A belated Happy New Year! Here's one reason I haven't been writing in this blog as often as I used to. The last few months, I've devoted a lot of writing time getting things set up at my still new WICH morning show position. The website and Facebook page were in woeful shape, and nobody seemed to be responsible for them. There were other things I've done to hopefully get organized and promote the show and station. Of course, there are often repercussions later in the day from that whole 4:00am wakeup routine. I have also been involved in ongoing changes, including Christmas music turned into rocket science, programming music on WILI-AM. Combine that with my other job with direct mail advertising and it's a wonder I have free time now.
Anyway, one thing that exemplifies my thin-skinned nature is the way people really think that being a nasty badass pays off. Does it really cost anything to be nice? After an afternoon of having good chats with current and potential ad clients, I actually feel better at the end of the day than when I get tangled up in someone's often petty rants. Recently, WICH.com ran an unscientific poll as to how people felt about bringing Chelsea Botanical Gardens to Norwich. The response by one side was downright nasty to the point of accusing the station of rigging the poll. You couldn't hold a conversation with them over a poll that is no different than the "entertainment only" ones used on local TV stations and newspapers. Then there were several callers in the first few minutes of my last fill-in on the Stu Bryer talk show attacking me as "rude", knowing nothing and having the gall to express my opinion even though I had only been on for a few minutes! That's when I got a dose of the more enlightened side of humanity as a wave of callers expressed their support for my right to free speech, whether they agreed or not.
As we witness the nastiest Presidential campaign, I hope decent folks continue to speak out against the constantly combative in-your-face tone out there. WICH listeners certainly came through on that score. Choose to be nice, or even go so far as to be fair. Make it a great day!
