn’t love doing music radio mornings and that we were doing a talk show between records anyway, so we thought we’d make the leap. Ken Kohl hired us at KSTE, Sacramento in 1998. We took a 50% cut in pay to take the job but we knew it was our future.
3. Your show takes a different approach to talk radio, which means that you're not always talking about politics, your political talk isn't the doctrinaire party line talk that's all over the dial these days... how would you describe what you do, and how it differs from what else is on talk radio?
We just try to tell the truth as we see it. We are absolutely committed to small government, fewer regulations, respect for our military and their families, and a lot of conservative values, but we come at it from a more libertarian perspective. And that means we have a deep distrust of ALL politicians. And we trust our instincts on when we and the audience are getting burned out on the never-ending, hair-on-fire political climate. I often quote the great Elvis Costello: “I used to be disgusted… now I try to be amused.” We believe that it’s healthier to laugh and have fun with the absurdity of modern politics. Being angry all the time is no way to live. And everybody is so fired up on one side or the other about Trump. These are crazy times.
4. What do you do for show prep every day? What's your routine?
I listen to or watch several news shows every day. I read tons of stories from the big news websites. We both take in news and commentary from a range of points of view. It really helps to understand what arguments you’re trying to refute or support. But we’re not wonks. We’re pretty regular guys trying to make sense of the world.
5. Who have been your influences and inspirations in the business?
There are a lot and it’s probably a weird list. Steve Dahl and Garry Meier, for their authenticity and confidence… made a huge impression on me as a kid and came out later. Michael Savage, because, say what you want about him, when we first heard him on KSFO San Francisco, he was a completely unique voice. Utterly uninterested in being conventional. Don and Mike: Don Geronimo was as prepared for his show as anyone we’ve ever heard. and Mike O’Meara was 100% committed to the comedy he did. The Marx Brothers, Monty Python, H.L. Mencken, Hunter S. Thompson…
6. You do podcasts on top of the regular show; how do you see podcasts and social media fitting in with what you do? Is it all supplemental to the show, are they "shows" in their own right, are they for engagement with listeners or a management edict... how do you, as veteran radio hosts, see these things -- the future or a side project?
The new media stuff we do, especially podcasting, is unquestionably a huge part of the future. We just try to create the best content we can and try to figure out where to put it to reach people. We have fantastic new media numbers, but they’ve definitely eaten into our on-air numbers in key markets. What’s a boy to do? Just keep creating the best content you can and be open to the new realities.
7. Who is the best guest you've interviewed? The worst?
One thing we’ve learned is that we’re not very good at typical celebrity interviews. We’re terrible at feigning fascination for the glittering world of Hollywood. We’re more than happy to relate to them as real human beings, but some press junket crap with a TV star who wrote a dumb book? Pass. I do think we’re pretty good at talking to really smart people and making their ideas understandable to folks who don’t have a background in Constitutional law, for instance. That’s fun.
8. Of what are you most proud?
Staying employed… ha ha ha. We get quite a few notes from people who were forced to listen as kids, and they’re still listening. And they say we’ve really helped shape their attitudes in a good way. Our Jordan Peterson-esque message that duty and sacrifice and self-reliance aren’t a drag: they’re the key to a happy life. But I guess I’m most proud of the fact that we’ve stubbornly insisted on doing the show OUR way and we’ve succeeded. We’re not world famous, and I don’t have a jet, but I feel like we won.
9. Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without ____________.
...laughing…and the love of my family.
10. What's the most important lesson you've learned in your career?
Be strong enough to believe in your vision but open enough to accept input from those you trust.
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