Rob Martier: from Chicago to Canada and back

Rob Martier is a news and sports broadcaster at WLS Radio, where he covers Illini teams. He previously worked at WGN Radio after spending several years in Montreal, Canada covering sports at CJAD radio. He talks about what Canada is like, why he considers Montreal home, being a beat reporter for the Montreal Canadiens hockey team, getting started in media at Glenbrook South High School, interning with Robert Murphy at Q101, what Robert Murphy was like, why he likes doing radio more than TV, how to create a concise, compelling story; fact checking; the Jussie Smollett story (which allegedly happened pretty much below the NBC Tower, where WLS Radio is located); how journalism has changed; working in sports journalism; why he loves covering sports; working in Canada vs the U.S.; how he went from sports to news; why news shouldn’t be biased; advice for getting into journalism and media; why you should not major in journalism; Illini football, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG168.mp3

Jim DeRogatis: very smart and interesting

Jim DeRogatis is a co-host of Sound Opinions and has been a music critic and music journalist for several years, and is also an author. He talks about what he teaches at Columbia, what he thinks of “dead tree journalism” and how journalism has changed over the years, how he was able to write the Buzzfeed article about R Kelly, how to write and fact-check articles, why journalism is expensive, why reading is important, what he reads and what he thinks about reading, how to write well and persevere in it, why criticism is important, pizza, why being creative is important even without pay, why he cares about mentoring, hard work and perseverance, interviewing Lester Bangs, playing in a punk rock band, if he gets cool invites around town, getting banned from Lollapalooza, reporting and mentoring, how he stays motivated, why he thinks Chicago is the best city in America, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG167.mp3

Rob Hart: third time's a charm

Rob Hart is an anchor and reporter at WBBM Newsradio in Chicago. He talks about why he likes doing both reporting and anchoring, hosting the Noon Business Hour, what makes a good show guest, what is good reporting, why news radio still matters, how to write and find a good story, why talk radio is so difficult (he did it at WGN and WLS), how to deal with the volatility of the radio biz, advice for getting work, working at WLUP The Loop with Maxwell, working at WTMJ in Milwaukee, what Milwaukee is like, why he likes doing radio more than TV, how he’s dealt with challenges, advice for working in the media, what he thinks journalism is, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG166.mp3

Andrea Darlas: newsworthy career

Andrea Darlas was an anchor and reporter at WGN Radio for several years, and is now the Senior Director of Constituent Engagement for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She talks about how she got her current job and her long radio and TV career, which started at WPGU at the University of Illinois, then WGBO-TV in Chicago, WDWS in Champaign, as a news director at WJOL in Joliet, then WGN radio, plus CLTV and WGN-TV. She also talks about if someone who does publicity should work in the media first, "fake" news, how the media has changed since she started working in it, what she learned from news anchor and reporter Dick Sutliff and news pro Tom Petersen, who were both at WGN Radio for many years, what she's learned over the years, how technological changes have affected news reporting, how she separates doing straight news vs talk radio, why you should never leave a meeting, why she chose radio over TV, why working in a small market is important, advice for getting work, how she got into TV, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG165.mp3

Jordan Bernfield: six years later, doing sports and news on TV and radio

Jordan Bernfield is now doing news and sports at WGN Radio, in addition to doing play-by-play for ESPN, BTN, and NBC. He gives advice for getting into radio and media, talks about working at WSCR The Score, how to deal with competition, how to do sports prep and play-by-play effectively, how doing sports has helped him write and cover news, what it’s like to work in both news and sports, what it’s like to do TV vs radio, why being versatile is important, and more. I first interviewed him exactly six years ago at WGN.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG164.mp3

Here's a video I did when he was at WGN Radio earlier in his career:

Lisa Fielding: passionate about journalism

Lisa Fielding is an anchor and reporter at WBBM Newsradio, and she talks about why she likes doing both, explains what an enterprise story and chyron are; what she considers as news, reporting bad news, remaining neutral, international news, why she got into journalism, working in television, how she interned at WEEK-TV in Peoria, making mistakes, working at WROK 1440 AM in Rockford, anchoring and reporting at CBS-TV in Rockford; anchoring at Fox 47 in Madison, Wisconsin and the CW in Milwaukee; what it’s like to experience failure and how to face challenges; starting over at WBBM, what it’s like to work in Wisconsin, why she loves following news, what she thinks of digital, how to write a story, the difference between TV and radio, how to succinctly tell a story, advice for getting work in TV or radio, the importance of journalism, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG162.mp3

Here's a video of her that I did a while ago at the news radio station (I took a couple of digital video classes and this was one of the projects that I did).

