It was a bold move on the part of WWL Radio management to move me from part-time to full-time on the new FM station the company was creating. It was an equally bold move when, 20 years after my start the new WWL Radio, management decided to give me a chance to move from “Scoot in the Morning” on a music station - Magic 101.9 - to doing the midday talk show on WWL 870.
The same feeling that I had when I was about 14-years-old and saw a cool disc jockey introducing a band at Lakeside Shopping Center - was the feeling I had when doing music radio in San Diego and watching a host on our AM station doing his talk show on remote. I had this feeling - that’s what I want to do. I didn't know how it would happen, but that was my new career focus.
Several years passed; and while I was doing the morning show on Magic 101.9, the midday host on WWL 870 AM was going on vacation. I offered to fill in and do his show. When I got off my show on Magic 101.9 at 9:00 am, I walked about 20 feet down the hall to the 870 AM studio and did 9:00 am - 12:00 pm every day for a week. Management, which included Diane Newman as the assistant program director, was so happy with what they heard that I was offered the midday shift. That was the moment I moved from music radio to talk radio.
There are times in life when you just know you are doing what God meant for you to do, and I remember the conscious thought I had on my first day in the WWL 870 AM studio. Before the mic went on for the first time - I stared out of the studio window and was overcome with the feeling that this was what I was supposed to do with my life.
In the midst of skepticism over moving me from music to talk radio, I appreciated the support from WWL management. The experiment worked, and I am so blessed to be doing talk radio years later on the 100th anniversary of the radio station that has been such an integral part of my life.
As I do my talk show every afternoon from 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm, I hear comments from listeners showing that many think - but have no idea what really goes on behind the scenes. Let me set the record straight.
WWL Radio - now 870 AM - 105.3 FM - WWL.com - and streaming through social media - is still as much of a trailblazer as it was when it first went on the air 100 years ago today.
Contrary to what many listeners want to believe - WWL has NO agenda. There are NO meetings where everyone is told what opinions to have or how to approach issues and controversial topics. Diane Newman, who was the assistant program director and has for years been the program director/brand manager, guides a radio station that was different in the past and remains different today.
Talk radio today has often become agenda radio. In the New Orleans market and across the country, radio stations have been built on the same theme - conservative ideology with emphasis on extreme conservative views. It works at attracting an audience; and, with the help of Rush Limbaugh, talk radio became the antithesis of the “liberal media.” In the beginning, talk radio’s devotion to conservative views was a predictable response to the perception that the media was too liberal.
WWL Radio was - and still is - a unique experience. I respect that our station has not followed other stations and remains to this day WWL.
Most talk stations in America are predictable. The hosts may have slightly different approaches, but they all fall in line with the same monotone conservative views. When one show ends - the next show continues to flatline of conservative talk. I am not criticizing conservative talk, but I am addressing the reality that thousands of talk radio stations across America do have an agenda - an agenda to push conservative views and to promote conservative candidates on the air. There are very few exceptions, but that is the collective overview of talk radio in America.
WWL is different. As a listener - you are challenged. You are not treated like sheep in a herd following a shepherd across the political landscape. WWL gives you credit for being able to find common ground with the station’s identity, but it also gives you credit for not belonging to a herd of political sheep.
WWL’s broadcast day begins at 5:00 am with Dave Cohen and WWL First News Early Edition. Dave is informative with a sense of humor and basically gives you the information you need to start your day.
Following Dave is Tommy Tucker from 6:00 am - 10:00 am with news, weather, traffic, and a variety of interviews with professors or experts relating to the top local and national issues people are talking about. Tommy’s show is largely bipartisan.
After Tommy Tucker, the former sheriff of Jefferson Parish, Newell Normand, is on from 10:00 am - 1:00 pm. Newell is a self-proclaimed conservative, but in promos for his show he says that he never hesitates to “reach across the aisle” for the good of the whole. Newell is a conservative who has often denounced the political antics of former President Donald Trump, but he maintains a strong conservative foundation when it comes to family and country.
My show follows the Newell Normand Show on WWL. Many people falsely label me a “liberal wacko” - but I am conservative on more issues than I am liberal. In today’s world, people love to label everyone; and if people want to label me liberal - so be it. Interestingly, I get some criticism from people who are progressive who think I’m a “conservative nut.” Let the labels fly!
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People love to label talk show hosts, or anyone in the media, because it’s convenient. Once they label you - they no longer have to think - they just know how you feel about everything and that is a dangerous exercise. For lack of a better term, I define myself as a “radical moderate.”
I am moderate only because I refuse to belong to either political tribe, but I have strong opinions on every topic or issue. Moderate does not mean weak or “sitting on the fence.” Moderate means you are an independent thinker who might be conservative on some issues and liberal on other issues.
Most of America is moderate. It is the moderate Republicans and the moderate Democrats that determine the outcome of elections, especially elections for national office. There are simply not enough people on the far right or the far left to control the outcome of elections. There are reasons why it is difficult for moderate candidates to rise to the top in a crowded primary field - but we will leave that discussion for another time and place.
The midday block from 10:00 am - 4:00 pm on WWL Radio with Newell Normand and Scoot On The Air spans the spectrum on the most controversial social and political issues. Tune into other talk stations in New Orleans and across the country and you hear the same monotone of ideas coming from different hosts. Tune into WWL Radio and you are not always sure what Newell or I will say. As a listener - you are challenged to listen and that inspires thinking.
Also, my show has moved away from the most heated right vs left topics and more often focuses on social, lifestyle, and pop culture topics. As a society, we are drenched from the waterfall of politics, and I look for the opportunity to give us all a break. I need it as much as you!
My show is followed by Sports Talk on WWL Radio with former Saints QB Bobby Hebert, resident Marine Kristian Garic, and now NFL and college analyst Mike Detillier. The sports trio is informative, and Bobby can be as entertaining as he is controversial. It’s great radio and great entertainment.
After 100 years on the air, WWL 870 AM - 105.3 FM - WWL.com - WWL social media - remains unique. The radio station has not only been the only connections people have with the outside world during times of disaster, but we are there to inform you and entertain you every day.
I never take lightly the privilege it is to be on the air on WWL and credit goes to management. Our Program Director/Brand Manager Diane Newman, Market Manager Kevin Cassidy, Assistant Program Director/Brand Manager Ian Hoch (who is also the senior producer of my talk show), and the corporate management of Audacy - we have support for the freedom to be honest with our opinions and comments. Digital Director Scott Colomb has mastered the art of turning the audio of radio into the visual of social media. Radio is no longer without faces.
It may be impossible to change the perception of some listeners, but I speak the truth when I tell you that at WWL we are free to be individuals and believe that the authenticity of who we are - as individuals and as a radio station - comes across the air. And for a director of programming, like Diane Newman, it takes courage to let people be who they are.
As on-air personalities on WWL, we are not trained to be the shepherds of political sheep. Support from all of those in management mentioned has been strong and unconditional through the ups and downs of the turbulent world of talk radio. And for that - I am thankful and proud to be part of WWL Radio 100 years after the station first signed on the air.