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Off the beach and in the weeds (not the smokable kind!)
4 years ago
General
I got a call from the GM of the radio station where I work. He told me there were no other duties he could assign to me, basically ending my best and longest job of almost 19 years. This hit me hard because I loved working for this station, made many friends along the way and discovered both new and old music that I loved.
I'd been furloughed for about 17 months due to COVID-19. During that time, the statewide network in Denver which runs the station had a Denver announcer replace me (it was supposed to be temporary, but the change was made permanent a few months later.) Another duty, digitizing the station's music library, was scuttled when the music director announced her retirement and the discontinuation of music shows.
If I do find another job, I'd rather start my own station instead of starting at the bottom. As
bucktowntiger once said, "You gotta get your own to make it." I want to retire in 15-20 years and I'm not anywhere close to being financially secure.
I'd been furloughed for about 17 months due to COVID-19. During that time, the statewide network in Denver which runs the station had a Denver announcer replace me (it was supposed to be temporary, but the change was made permanent a few months later.) Another duty, digitizing the station's music library, was scuttled when the music director announced her retirement and the discontinuation of music shows.
If I do find another job, I'd rather start my own station instead of starting at the bottom. As
bucktowntiger once said, "You gotta get your own to make it." I want to retire in 15-20 years and I'm not anywhere close to being financially secure.
Everybody who is unemployed by radio but still wants to be in broadcasting is still on the beach. When I moved to Louisville after being on the beach in Toledo, I took a temp gig working for a temp agency making more money than I'd ever earned in radio. That got me back on my feet but when it dried up, luck presented itself. I took a gig board opping a lightbulb station because I needed the gig. I had a great deal of fun being the most experienced one there other than my boss and GM, but it was a step way down. When we were bought by a church, I left the gig. I should have bit my tongue and continued but my credit cards were getting wary of supporting my career. My radio boss also told me of a gig for a fledgling computer extended warranty company that was close to where I lived, full time, with bennies, and that was that with that.
