[BC] What brought me into radio

[Mark Johnson]

Radio bug initial infection, Fall 1981.

Keith Smeal now the Director of Tech at Greater Media NJ was my college roommate.  He was headed over for a meeting to join the campus radio station WNTE Mansfield PA.  He asked me to come along.  I'm sure he said something about girls being at the meeting.  Anyway I went and I was hooked.  It was a great environment to start off.  As a freshman I had to study under the student managers of the station and pass an equivalent of the old 3rd class test.

After passing that test I had to pass an air check test with the student PD.  My first time behind the mic was a midnight Saturday sportscast.  All I remember was sweating profusely and wondering how 5 minutes could last so long.  Before I left school at Christmas I had a regular air shift.  With a Southern accent and going to school in upstate PA I decided my air name would be "Jefferson Davis".  I played a lot of Skynyrd, 38 special, Molly Hatchet and Marshall Tucker Band.

When I transferred back home to Panama City, FL I took my new found interest to WKGC at the community college in Panama City, FL.  Before long I was doing morning drive on the AM at college, going to class and then driving 45 miles to a daytime AM and doing afternoons at the commercial radio station.  Finally Charlie Wooten sat me down and explained my future would be better served in engineering.  He was right.  32 years later engineering was the right decision.

Mark Johnson
kayoucom at mac.com
(703) 378-5090 Office