Lars Thoughts – I’ve Had 45 Years In Radio And Not One Second Of Regret

45 years ago this month, I landed my first paid job in radio. I spun records and read news 10pm to midnight, Monday thru Friday on the Mighty 1590, KTIL. I worked in a cinder block building in a cow pasture outside Tillamook, Oregon. 40 years ago next week, I came to work at KXL (now, FM news 101 KXL in Portland, Oregon). This month, I mark 23 years of Radio Northwest Network syndication in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. 20 great radio stations that signed up for conservative talk from a guy in one of the most liberal cities anywhere in America (“Havana on the Willamette River”). I did my 20 years in the liberal gulag of TV news. But I never stopped doing radio. When kind-hearted TV management informed me I had a “face for radio” they made me choose: TV or radio?

That took no effort at all: my first love, radio.

17 years ago this Summer I won a spot in nationally syndicated radio. Between the two radio shows, I calculate I have done about 17,500 hours of talk on KXL/RNW and (as of this year) and 12,500 hours of national talk radio. I figure I have at least another 20 thousand hours of things i haven’t said.
When I started in radio my age was 16. Tomorrow (Friday) I turn 61. When I started I was (for a long time) the youngest guy in the building. Now, I’m almost always the oldest guy around (“Okay Boomer”)

I’m blessed to have great producers (McKenzie, Donovan & Bryce). I’m blessed with management that has always trusted me not to get them in trouble…so they’ve NEVER told me what to say or not to say on air. Best of all, God blessed me with Tina, my wonderful wife who puts up with the weird hours and strange demands of this business. I have looked forward to each and every day I get to crack open the mic and talk with folks.
My personal goal is to stay behind the mic as long as my hero, Paul Harvey, did.

Lars
台灣製造 (made in Taiwan, cause I was)