Today is National Radio Day to celebrate the longest running electronic mass media. Radio has seen great change in recent years and now the term is generic for just about any form of audio mass communication like podcasts, streams and probably someday direct to your special brain implant.
Radio has always been the most intimate of mass mediums. Unlike TV which still thinks everyone is gathered around the set in the living room radio speaks directly to the individual. It provides entertainment, companionship and a sense of community.
It's been my life's work. I only had two non-radio jobs in my professional life....paperboy for the Milwaukee Journal and projectionist/yard man/janitor for the Portage Theater/51-16 Drive In. I've lived all over the US and never paid my own move thanks to radio. I've made great friends that I still have to this day....even some on the right who put up with my daily anti-Trump rages. I don't think there are many other careers that offer that opportunity for adventure. Radio is very different now. Many of my peers miss the old days, just like the older people that I worked with at WPDR in Portage back in the `70's complained about how radio isn't as good as it was when they started in the `50's. Technology has eliminated many jobs we enjoyed but there is still opportunity for another generation that will have their adventures albeit different from the way we did things. Since I "retired" I dived back in once and will not rule out another return but for now I get my radio programming kicks with my www.dancehitsamerica.com streaming station. I've learned another music scheduling system, automation system and a lot about streaming, websites and all stuff that other people used to do for me. For my friends still in and those on the side Happy National Radio Day. Always be grateful for your involvement in one of the best forms of communication and remember to do your duty to your community because you have been given a platform few will ever have.