Lisa Fielding: radio news from Margaret Larkin on Vimeo.

Edwin Eisendrath: total Chicago guy

Edwin Eisendrath is best-known for being the former CEO of the Chicago Sun-Times, and was also Alderman of the 43rd Ward (Lincoln Park area) and the regional director of HUD. He talks about why he thinks Chicago is a great city; knowing Governor JB Pritzker, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, President Barack Obama, President Bill Clinton, (who[m] he says is brilliant and has an incredible memory), Mayor Harold Washington; leading the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); how Chicago neighborhoods have changed, the Chicago housing situation and redlining; why he respects government careerists; what he thinks of how the media covers politicians; why he ran for alderman; why he respects journalists; why he's pro-union; mistakes he's made; the Chicago political scene; how he helped the Sun-Times; Chicago’s problems and positives, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG163.mp3

Charlie Wheeler: knowledgeable journalist emeritus

Charlie Wheeler, a former Chicago Sun-Times reporter who is currently a professor at the University of Illinois Springfield and director of the Public Affairs Reporting Program, talks about what makes a good reporter, his career at the Sun-Times, covering the Illinois constitutional convention and the state government in Springfield, what it was like to be a reporter in the 60s and 70s, how newspaper bureaus have changed, how he got into working for newspapers, his father and grandfather's newspaper work, how journalism has changed, what he thinks of digital, how to assess stories and prepare, how to become a journalist, and more. I interviewed him at the Illinois News Broadcasters Association (INBA) convention in Springfield.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG161.mp3

Mike North: radio boxer

Mike North got into radio via an interesting route, and has worked in TV and digital as well. He talks about money, the Vietnam draft, what he thinks of smartphones, his radio and TV career; his online endeavors including Bears Barroom and Mike at the Movies; why former WSCR/The Score Program Director Ron Gleason is wonderful, how Mike got The Score job in the early days and why he left; what Mayor Daley I was like; meeting famous people at his hot dog stand; why honesty is important, what's lacking in today's media climate, what being successful and wealthy is like; drinking, meeting Harry Caray and Rush Limbaugh; how the biz has changed; why people play it safe; the Bears, Bulls GM Jerry Krause; the White Sox's tax incentives; why he doesn't trust media people; the Chicago Sports Webio fiasco aka his "Vietnam;" dealing with setbacks; how he got a movie made about his life, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG160.mp3

Ryan Burrow: excellent radio reporter

Ryan Burrow is a reporter for ABC Radio and WGN Radio. He talks about how he prepares for interviews all over the country, how he juggles his news responsibilities, how he maintains objectivity and standards, stories he's covered, working in Fredericksburg, Virginia, at WRAC in Memphis, Tennessee, at Clear Channel News Network and Tribune syndicate in Chicago, at WLS Radio, what FM News was like, doing multimedia journalism, doing sports radio at Valparaiso, interning at C-Span, how he got into news, his passion for sports, advice for getting into the media biz, what he's learned, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG159.mp3

Esmeralda Leon: radio geek?

Esmeralda Leon is on the air at WGN Radio doing traffic and being part of Nick Digilio’s show. She talks about how she got into radio, why she prefers doing traffic to news, what she thinks of her hometown Joliet, what it was like to work for Jonathan Brandmeier’s show at The Loop, what she’s learned, how she got into traffic, being a podcasting pioneer with Brandon Wetherbee and the live show, "You, Me, Them, Everybody," briefly working with Roe Conn and Bill & Wendy on WGN, then Nick Digilio and Patty Vasquez; how overnights are different, what it’s like to be on Nick’s show, how she preps for shows, her aspirations, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG158.mp3

