Be a Bridge Builder
Powerhouse Radio: Rough Roads, Radiance, and Rebirth is not only a memoir about adversity, failure, and ultimate success, it explores the history of radio including the Black commercial radio stations. Why was it important for you to write this book?
In radio’s glory days, thousands of radio professionals toiled away in small and medium markets making contributions to their communities, while they polished their craft. Media folks use the same playbook today. These personalities come and go. Their stories are rarely featured or known. My story mimics this arc, with a glide path that touches down in several major US broadcasting markets. I wanted to present the story of a typical radio crusader who uses music, talk, social engagement, or other skills to make a difference in the lives of the people they touch. My memoir uses personal radio experiences to amplify the pursuit of a career goal and presents it in a broader life context.
What were some ideas that were important for you to share in this book?
Success can be achieved, even when the view from outside of your supportive family circle indicates that you will have a harder time than many others. I mention early in the book that I am an only child who never knew my father and was raised by an entrepreneurial single mother.
As I detail my radio journey, some creative ways are presented to readers describing how I got into the industry and landed subsequent jobs while I was a young college student. The theme of ingenuity to find success is stressed.
Anyone in broadcasting can tell you that getting fired is just a part of dealing with unpredictable difficulties handed to you until you can rise like the phoenix to conquer your next job challenge. I stress how I managed to keep things moving when times got tough. I explain what I did to diversify my skill set.
Other themes I focus on: be a bridge builder, treat your colleagues with respect, and be willing to take some chances on your way to grabbing the brass ring of achievement.
I appreciated the candid nature with which you told your story. What was the hardest thing for you to write about?
My personal relationships with women. I could have dived much deeper into additional “kiss and tell” anecdotes but took the high road to concentrate on one particular connection that will leave readers with an understanding of my honesty, trust, and judgment.
What is one thing you hope readers take away from your story?
Radio is fun, broadcasting is hard work, almost no one is an overnight sensation, and despite AI, radio’s audio variants will survive!
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Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2024/04/07/be-a-bridge-builder/
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