Radiogirl

Ron Gleason worked in sports for many years before switching to news at WBBM Newsradio. He talks about Sports Phone, doing play-by-play, sportscasting, being the boss at WSCR The Score, Mike North and Dan Jiggetts, radio before and during the Internet, how radio can be effective and entertaining, being management vs on the air, starting his radio career in his home state of California, doing sports in Joliet at WJOL, the end of WMAQ news station in Chicago and WCBS in New York, revenue declines, talented broadcasters, going from The Score to WBBM as an anchor then boss, his workflow, advice for getting a job, how sports helps news, how the radio biz has changed, and much more! This is probably the most extensive interview that Ron has ever done and is from a livestream that we did.

"I loved it and I just I knew radio was all I ever wanted to do."

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac). 

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG197.mp3

I first interviewed Rafer Weigel 11 years ago when he was at WLS-TV in Chicago. When I did this livestream with him, he was at KUSI-TV in San Diego. Now he's Chief Communications Officer at VetComm, so but I want to post this anyway because Rafer talked a lot not just about his professional experience, but his personal struggles as well, which is pretty rare in the few-hundred interviews I've done so far. He also shares his opinions about the media biz and news broadcasting. Topics covered: acting, his famous sportscaster dad Tim Weigel, sports broadcasting, breaking the Jussie Smollett story and losing his job, mistakes he's made, mental health, pressure and competition, advice for working in the biz, and much more. This is one of the longest podcasts I've done; it was first posted at the INBA website. 

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac). 

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG196.mp3

A musical discussion: Steve Leventhal, creator of InternetFM, and his son and cofounder Eric Leventhal, talk about their music and broadcasting experience, what is top-shelf radio, paying for songs, why vinyl is popular with some younger music fans, commercials, changing technology and music delivery, how they define oldies, the resurgence of psychedelic music, concerts, rock’s waning popularity, the role of the Internet for radio, the future of music radio, and more. The last time I interviewed Steve was more than 10 years ago.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac). 

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG195.mp3

John Siuntres (host and creator of the popular Word Balloon livestream and podcast and I often talk on the phone for at least an hour, so we decided to do a livestream conversation, and it ended up being much longer! Topics covered: how entertainment and the media have changed, the WGA and SAG/AFTRA strikes, creativity and syndication in TV and radio, innovation, digital access and viewpoints, media and cultural nostalgia, podcasting and the radio biz, Instagram and influencers, Gen X, nerd culture, Hollywood and media pay, streaming vs broadcasting, Chicago and national radio, live and recorded broadcasting, job opportunities, working in radio, TV shows and movies, popular music, British vs American actors, vocal fry and people's voices, beauty, and more!

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac). 

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG194.mp3

Ravi Baichwal is an anchor at ABC 7 Chicago and talks about his hockey documentary Summit 72; his hometown Toronto and Canadian culture; his radio career at CKNW in Vancouver before he went to CTV National News, then doing CTV and being on the air at CFRB radio in Toronto (where I previously interviewed Jerry Agar and John Moore); filling in at WLS Radio; why he thinks radio is fun and important; doing TV vs radio; his accent; corruption; why fair pay is important; how he got into media; advice for getting into TV news; challenges he faced; why TV news is still important; diversity; perseverance; what makes a good anchor; elements of a story; what is integrity; why he likes working in Chicago; why he loves radio, and much more!

This is from a livestream that we did; watch the full interview here. But there is also extra content that wasn't in the livestream about his radio career (done in a separate follow-up interview specially for the Radiogirl podcast).

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac). 

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG193.mp3

Note: this is the video he didn’t want me to play during the interview: a van crashed into the ABC 7 studio while he was on the air (back in 2007, just one year after he started anchoring there). 

Justin Roman has done a lot during the 21st century: he hosts The MVP Game (sign up there to be a guest on the show) with Kenzie K (who was his fiancée when this was recorded); it's a super-fan Cubs game show (and a couple of Bears shows during the off season) on the Marquee Sports Network. He talks about his media and performing career, which includes the Vi3 boy band and their hit Eyes Closed so Tight before he started at B96 in 2004; producing music with the Jump Smokers and DJ Flipside (who also does the music for The MVP Game) and their popular remix My Flow So Tight. Roman explains how he got on the air at B96 when he was a super-fan, doing nights and afternoons for several years with Stylz then mornings at US99 in 2016 until they had to leave (get the full story in episode 2 of The Stylz & Roman Uncensored Podcast); being the entertainment host at the Chicago Bulls games; famous people he's met and toured with; why he likes Pitbull; success and failure; appearing with Kenzie K on the Windy City Live TV show and ABC 7, why he and Stylz did their podcast for only a year, why he's positive, and more. 