John Siuntres: radio broadcaster and podcasting pioneer

John Siuntres is a radio broadcaster (currently at WBBM Newsradio) and is one of the pioneers of podcasting...he started way back in 2005, when there weren't many podcasts at all (now there are lots of them), with his popular Word Balloon podcast. He talks about how he got into radio, covering boxing on Chet Coppock's show on WLUP The Loop; being part of the early staff when WSCR The Score started; writing about boxing for Boxing Illustrated; working on Dan McNeil and Terry Boers' afternoon show on The Score; working at Sporting News Radio; his very successful Word Balloon podcast; doing production including imaging for WSHE 100.3, and commercials for WDRV The Drive and The Mix WTMX at Hubbard; interviewing the boxing greats, why he loved boxing, and the quirks of the boxing biz; what he thinks of the radio biz; what the early days of The Score were like; his parody songs (sampled in the interview); how radio was the original social media and how social media has affected radio; why he started his podcast and what makes a successful podcast; getting on TV as a commentator on the Prophets of Science Fiction show; how his podcast became successful and which famous people he's talked to among his almost 800 interviews, and more.


Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG157.mp3

Craig Dellimore: dignified reporter

Craig Dellimore has been the Political Editor, City Hall reporter, and host of At Issue on WBBM Newsradio for several years. He talks about getting started at WBBM around the time Harold Washington became Mayor, what City Hall was like when he started reporting in Chicago, what Harold Washington was like, diverse newsrooms, covering crime, racial issues, dealing with doubters, covering Springfield, issues in the suburbs, simplifying story lines, New York vs Chicago, working at WCBS in New York, the NYC Blackout and other stories he’s covered, why he came to Chicago, working at City Hall, politicians’ motivations, voting issues, maintaining professionalism, changes in culture, “the n word,” advice for being a good reporter and writer, doing TV on Chicago Tonight, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG156.mp3

Rey Diaz: decent sports radio guy

Rey Diaz has the dream job for a lot of guys (and some gals) working in sports radio as a content producer for 670 The Score’s (WSCR) morning and midday shows and as a studio producer for Bears Radio on WBBM. He talks about how he got into radio, WNTD, being Mexican, Polish, and Italian (he looks Puerto Rican); working for the Mancow show at Q101 and digitizing his carts (and deleting people from audio bits whom Mancow didn’t like); what Mancow was like, how much Mancow does during and after the show; working at WVON; getting robbed and beaten (and injured), interviewing for a job with a shut mouth; expressing himself on social media, working in sports media, how he went from WVON to WBBM, overcoming failure, how he started working for Bears radio, how he got to The Score, advice for getting into sports radio, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG155.mp3

Elliot Abrams: having weather pun fun

Meteorologist Elliot Abrams has made a very good life out of being nerdy. He is one of the co-founders of AccuWeather Radio, and does weather on WBBM Newsradio in Chicago, WADK Radio in Rhode Island, four stations in College Park, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere, in addition to doing lectures and lots of other things. He's a witty meteorologist who's also in the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia's Hall of Fame and the National Meteorologist Hall of Fame. He talks about how he got into weather and radio, being a geek, the early days of weather broadcasting, the US weather bureau, the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, doing weather on the Pennsylvania Public Television network, why meteorologist Wally Kinnan was an innovator, how weather broadcasting technology and media have changed, started forecasting at WARM Radio, Fahrenheit vs Celsius, having a sense of humor and creating puns, AccuWeather's patented Real Feel, how he creates a forecast, the difference between creating TV and radio broadcasts, how the meteorologist’s role and the industry have changed, how AccuWeather helps railroads, climate change, how he became VP of AccuWeather, being a township supervisor in his town, his blog, advice for getting into the weather business, the future of weather forecasts, how he stays current, how communication and media consumption used to be, the Farmer’s Almanac, Benjamin Franklin’s 300th birthday party, getting older, his lifestyle, social media, writing, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG154.mp3

