[BC] Re: How we got our first break in radio....

[Gary Zocolo]

In the harsh winters and moderate summers of northeast Ohio, as an 11 year 
old kid, I carried my transistor radio on my miles long paper route nearly 
every day. It kept me company as I walked through the harshest of winters 
and biked it through the most pleasant of summers....on that paper route, I 
really came to love radio, my favorite DJ's, and how cool and fun the guys 
on the radio sounded. I still can see that green radio that fit neatly into 
my paper bag.

Oddly, I had my introduction to the station manager of my first station when 
I was on that paper route. I didn't know he would one day be a station 
manager and neither did he. I was pretty diligent and dedicated to getting 
the papers to everyone, and I was a junior businessman every Saturday 
morning when I would visit most of my 60 subscribers who paid weekly to 
collect the 42 cent subscription cost. Most people paid with two quarters 
and actually wanted their change back...when I look back on that, it was a 
lot of work for about 6 bucks a week profit (plus tips...and they were very 
modest). One of the families to which I delivered had an older daughter who 
married and lived at home with her new husband. In those days on my weekly 
collection rounds,  I got to know John, the new husband, as I would 
dutifully collect every Saturday.

Fast forward 8 or 9 years...high school....encouraged by a teacher to look 
into radio as a career.....college, a liberal arts freshman in the broadcast 
oriented curriculum. I was trained to board op at the University classical 
station on Saturday nights. It was racking tapes of long form 
programming...not really what I wanted to do but no other college kids 
wanted to work till 2 AM on Saturday nights. Jobs in commercial radio were 
all pretty good and in that market taken up by market veterans...even 
weekend jobs were filled by pros from adjacent markets. Getting in was next 
to impossible and some people more talented than me never even got the 
chance. Through the manager at the college station I found out that a pretty 
big but old fashioned good paying full service station on the far edge of 
the market was looking for a weekend combo operator, two long shifts on 
Saturday and Sunday afternoon till midnight...it included news, dj, running 
syndicated and block programming, and transmitter readings....it was a DA. I 
had my 3rd. They were only accepting applicants by recommendation. The 
manager at the university station got me an appointment. When I nervously 
arrived for that interview, the guy doing the interviewing seemed to 
recognize me....he didn't know from where at first....then it dawned on 
him....I was his 11 year old paper boy when he lived with his in-laws miles 
away in another city all those years ago. Needless to say, I started the 
following weekend. It led to full time. I befriended the engineer who taught 
me as much as I could soak up....and from there its very similar to many 
others on this list. John, from my paper route later helped me get a job on 
a video crew for cable origination of high school sports. He moonlighted on 
his radio job as the play by play announcer for the cable local origination. 
Over the years, we have worked together a few different times.

33 years, several decent markets, and many stations later, here I am as a CE 
with more stations, doing more, knowing more, and learning more than I ever 
could have imagined back then. Along the way I got to work with many of my 
early "radio idols" and many other extreme pro's. I have also been fortunate 
enough to have actually met many of you  on this list. I feel so fortunate 
and thankful for everyone that steered me along the way. Thanks Guys! When I 
write it down...it still seems pretty amazing to me. How lucky can I be?

You never know when you are making that first impression.

Gary Zocolo
Cleveland

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bob Barnswatts" <AMFAN at collins21e.com>

> All this talk about starting out in radio made me wonder as to exactly HOW 
> many people got their start.