It’s National Radio Day!
Today is National Radio Day, when we celebrate the invention of the radio in the late 1800s. Obviously, it has come a long way since then as new music discovery now branches out to a number of different media. However, when people ask me, as a 28-year-old, why I still have a passion for radio, the answer is clear: Connection.
Sure, it’s easy to put on music on a generic app. But is it live? Is it local? Is it immediate? Sometimes it’s some of those things. But local radio has a special place in society and in my own personal growth and development.
Growing up in Edison, I would always bounce around different stations, one of them being Magic 98.3. (Obviously!) Something about hearing the DJs talk, share breaking information, keeping you smiling with a goofy comment… it just made me feel connected. It’s more than a bunch of great songs back to back. Local radio is a listening experience.
That’s why when I was given the opportunity to intern at Magic all those years ago, I never really left. I worked my way to being on air and made it to where I am now. Also, I feel like this was truly the first time in my life when I felt like I truly belonged somewhere. It always makes it extremely refreshing to walk into the studio and talk with people who share the same passion (quirky though it may be!) as I do. I have met some of my closest friends through working at Magic and keep in touch with many who have come and gone over the years.
To be able to give away concert tickets to a show and hear someone’s reaction, make it a tradition to wish a listener a happy birthday (which I do every year on Christmas Eve) and just share in a moment with so many other people at the same time is something that words can’t describe. From being on the air during Hurricane Sandy to flipping the station to all Christmas music – both the lows and the highs – there is something about working in local radio that can’t be beat.
Magic is fortunate to have such loyal listeners. For every “suggestion” we get about how we can improve, we get ten comments about how much people love what we do, how much better we make their day and how much Magic is a part of their lives.
THAT is what makes radio special to me. Thank you for letting me do what I love each and every day. And thank you for listening and being a part of this great radio station we call Magic. Because at the end of the day, the connection that we all have really is Magic – on multiple levels.
Happy National Radio Day!