This is from a livestream that we did; watch the full interview here.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac). 

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG192.mp3

Doug Cummings is a resident of Highland Park, where the shooting tragedy happened on July 4th at the Independence Day parade. He wrote the personal safety handbook, Escaping the O-Zone, to help people take steps to keep themselves safe and preventing becoming a victim. All proceeds go to the Highland Park Community Foundation. 

He talks about his reporting career, which started in Kansas at WIBW; why starting at a small station is helpful for a media career and education; working in Kansas City at KCMO; graduating from the Public Affairs Reporting Program at University of Illinois/Springfield; doing legislative reporting for WTMX in Chicago, then street reporting at WMAQ and WGN; talking to victims of fires, crime, shootings, family murders and how they wanted control back; being the director of security at a church; the Highland Park shooting, which was “absolute devastation”; security consulting; why he got back into the media and why he liked reporting; approaching victims after a tragedy; reporters' PTSD and why they should get help if they report on serious stories; why he left the media to go into security, the risks of owning a gun, and more.

Listen to the first interview I did with Doug 10 years ago here.

This is from a livestream that we did; watch the full interview here.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac). 

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG191.mp3

Karen Schaler was a journalist and crime reporter who is best known for the Netflix hit "A Christmas Prince." She talks about how her journalism experience led to Hollywood success; how she got into the TV biz at a station in Billings, Montana, then worked at a number of stations: in Twin Falls, Idaho, in South Dakota, at KSTP-TV in Alexandria, Minnesota, and at KSL-TV, where she was the first female crime reporter in Salt Lake City, Utah. She also worked in Texas, Arizona, and California, and was a weekend anchor at NBC in Boston, Massachusetts, in addition to briefly reporting from the White House in Washington, D.C. 

She talks about why she left TV news and why she writes about Christmas; crime in small towns; how her stories got on CNN; how she pitches stories; how she processed all the negative stories she covered; her first feature "Christmas Camp,"; working every Christmas when she was a news anchor and reporter; reporting in Afghanistan; how she became a writer for Fox News in New York; how she got her own travel show "Travel Therapy" based on her book; how she got published; her "Travel Now" show on ABC News and travel features on PIX11 in New York and Good Morning America Weekend, Live with Kelly, and Rachel Ray; writing her Audible Original "Once Upon a Christmas Carol" and how she went from writing screenplays to her audio drama, how the pandemic affected her work, and a lot more!

This is from a livestream that we did; watch the full interview here.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac). 

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG190.mp3

For two decades, Kathy Hart was part of the most popular morning show in Chicago, on 101.9 WTMX The Mix. She talks about how she went from being an intern to getting on the air in Rockford at WKKN and WYFE, then driving the station van at WZOK and WROK; how she was different from the "pukers" and wanted to be authentic on the air; how her radio experience changed with the Internet and texts; advice, celebrities she met, and falling asleep in Milwaukee; having a show with Brian Pecht at G105 in Raleigh, North Carolina and their fun in Jamaica; being on the air in Arizona at KZZP/KVRY then co-hosting an afternoon show at KDKB, where she also did sports reporting and interviewed Charles Barkley when he was starting out with the Phoenix Suns; how doing the Morning Zoo in Columbus, Ohio was challenging; how she ended up with a morning partner on The Mix; staying authentic, her new site Gritology.com, her faith, forgiveness, healing, love, and more. This is from a livestream that we did; watch the full interview here.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac). 

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG189.mp3

Hannah Brummer is on the air every morning with Eddie Volkman on Star 96.7. She talks about her radio career, which includes hosting afternoons on 103 WXLC, and working in promotions at US 99, 104.3 Jams, WLS, and Q101. She talks about how she got into radio, why she loves radio, what auditions are like, show prep, why she's so grateful, her podcast Monday Motivation with Hannah B, her home studio, her supportive family, what she learned from being an athlete, how to stay positive, and more. This is from a livestream that we did; watch the full interview here.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac). 

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG188.mp3