Neil Fiorito: pump up the volume

Neil Fiorito does traffic on WBBM Newsradio and hosts "Neil’s News" for the Marriott in River North, and has done traffic at US99 WUSN, WIND Radio, for radio stations in Houston, Minnesota, St. Louis, and more. He started doing music radio at Triton College, and he talks about his varied career that includes working for his dad’s business, being on the air at Loyola’s WLUW Energy 88.7, Lite 103 in Rockton, WXLC in Waukegan, WRXQ and Star 96.7 in Crest Hill, and WCCQ 98.3. He also talks about why Dick Biondi is so wonderful, why he has a good personality for hotel work, why he likes acting, why he feels he’s living the dream, why he loves working at the hotel, what Mr. Marriott is like, why he likes doing radio, his theater experience, why he likes talking so much, his family, why he loves people, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG153.mp3

Bill Cochran: his own beat

Bill Cochran's voice is everywhere in Chicago, even on the west coast. After graduating from Northwestern, where he was on the air at WNUR, he was on the air and was the production director at WXRT for a decade, then joined Rick O'Dell at WNUA Smooth Jazz for over 20 years, went online with WLFM Smooth Jazz, then returned to WXRT to do more production. He talks about: why he left WXRT for his current production job at MeTV-FM, understanding what listeners want, his approach to talking about music in an entertaining way, telling stories when he performs with his band Great Moments in Vinyl, how he creates stories, how he chooses songs to perform, how he maintains a creative lifestyle in a non-creative world, his clog blog Every Clog Has Its Day, Oklahoma, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG152.mp3

Get info about Great Moments in Vinyl's next show here.

The personal story that he mentions in this interview starts on his blog with Chapter 1 here, continues with Chapter 2 here, then continues with the rest of the chapters here (it’s not a continuous string of posts, thus the separate links).

Josh Liss: sports dream achieved

Josh Liss is living the sports radio dream: he’s spent his entire career in sports, and has been the sports director and morning sports anchor on WBBM since 1998. He talks about how he preps, how he writes effective stories, how the internet has changed his reporting, how he deals with superfans, how he got into radio, playing sports and dealing with obstacles, working at WVVX Radio and WSCR The Score in the early years, advice for getting into sports media, how sports reporting is different from broadcasting sports opinion, what athletes might think about media attention, specializing in sports, working at WMAQ, how he got his fantastic WBBM gig, mistakes, his videos, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG151.mp3

Bob Kessler: radio and more

Bob Kessler does news at WGN Radio, and he does a lot of other things, including writing and producing Green Sense Radio and the Greensense Minute on WBBM, and doing news with Rivet Radio. He talks about why he likes doing broadcast radio and why he loves radio; being a musician and how he got interested in music, writing and arranging music, recording piano and performing harmonica; how he became ordained as a lay Buddhist teacher, what obstacles he has overcome, how he got into radio, internships with WKTI, WYMS, and WXRT; working on Jan Coleman’s show and Steve and Johnnie’s show at WGN; doing news on WGN while being the writer and executive producer for Ramsey Lewis’ show with Karen Williams on WNUA; how tech has changed broadcasting; his future plans, living an atypical life, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG150.mp3

J Niice and Showbiz Shelly: B96 mornings

A lot has happened since the last time I interviewed the stars of the B96 morning show: Julian Nieh left Chicago, and J Niice and Showbiz Shelly are the main hosts (with producer Gabe, who wasn't interviewed at this time).

First, Showbiz Shelly talks briefly (because she had to leave, just like last time) about her celebrity-filled life, including spilling a drink on Miranda Rae Mayo, the daily smackdown, yoga, relaxing, going out in Chicago, cohosting on WCIU’s morning show and appearance on Fox Chicago, cohosting the B96 morning show, highlights of her radio career, and advice for working in the media.

Then we find out a lot about J Niice, including his huge career as a child star on TV, including Sesame Street and the famous Honeycomb cereal commercial with Andre the Giant; his scary plane incident; his New York background; why he travels so much; being Jamaican and hanging out with the Jamaican community in Chicago and New York; being successful without the arrogance; how the B96 morning show is different after Julian left; what’s great about morning radio, even though it's super-early; interacting with the audience via social media; his hobbies such as soccer, scuba diving, volunteering at the Shedd Aquarium and Chill (a snowboarding charity for inner city kids), and snowboarding in his free time; his passion for late night television, especially Arsenio Hall; being on the TV shows Dish Nation and Empire; what he thinks of hip hop culture; what's great about Queens in New York; Jamaica; why he likes Chicago, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG149.mp3