10 Questions with ... Bethany Linderman

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

I learned so much about radio and Country music at WPIG/Olean, NY for five years, where I did mornings and middays. I spent about a year at WQYK/Tampa getting a crash course in PPM and WPCV/Lakeland, FL where I saw the incredible impact live and local can have on the success of a station. Then I joined WGNA where I spent almost four years waking up and falling in love with the listeners in NY's Capital region. I have also spent plenty of time working freelance on TV shows, films, and sports broadcasts. Currently, I'm staying fresh and on my toes by hosting a crazy fun podcast, "Pretty in POP!"

1) How are you occupying your time, besides looking for a job?

I have remodeled both of my bathrooms! I have discovered that I am an awesome tiler! I even bought my very own tile saw! I love renovation and I'm surprisingly not bad at it! (Oh, hi HGTV talent scouts who happen to be reading this! I can be found at linderman.bethany@gmail.com)

Also, my girl Marissa and I have been building and growing our pop culture podcast "Pretty in POP!" and we're crushing it! It's so fun to use all of the skills we have developed over the years and just go nuts on our own!

2) What's the longest stretch you've had on the beach?

I was let go in March and this is not only my longest time on the beach, but it's the longest I have gone without a job since I was 14!

3) Some people get discouraged or enlightened with the business when they actually step out of it for a while. Tell us your observations from the outside.

I am enlightened by some of the great people who are still trying to do great radio. I've had the privilege of interviewing with several different markets where the spark for radio is still so alive.

I'm slightly discouraged because I feel like radio might be suffering from an identity crisis? It's scrambling to stay relevant, all the while losing sight of what makes it cool in the first place.

I'm like, "Hey radio, just do you."

Radio has always been cool because it's live and anything can happen, because it's happening right in your city and you can meet the personalities and call and chat and play and request songs, and because it supports local business and the community. When you start stripping all that away, little by little, you become less and less cool.

As I'm doing this interview, I have three devices in front of me that are not radios that can provide me with any song that I want to hear any time I want. But what I don't have in front of me is my favorite morning show host ... or the girl who gets me home from work every day. I hope that soon radio will circle back to when high-quality talent is recognized and utilized.

4) What is the next job you'd like to obtain?

In my next position I really want to be happy. I am very good at what I do and I want to work for a company and a station that appreciates what I bring to the table. I want to be respected for my talent and my experience, and I want to be coached in a way that brings out the best in me and the team that I'm working with.

5) What's the most unbelievable on-air bit you were allowed to do?

When I was pregnant, I convinced everyone that I was going to name the baby Chuck Norris at the height of the Chuck Norris joke era. Listeners would call and try to talk me out of it; some would get angry! "Bethany, you can't do that to your baby! He will get picked on!" Some were supportive, though, even making me baby gifts with "Chuck" engraved on them. At events they'd come up to me and rub my belly and give me their best Chuck Norris one-liner; I even made my mother and husband lie to extended family to keep the bit going. We kept it up for the entire pregnancy. There was a collective sigh of relief when I called him Turner Grant instead of "Chuck Norris"

6) What has been your biggest career accomplishment?

Last year I had the honor of running for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Woman of the Year and raised more than $40,000. I walked the runway in a Kidney Foundation Fashion Show fundraiser and raised $5,000. And, I developed and executed a killer promotion called High School Hunger Games - local high school students helped us to collect more than 40,000 pounds of canned goods! Plus, our morning show had this awesome Shop with a Cop Christmas event that paired up needy kids with the local law enforcement! I know that Country listeners have the biggest hearts and my heart is warm knowing they supported all of my charity ventures.

7) What do you miss most about music/radio? The least?

I miss the listener interaction. I love taking calls and playing games and making people laugh and smile ... I mean, I try to tell my dog all my jokes, but she doesn't really laugh.

What I miss least is my 3:30 alarm! You know what, when I get more than four to five hours of sleep I am way smarter, better looking, and infinitely less grumpy!

8) Are you finding salaries/benefits lower than you ever thought, about the same, or have you seen some pleasant surprises?

They're not any lower than I expected. I mean, we all know what's happening in this business, and plenty of other industries, too. What has surprised me is that companies and stations are so willing to hire the cheapest possible option instead of the best qualified candidate. And I'm sorry to tell ya, just like generic toilet paper ... you're gonna get what you pay for. And in the end, FM radio will be what suffers. It's sounding watered down, generic and not nearly as alive as it could. I mean, come on! Radio was the first social network! It was the first "reality show" and now it's morphing into something that isn't nearly as effective for advertisers, or exciting for listeners.

9) Are you spending as much time listening to radio as you used to?

Yes, but what's interesting is how I'm listening ... I am listening like a listener! Which is fun because we don't get to do that when we're all caught up in it.

10) What have you learned about yourself, others, or life in general in your downtime?

It's so interesting what happens when you lose your job ... not only to you realize that you have zero control over anything, but you very quickly find out who in your life is genuine and who might not be! Real true friends and family reveal themselves and it's pretty incredible!

I have also taken a lot of time to re-focus on my goals and values and kind of learn who I am again in my spare time ... I have learned that I'm kinda freaking great!

Care to contribute a recipe for our "On The Beach" cookbook?

Oooooohhh, yaaaassssss! I make this almost every night, you'll love it -

Makes: 1 serving
Prep time: 45 seconds
Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients:

• Cheap Whiskey
• Ice (optional)
• Diet soda (optional)

Directions:

1. Put ice in a glass, or sippy cup, or any container really
2. Pour desired amount of cheap-ass whiskey over the ice (a lot is better than a little)
3. Top it off with a splash of diet soda
4. Enjoy!
5. Repeat as necessary until you find a job