It was fun seeing all of my deejay buddies post their photos and career trajectories for #NationalRadioDay last week. Here are a few that I snatched from their social media pages. And then there's the program director's memo that kept 19-year-old me on the part-time payroll. NOTE: he used bad math. I was being paid $40 per MONTH, or $480 per year to do some radio promotion work on the University of Kentucky campus. Had they cut me, I would more than likely have found a different career path. 😢 Happy #NationalRadioDay 🎧 Here's the 1976 @WKQQLexington program director's memo that saved my job and kept me in the business. I had only been working there for two months when Dick Hungate suggested that
Tag: tony vanetti
WHAS will crack triple digits next summer when Kentucky’s first commercial radio station turns 100
It's still a year away but WHAS Radio will turn 100 on July 18, 2022. WHAS was Kentucky's first licensed radio station. What a wild trip it's been! 🎧 current WHAS audio: morning show, mid-morning, afternoons 🎧 historical audio Here's what WHAS-TV dug up in its video vault to note the radio station's 95th birthday in 2017. The Courier-Journal and Louisville Times Company obtained the broadcast license in 1922 and built a studio near the newspaper facility. This fall, current WHAS Radio owner iHeart Media will move the studio operations from Bishop Lane in the Newburg area back to downtown. WHAS has enjoyed a fantastic array of broadcast talent over the past century. The station has won prestigious awards for news coverage, emergency operations
A jealous St X boy like me can only stand and applaud for our rivals…but my stepson is at Trinity so there’s that
Congrats to Trinity High School on another KHSAA 🏀 state championship ☝🏾 #SweetSixteen ☘️☘️☘️ OMG, Tony Vanetti and Jody Demling are going to be UNBEARABLE at the radio station this week. 🙄 University of Louisville basketball fans can feel the love too. Congrats to @trinitysports on a well deserved @KHSAA State Championship! Special shoutout to MVP, and future Card David Johnson.☘️x🐔 pic.twitter.com/BCSf3hcZh2— Luke Murray (@CoachLukeMurray) March 10, 2019 My stepson Aidan was in the stands to enjoy the moment. His mom and I asked "Did you take pictures?" Aidan: "No. Why?"
Does the Pitino lawsuit create ongoing strife for the school and its fan base?
Rick Pitino is mad at me again. The former University of Louisville basketball coach and I are longtime friends but he has thrown hissy fits when I've publicly questioned him about sensitive issues. He even dropped me as co-host of his TV show for two years over tensions surrounding coverage of his affair with sketchy doughnut seller Karen Sypher. Then there was the time I asked him if mounting evidence of strippers offering sex to his players and recruits would make him consider resigning. Pitino didn't speak to me for a year and even avoided looking at me when we crossed paths in our St. Matthews neighborhood. Of course, I've gone on national TV and newspapers of record to defend Pitino
Happy 242nd birthday, America
Here are many of our iHeart Radio broadcast voices reciting the Declaration of Independence. Have a wonderful birthday, Americans! Celebrate freedom. Listen to "iHeart Louisville's Rendition of the Declaration of Independence" on Spreaker. And our apologies for one of our guys mispronouncing the word tyranny. Oops! This was @tonyvanetti's idea and it turned out great - @iHeartRadio Louisville's rendition of the Declaration of Independence @terrymeiners @amynicradiochik @LelandShow @PaulMiles840 @ShannonTheDude @davejennings790 @T2tnt https://t.co/ztyZDp6wp4— NewsRadio 840 WHAS (@840WHAS) July 3, 2018
Matt Jones notes his 8 year ride started in my WHAS studio
I appreciate the kindness and integrity of Matt Jones, founder of Kentucky Sports Radio. The first time I heard him on the air, I thought to myself, "There's my replacement." Matt took a group of smart, funny writers with shrewd youthful observations and launched a compelling, constantly updated University of Kentucky athletics fan site. Kentucky Sports Radio is a daily beacon of all things Big Blue Nation. The statewide radio show is hilariously provocative and informative. There's a terrific podcast. Matt's Lexington television show HEY KENTUCKY gets strong reviews. I'm happy for Matt, Ryan Lemond, Shannon the Dude, Drew Franklin, Mrs. Tyler Thompson, Turkey Hunter, and the entire crew. They've made Kentucky media sit up and notice, and they
The Catechism does not mention chest-bumping
At today's official "offer each other a sign of peace" moment at Mass, @tonyvanetti and I chest-bumped. Cool, Fr. Mark & @ArchbishopKurtz? pic.twitter.com/5ghrXvVw0U— Terry Meiners (@terrymeiners) April 30, 2017 @terrymeiners @tonyvanetti Not sure that fits "WWJD"! But...always good to hear reports from a participant at Sunday Mass!— Archbishop Kurtz (@ArchbishopKurtz) April 30, 2017 @terrymeiners @ArchbishopKurtz He made me do it— tony vanetti (@tonyvanetti) April 30, 2017 I think @FrMark1 needs to assign the two of you seats!! https://t.co/lX8JKiTBGR— Jody Demling (@jdemling) April 30, 2017
After 40 years of broadcasting, I’m too lazy to quit now
I was never smart enough to get a real job. Nonetheless, this broadcasting thing seemed to work out. WHAS RADIO CLIPS WHAS ARCHIVED CLIPS FROM THE 80s WHAS-TV GREAT DAY LIVE VIDEO WQMF RADIO CLIPS WITH RON CLAY WLRS RADIO CLIPS WITH RON CLAY WKQQ CLIPS FROM THE 1970s Both of my sons have the media bug. Family tradition. It's all good. WHAS Radio "Ter's Top 73 clips of 1987" Getting paid to play in the snow? Sign me up. In 2016, my media buddies roasted me as a fundraiser for Seven Counties Services. My earliest TV series was the nightly news magazine PM Louisville with the delightful Ange Humphrey.
Underpaid deejays and the changing broadcast game
Is radio dead? Is TV dead? Nope. But there is a reframing of information flow. A recent poll lists broadcasting as one of today's worst career choices. You may be surprised to learn how little most TV and radio people earn. Others predict the end of talk radio following the 2016 elections. No way. Local talk shows allow each city's residents to weigh in on local issues. The local radio station is the kitchen table where everyone can throw in their two cents or at least eavesdrop on those who do. I completely love my 40 year broadcast career and have rarely regretted choosing it. I have learned 10 million things by talking with a zillion people on
Roast With the Most
Thanks to my media buddies, we were able to raise over $100,000 for Seven Counties Services in a "Roast & Toast" on March 3, 2016. Also contributing were Denny Crum, Dawne Gee, Dean Corbett, John Boel, Mitch McConnell, John Yarmuth, and Dick Vitale.