“It Must Be Nice To Have An Easy Job!”

I recently had an email from a listener who said he was interested in getting into radio as a career so he could "have an easy job, sit back, goof off and play music." So you think I just "sit back and play music"? "Oh it's an easy job, Alan!"

Well, to answer your email, here's a rundown of my daily routine:

My alarm clock goes off every weekday at 3am. I get here around 4am to put the show together. That includes scouring websites for a forecast, sports, national headlines and more.

I answer calls from listeners from requests to birthdays, contests and phone topics. I used to have a morning partner that shared part of the workload, but that has gone away, so my workload has doubled.

I'm required to blog twice a day on this website and update the station Facebook page on a frequent basis. I check my station e-mail, my personal e-mail, and my Alan Reed Facebook page for updates in our ever changing world.

I also have to post video to our new YouTube channel.

I do a newscast at the top of every hour and have to edit the news from our news department. I use a yellow highlighter to do that. The one in my studio was dry, so I had to look for one in the supply cabinet. As you can see by the above picture, there wasn't a yellow one, so I had to improvise and steal one from our sales guy, Chad. I don't think he reads my posts, so I don't think he'll bust me!

And I do it all between 3-4 minute songs, when I have to crack the mic to say hello to your smiling faces!

After I get off the air, I check my production box for any commercials to do. If I have orders, I will take the scripts into our production studio and produce the commercial you hear on the radio. That could take a long time, depending on the production aspects, like sound effects, etc.

Plus, there's personal appearances at charity events, live broadcasts and more. I have a mobile DJ system and photo booth that keeps me busy on weekends. We are one of the most recommended entertainment companies in SE MN, too! After that, there's this crazy thing called "life" that I live. I hope that answers your email question! - Alan