It was one helluva ride, my 50 years in media.
In television, I was a station manager, writer, producer, program
host, on-camera sports anchor and occasional fill-in news anchor and weatherman.
In print, I had a brief run as a syndicated columnist and was
a newspaper writer and editor before that.
Radio was my first and most enduring love. I was VP/COO and one
of four owners of a 10-station group (two stations in each of Nashville,
Birmingham, Knoxville, Utica and Portland, Maine), and at various times was a
general manager, program director, group program director, production manager, music
director and, most often, a music show host. In the latter role, I got to ply
my trade in great cities like New York (four years), Chicago (16 years),
Toronto, Detroit, Seattle (5 years), St. Louis, Pittsburgh (4 years), Cleveland,
Portland, Providence and Albany.
Whew!
As you can imagine, that career and its demands left little
time for family and any kind of personal life. I’m trying to make up for it now
in retirement, giving greater time and attention to four grown children and
five grandchildren. Quite purposely, I live in Canada, blocks away from my
youngest daughter and her family, which includes a teenage daughter and a son
born in July 2015. Here he is in a recent photograph.
As much as I loved my working life, this is way better.
