Doug Mosher Adventures in Broadcasting: Part 3

Click here to read parts one and two of Doug's introduction to WNBF.

I have been a radio personality in the greater Binghamton Market for over three decades, I found out early in my career, that one of the keys to being a successful voice on the airwaves was a commitment to community.

While working for WHWK/WNBF early in my career I asked Bill Parker if I could take him to lunch and talk to him about his career in radio and TV and some of the keys to success.

Bill said make strong ties with your community, use your voice to help others and support organizations that help your neighbors, and he often said it’s the people and the community that allowed him to do what he did, and he always thanked others for his success. I will always remember that lunch with a great man who I had respected so much and I have always been appreciative and supportive to this community throughout the years.

Another Bill Parker moment came a short while later when he came to me and said I’m going to be off next week and I was wondering if you could fill in for me, this was my first talk show experience and an absolute honor.

While still working with the WNBF team, I moved into a full-time position with the company which now included overnights on Monday-Friday overnights on 98.1 The Hawk and an early morning show on WNBF weekdays from 5-6 a.m.

The popularity in country music was rising and WHWK became the biggest station in the Binghamton market with the new morning team on 98.1 The Hawk, Jerry & Dave the Breakfast Flakes.

I learned a great deal working with Jerry James and Dave Freeman, they showed me how to lay out a show and to have fun with your audience, and although I developed my own style, I have always enjoyed candor with my audience.

Over the next few years I moved to evenings on WHWK and also had many opportunities to fill in on the other dayparts including several appearances on the morning show, where I began to write song parodies and create comedy bits.

In my early years of broadcast radio, I experienced working the various time slots of radio, but the next step in my career, would include my introduction to programming management.

To be continued on Thursday...