I’m pretty sure the punch line to this story will be telegraphed, but it still remains a bit painful after all these years.
My 3rd year in radio, I’m programming a small market station. I had pulled an on-air stunt at the expense of a competing station. But it was good-natured, and it didn’t make them look bad.
As a result, the two owners of the station called me and asked if they could come visit our operation. It was a brother and sister in their ’20s. Their father had bought them a radio station as a gift.
They came to my station, and as I was giving them the grand tour I said, “By the way, who the hell is that woman you have doing middays? She’s the worst jock I’ve ever heard.”
Yep, you can see it coming.
As soon as the words left my mouth, I knew that “worst jock I ever heard” was the sister…to whom I was giving the tour.
An insignificant moment, but one that I still wish never had happened.
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Do you stand by the comment today, despite the embarrassment?
One of my favorite old phrases is:
“A closed mouth gathers no foot!”
However, since in radio a closed mouth usually means no job, we must all learn through trial and error…and a healthy dose of both at that. Great moment, there, even if it was off-mic.
The other phrase that comes to mind is right from Mom: “Always tell the truth.” On one hand, sometimes that one really hurts! On the other hand, she may have become a better announcer for your “critique”.
@ anonymous:
Hmmm….Probably what I said was, “She’s terrible,” and I do stand by that.
I’d better be a little more careful when using direct quotes, especially from myself.