An Open Letter To KMMS And KPRK Listeners

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Dear Loyal Fans of KMMS and KPRK,

I’ve been very fortunate to be associated with radio in South Central Montana for 12 years. I’ve survived six station mangers or maybe they survived me. Not quite sure on that one.

I wanted to speak to you today face-to-face or words-to-screen perhaps and ask you a very important question.

Do You Realize How Good You’ve Got It?

You have local call-in radio six days a week. You can vent on almost any subject out there.

All we ask is that you be civil in your comments and don’t use any of the 8 words the FCC says we can’t say.

What exactly do you get for spending no bucks at all for your listening pleasure? The short answer is — a lot.

Radio personalities, or talent as they are sometimes called, are paid performers. The more popular you are the more you make.

Will You Listen To Cheap Talent?

KMMS/KPRK have some pretty high-priced talent for you to listen to. Rush Limbaugh, according to Talkers Magazine in #1 in the nation. In case you didn’t know he makes a lot of bread.

We also have #2 Sean Hannity, #5 Glenn Beck, #15 George Noory, #19 Doug Stephan and Laura Ingraham at #20.

Herman Cain is the only weekday host not in the top 20. He’s #55. But he’s relatively new — give him time.

You get to hear six of the top 20 talk show hosts in the nation every weekday.

Why don’t we have the bottom 20 who would work much cheaper? Because we have advertisers that need lots of ears to hear their message — your ears.

And only the best will entice you to turn that dial to AM 1450 or AM 1340.

Oh, and Voices of Montana too.

The Morning Show

Thanks to Chris Griffin, the morning host, you get to hear — on a regular basis, I might add — the governor of Montana, our lone congressional representative, both US Senators, our city manager, CEO of the Chamber of Commerce, county commissioners, SWIMBIA, mayors of Bozeman and Belgrade, an Interfaith Council, and various other rotating guests throughout the week.

You heard a Paul McCartney interview on KMMS/KPRK.

Name another station in Montana, or anywhere else for that matter, which offers a local lineup that can match that one in a market our size.

It don’t happen.

Is Talk Radio Easy?

When you listen to Rush, or Sean, or Glenn they make it sound pretty easy.

Here’s an experiment that I did before I started my own show. You can try this the next time you drive to work alone in your car.

Turn down your radio and try to speak out loud for 15 minutes with no pauses or very short ones. Any topic will do. Just make it interesting to all those imaginary listeners you’re talking to between the ages of 25 and 54. Easy right?

Some people are natural talkers. I’m not one of ‘em even after all these years on the air.

I record myself, — too many “uhs,” too many “ya knows” and long gaps of dead air trying to form a complete sentence or collect my thoughts.

I’m lucky they let me on the air at all.

Some Final Thoughts

I do what I do because it’s important that the listeners in this valley have a voice. Radio is expensive and live voices are expensive.

That’s why Jacobus and I work for free on Saturdays. Our forefathers put great importance on the very first amendment to the Constitution.

That’s the FREE SPEECH one in case you forgot.

If we, you and I, can keep that free speech thing alive by tuning in and voicing your thoughts then I don’t mind giving up part of a weekend to give you a forum where you can express your views.

As I tell you all each week — all views are welcome here.

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