It's World Listening Day! While its purpose may be to encourage each other to listen more and talk less, I'd like to broaden its scope to include listening to the radio. Something that I've been counting on from you since 1980. And you have delivered time and time again. When we ask, you answer to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations to local and national charities, and the donation of goods for animal shelters, for example, and even helping people out of state recover from natural disasters.
You listen for news and important weather information. How many of you, back in the day before cell phones and the internet, would wake up on a snowy winter morning just to find out whether or not you had a day off school? You listen to win things such as records, cd's, dvds, gift cards, tickets to special events, trips and even cash! You listen when we have the great privilege to talk with a celebrity or someone who's an expert in their field such as a doctor or local official. You listen when it's Christmas season and we breakout the Holiday tunes.
You listened during Dessert Storm and later when our country came under attack in 2001. You listened when COVID kept us sheltered in place. You listened when we announcers suffered our own personal challenges and tragedies and found ways to offer comfort to us.
Now you (can) listen in so many different ways. Still on your radios, thankfully, whether in your homes, at work or in your vehicles. You can listen via your computers from which our programming comes streaming to you from our websites. You can listen to household streaming devices (Hey Alexa, play WNCO on iHeartRadio!) You can listen via apps on your mobile device such as the FREE iHeartRadio App. Not only can you carry your favorite radio station with you wherever you go. You now can click the Talkback Mic on the app and leave us a voice message such as a song request. That's a lot easier than dialing your phone over and over again trying to get through to your favorite DJ.
You listen for the programming. News and political discussions, sports talk and local high school and college games as well as pro sports, longform interviews, stories and features called podcasts. And you listen for music! It's what drew me to be a part of this industry. Not some fantasy that had me thinking I'd be hanging out daily with celebrities or that I'd become a star myself. Not because I'm in love with the sound of my own voice. No. It's because of the music. When I was Music Director for WNCO It would be like Christmas Day when a package of new singles or giveaway items would arrive from a record company. I would get so excited to share this new music with you listeners. I even hosted a new music show on Sundays where I regularly played cuts from new albums. I enjoy sharing that thrill with you. I'm often like "OMG have you heard this new song from Kenny Chesney! (or Luke Combs, Tim McGraw etc.) And I still get a big kick out of listening to music from new artists like Jackson Dean ("If I Don't Come Back, Don't Come Lookin'"). I hope you sense my excitement when you listen and I hope it's contagious!
Thank you for listening to our stations. Thank you for making us a part of your day, everyday. We truly appreciate our listeners!
-from Matt Appleby, WNCO-FM Program Director, Afternoon host and Creative Director for iHeartMedia Ashland/Mansfield.