Well it finally hit; I’m 65 today. In honor of that momentous occasion, I have decided to feature Harry Chapin’s WOLD. As a former broadcaster, this song resonates; although, I’ve never suffered the grief experienced by the song’s protagonist. Broadcasting was fun and I did it for that and certainly not for the money. Honestly, I had many great experiences.
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| Beth Kinsley made this cake for me 30-years ago when I turned 35. At the time, I was the morning DJ at WWNR. Her husband Mike (AKA Mike Corsair) was one of the four news people who shared the morning space during my seven years at 62NR. |
My love of radio began with me spending most of my youth listening to stations near and far. There would be very few evenings where I would not be huddled around a 1940 RCA-Victor 110K “Presidential Model” radio given to me by my future stepfather. While AM radio was my choice, I often drifted onto this radio’s three shortwave bands. At all times, I had a copy of White’s Radio Log to notate each new station.
In 1966, I had my first visit to an actual radio station atop of Radio Hill in Grayson, KY. I had accompanied my brothers and a few other college students who came to record a show that would be later broadcast on WGOH. Frances Nash, who was in high school at the time, was on the air – eight years later he became my teacher and my mentor.
My first broadcasting related experience occurred in 1972 and 1973, where I joined my companions in Explorer Post 283 in hosting a show on Valley Cable in North Versailles, PA. I got to work sound and the cameras at various times – I desired the more technical roles than that of the talent. During fall 1973, I entered Kentucky Christian College. A new facility, WKCC, would go on the air in October. Not yet having a license, I worked as a station volunteer and occasionally helped with the talent show.
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| At WEMM Huntington; October 1978 |
When it was time to schedule my sophomore year classes, my brother Chuck encouraged me to take a broadcasting course. He justified this recommendation in that I might need something to fall back on career wise. During October 1974, I passed the three-part FCC exam and earned my Third-Class Radiotelephone Permit with Broadcast Endorsement. Therefore, I began a 20-year career. My radio experiences took me to the following stations:
- WKCC Grayson, KY 91.5 FM: October 1974-May 1978 – announcer, news, & program director.
- WEMM Huntington, WV 107.9 FM: May 1977-February 1981 – announcer & program director.
- WAMX Ashland, KY 93.7: December 1978-August 1981 – part-time announcer.
- WMUL-FM Huntington, WV 88.1 FM: January 1979-December 1979 – swing announcer & news.
- WCIR AM/FM Beckley, WV 103.7 FM/1070 AM: February 1981-August 1983 – announcer, music director, & assistant program director.
- WOAY AM/FM Oak Hill, WV 94.1 FM/860 AM: August 1983-February 1987 – announcer, sales, & program director.
- WWNR Beckley, WV 620 AM: February 1987-January 1994 – announcer, sales, program director, & operations manager.
Over the years, I used my real name at WKCC, WEMM, & WMUL, Jay Andrews at WAMX, and Jim Martin at WMUL, WCIR, WOAY, & WWNR. When filling in for another jock, I sometimes used an off-the-wall name for fun. Two of my favorites were E. Arhoolie Futz and P. Terry Dactyl.
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| With Ron Hill at WCIR Beckley; May 1982 |
Although, I wasn’t working directly in radio after leaving WWNR, I had the opportunity to produce radio and television shows, do commercial and long form video voice overs, be a mobile DJ, serve on the West Virginia Public Broadcasting Friend’s Board for 12 years, and teach mass communication classes at Alderson Broaddus University. Truly, I fell back on the skills I learned from Francis Nash in his classes at Kentucky Christian.
Like the protagonist, I was a morning DJ during the bulk of my career which spanned my time at WOAY and WWNR. When I retired from broadcasting, I was pleased with my career, but I was ready to do something new - higher education - where I've been since.
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| WWNR Beckley; June 1987 |
Although different from Chapin’s “morning DJ on WOLD,” I’m “feeling all of” 65 “going on 15.” WOLD peaked at #36 on Billboard’s Hot 100 in 1974 – the year I entered radio. Thanks for reading.
